can I put 3 tangs in my reefer 170 (45g)

[Inaz07]

I already have a purple tang.. had him for a few months now and I have been offered a yellow tang similar size and blue tang to put into my tang. Since yellow tangs are rare I really want to put him in. I understand that they won't get along together. But adding a blue tang with the yellow tang at the same time might help? I may upgrade my tank soon but I have been offered two tangs now. Any ideas how im supposed to make this work?

 

[beehive124]

Since your tank is only 45 gallons, that would only accommodate the tangs for a short period of time. Tangs can get pretty large pretty quickly. You would want at least a 100 gallon tank to accommodate three full grown tangs. Blue tangs get the biggest, but the purple and yellow tangs don't get as big.

 

[Frogspon]

yooooo my friend, get ready for some serious policing in here soon lol

 

[blaxsun]

Keyword: tang
+Keywords: upgrade my tank

 

[fish farmer]

How big are they?

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I already have a purple tang.. had him for a few months now and I have been offered a yellow tang similar size and blue tang to put into my tang. Since yellow tangs are rare I really want to put him in. I understand that they won't get along together. But adding a blue tang with the yellow tang at the same time might help? I may upgrade my tank soon but I have been offered two tangs now. Any ideas how im supposed to make this work?

Sadly it would not work out. Purple tangs are well known to be b****s and in such a small tank it would likely kill both the blue and the yellow tangs. Even if they did get along, 45 gallons is too small for any of those tangs at full size (Hippos get to 10" max, yellows and purples get to 8" max) and they would likely not thrive for long. I understand that yellows are 'rare' now, but it's really not worth the risk IMO. If the tank was 150g then it may be possible, but the current tank is too small for it to possibly work.

Have a nice day and God bless.

 

[Gtinnel]

Seems like a bad idea. If they're really small they may be okay for a little bit but they will quickly outgrow that tank. Long term any one of those fish get too big for that tank.

 

[Dkmoo]

Weeewooooweeeewoooo here comes the tang police.

Bas boy bad boy what you gonna doooo, what you gonna do when they come for youuuuuu

 

[blaxsun]

How big are the respective tangs in question? If they're all under 2" you could maybe (maybe) get away with it for a few months - or until they start killing each other off (whichever occurs first). Or until the Tang Police show up in force...

 

[KeepSwimming12]

I already have a purple tang.. had him for a few months now and I have been offered a yellow tang similar size and blue tang to put into my tang. Since yellow tangs are rare I really want to put him in. I understand that they won't get along together. But adding a blue tang with the yellow tang at the same time might help? I may upgrade my tank soon but I have been offered two tangs now. Any ideas how im supposed to make this work?

I have a baby blue tang and he’s very tiny and cute so I think for a while he would be okay in a 45g until he gets bigger. He’ll tell you when he’s ready to go in a bigger tank if he paces back and forth and shows general signs of stress. Ideally of course you’ll want to do that before he gets stressed. I’m not sure about the other two but from what I’ve seen it’s a bit more rare to find tiny yellow tangs and purple tangs. I wouldn’t keep 3 in a 45 if it was me because it would look to eclectic. I’m not sure if I’d do it short term either. I keep my tang on his own with non-tang tank mates so I can’t speak for tang to tang aggression.

 

[Inaz07]

How big are they?

around 2.5' each

 

[Inaz07]

o

I have a baby blue tang and he’s very tiny and cute so I think for a while he would be okay in a 45g until he gets bigger. He’ll tell you when he’s ready to go in a bigger tank if he paces back and forth and shows general signs of stress. Ideally of course you’ll want to do that before he gets stressed. I’m not sure about the other two but from what I’ve seen it’s a bit more rare to find tiny yellow tangs and purple tangs. I wouldn’t keep 3 in a 45 if it was me because it would look to eclectic. I’m not sure if I’d do it short term either. I keep my tang on his own with non-tang tank mates so I can’t speak for tang to tang aggression.

oh okay thanks alot

 

[Inaz07]

Seems like a bad idea. If they're really small they may be okay for a little bit but they will quickly outgrow that tank. Long term any one of those fish get too big for that tank.

oh okay I might take the risk lets see

 

[Inaz07]

t

Sadly it would not work out. Purple tangs are well known to be b****s and in such a small tank it would likely kill both the blue and the yellow tangs. Even if they did get along, 45 gallons is too small for any of those tangs at full size (Hippos get to 10" max, yellows and purples get to 8" max) and they would likely not thrive for long. I understand that yellows are 'rare' now, but it's really not worth the risk IMO. If the tank was 150g then it may be possible, but the current tank is too small for it to possibly work.

Have a nice day and God bless.

thanks alot,
I thought of taking my purple tang out and keeping him quarantined for a month and introduce them at once to the tank? will that work

 

[blaxsun]

Could end up being an expensive gambit...

 

[Mikedawg]

Why try to make it "work"? Just going to stress three fish and most probably cause some deaths or disfigurements. Find other fish that will fit your tank IMO.

 

[Inaz07]

Could end up being an expensive gambit...

what if I introduce them together

 

[Inaz07]

Why try to make it "work"? Just going to stress three wonderful fish and most probably cause some deaths or disfigurements. Find other fish that will fit your tank IMO.

true

 

[RedReefer]

I would say no, I wouldn’t try it, and being that tangs are like disease magnets you might end up with some other issues.

 

[Perry]

My experience in a standard 120g, was that my powder blue, yellow, and hippo, which eventually killed off yellow and powder, due to stress. The hippo was relocated to a standard 180g, which the owner had to pass on, due to needing more swimming space. No bashing, just reality. I currently have a 36"x24"x24 and won't even consider A tang, FWIW.
Cheers