can I put a Purple tang and a whitecheck tang together?

Fishfreak2009 · Oct 28, 2021

Fish&coral72g said:
but tangs are my favorite fish...

So then you'd want to do the best that you can taking care of them and wouldn't put them in a small tank to be cruel to them

Tamberav · Oct 28, 2021

Fish&coral72g said:
the tank is 72 gallons tho (¬_¬ )

White cheek is prone to disease from stress. I would not mix the two in such a small tank. I would only get the purple. Acan tangs are not beginner friendly.

Tamberav · Oct 28, 2021

Fish&coral72g said:
but tangs are my favorite fish...

Ditch the Red Sea and get bigger tank like a standard 180. Probably costs less and you can keep more of the things you like.

Always try to buy a tank to fit your stocking plan.

i cant think · Oct 28, 2021

Fish&coral72g said:
but tangs are my favorite fish...

You can keep them short term but you will have to either trade them or upgrade to Atleast a 4 foot tank - A lot of the time, tangs can survive in tanks not as big (IMHO, gold rims Dont actually need a true 6’ tank and can thrive in 5’ tanks, so as long as you can get to 4’ in the next year or so then get to a 5’ in another two-three years you should be alright, just remember to get them both as 1” tangs and not 3” tangs like the LFS’s tend to get in).

A lot of the people that have been commenting on the tank size haven’t been doing it in the nicest way possible I can tell you that now, so we could try to be a bit nicer and not explain the tank is too small long term in such a harsh way. As I said before, we have all had a tang in a tank too small before so just think about that (Or even it doesn’t have to be a tang, it could be a different fish that gets big).

LiamPM · Oct 28, 2021

Many have done and many still will - It doesnt mean its right to do it.

Its fine for people to explain how they have done it and their fish is happy - But any size fish will swim in any size tank we put them in - Theres no emotion meter with fish, just becasue they are forced to swim in a smaller space doesnt equate to it being ok or that they are thriving - Theres every chance they are just surviving - We wouldnt know any different.

Common sense should prevail with fish keeping but it rarely does when it comes to surgeonfish oddly - If you've ever seen the size most Zebrasoma or Acanthurus get to in the wild youd be fairly cool with the idea that 6foot + is a fairly decent rule of thumb to abide by. People complain about why its that and not 5 but its pretty simple - Its the most standard, largest tank available before going full custom. No its not the size of the ocean but its very much 50% larger than 3 foot so the lesser of two evils. A tank that allows a fish to pace and dart is much, much closer to that ocean than a box of water that barely lets the fish move.

I personally wouldnt advise you get a living creature with the idea of upgrading to accomodate its natural size later on. Ive been in this hobby a long enough time to know it rarely happens when needed and its actually just a burden on you when you have to pull apart yur tank to remove a fish becaus eyou couldnt then upgrade. Not to mention the stress of catching them in a stocked tank.

On a lighter note. You have a very good sized tank for plenty of the smaller species of fish in this hobby that seem to get overlooked. Its a really good size to play with and stock within the limits of the tank. If you want a mid level swimmer id take a closer look at some of the "safer" Centropyge angelfish. Your tank size is ideal for some.

i cant think · Oct 28, 2021

LiamPM said:
Many have done and many still will - It doesnt mean its right to do it.

Its fine for people to explain how they have done it and their fish is happy - But any size fish will swim in any size tank we put them in - Theres no emotion meter with fish, just becasue they are forced to swim in a smaller space doesnt equate to it being ok or that they are thriving - Theres every chance they are just surviving - We wouldnt know any different.

Common sense should prevail with fish keeping but it rarely does when it comes to surgeonfish oddly - If you've ever seen the size most Zebrasoma or Acanthurus get to in the wild youd be fairly cool with the idea that 6foot + is a fairly decent rule of thumb to abide by. People complain about why its that and not 5 but its pretty simple - Its the most standard, largest tank available before going full custom. No its not the size of the ocean but its very much 50% larger than 3 foot so the lesser of two evils. A tank that allows a fish to pace and dart is much, much closer to that ocean than a box of water that barely lets the fish move.

On a lighter note. You have a very good sized tank for plenty of the smaller species of fish in this hobby that seem to get overlooked. Its a really good size to play with and stock within the limits of the tank. If you want a mid level swimmer id take a closer look at some of the "safer" Centropyge angelfish. Your tank size is ideal for some.

I mean, people throw the Ctenochaetus tangs into 4’ tanks, watch them in the wild and you will see some twice the size of most peoples hands, I have seen some at 8-9” but they rarely exceed 4” in captivity. With that in mind you’d rather have a 6-8’ tank for any tang, but still people keep them in 4’ tanks (Even the smallest of Zebrasoma because let’s be real - Who has seen 12” yellow tangs in captivity that haven’t been caught at that size).

LiamPM · Oct 28, 2021

i cant think said:
I mean, people throw the Ctenochaetus tangs into 4’ tanks, watch them in the wild and you will see some twice the size of most peoples hands, I have seen some at 8-9” but they rarely exceed 4” in captivity. With that in mind you’d rather have a 6-8’ tank for any tang, but still people keep them in 4’ tanks (Even the smallest of Zebrasoma because let’s be real - Who has seen 12” yellow tangs in captivity that haven’t been caught at that size).

They do. But im not entirely sure the Ctenochaetus are great candidates for the 4 foot tanks either. They do move less and are more focused on "patches" rather than distance which i guess is where the idea comes from but even still, they can and will grow large. Tomni's get thrown around left, right and centre for 3-4 feet tanks. But if you have seen the behaviour change from the same individual going from a 3 feet tank to an upgraded 8 feet tank youll think its an entirely different fish and hate the fact you ever had it in the 3 feet to begin with. Its doing that that makes you realise that happy fish probably wasnt so happy.

I guess you have to wonder if that fish in the 4 footer really is "thriving" as most would say that do it when you compare the size differences from captivity to wild, like you mentioned. Are they really thriving if our tanks clearly keep them from growing what we know their potential can be.

Ive seen very large surgeons grow from tiny sizes when they have been kept in monster size tanks. Its that reasoning that makes you realise the smaller 4 feet tanks arent actually ideal. Most that are on the side of its not that bad are usually the ones who havent seen a very large version of them, especially in captivity.

People will always do what they convince themselves is ok but personally, we arent exactly stuck for choice in this hobby so id be choosing a different route in these, smaller sized tanks.

i cant think · Oct 28, 2021

LiamPM said:
They do. But im not entirely sure the Ctenochaetus are great candidates for the 4 foot tanks either. They do move less and are more focused on "patches" rather than distance which i guess is where the idea comes from but even still, they can and will grow large. Tomni's get thrown around left, right and centre for 3-4 feet tanks. But if you have seen the behaviour change from the same individual going from a 3 feet tank to an upgraded 8 feet tank youll think its an entirely different fish and hate the fact you ever had it in the 3 feet to begin with. Its doing that that makes you realise that happy fish probably wasnt so happy.

I guess you have to wonder if that fish in the 4 footer really is "thriving" as most would say that do it when you compare the size differences from captivity to wild, like you mentioned. Are they really thriving if our tanks clearly keep them from growing what we know their potential can be.

Ive seen very large surgeons grow from tiny sizes when they have been kept in monster size tanks. Its that reasoning that makes you realise the smaller 4 feet tanks arent actually ideal. Most that are on the side of its not that bad are usually the ones who havent seen a very large version of them, especially in captivity.

People will always do what they convince themselves is ok but personally, we arent exactly stuck for choice in this hobby so id be choosing a different route in these, smaller sized tanks.

I’ve seen two of the Acanthurus tangs in a 12’ tank in person (Tennetii and Olivasceus) and they were certainly more happy than ones in 6’ tanks. I do have a Ctenochaetus in my 4’ tank but if I can ever get an 8’ tank he will go into it - At the moment the biggest tank I can get is 6’ so, that’s why I said try to get the biggest tank you can fit because not many of us outside of countries that have big houses such as America have houses that fit 8’+ tanks.

Also that “Patches movement” idea is false IMHO, Mine can go from left to right in my tank within a matter of seconds but he rarely does (I assume it’s something to do with being calm at the size he is in there).

Tamberav · Oct 28, 2021

BTW one happy show quality tang looks nicer then two angry nervous tangs with nipped fins or scalpel marks.

I tried a Kole and Yellow in a 80. I ended up removing the Kole as watching them nervously swim around each other was meh.... now I have a Yellow with zero blemishes and neon yellow. It's a show quality fish. When I bought it, it was skinny, pale, with lateral line erosion and an eye infection. I can't even recognize it as the same Tang now. It looks like a poster child Tang.

i cant think · Oct 28, 2021

Tamberav said:
BTW one happy show quality tang looks nicer then two angry nervous tangs with nipped fins or scalpel marks.

I tried a Kole and Yellow in a 80. I ended up removing the Kole as watching them nervously swim around each other was meh.... now I have a Yellow with zero blemishes and neon yellow. It's a show quality fish. When I bought it, it was skinny, pale, with lateral line erosion and an eye infection. I can't even recognize it as the same Tang now. It looks like a poster child Tang.

That’s great to know! Id love a yellow but with just a 4’ tank I think I’ll stick with the Ctenochaetus.

LiamPM · Oct 29, 2021

i cant think said:
I’ve seen two of the Acanthurus tangs in a 12’ tank in person (Tennetii and Olivasceus) and they were certainly more happy than ones in 6’ tanks. I do have a Ctenochaetus in my 4’ tank but if I can ever get an 8’ tank he will go into it - At the moment the biggest tank I can get is 6’ so, that’s why I said try to get the biggest tank you can fit because not many of us outside of countries that have big houses such as America have houses that fit 8’+ tanks.

Also that “Patches movement” idea is false IMHO, Mine can go from left to right in my tank within a matter of seconds but he rarely does (I assume it’s something to do with being calm at the size he is in there).

The larger they go - The more happy most will be - Same with humans in that respect.

I imagine its a pretty large percentage of people that have Ctenochaetus in 3-4 feet tanks. It seems to be the normal recommendation these days and as much as the "patches" theory may be incorrect it does still hold weight. They just dont dart around like headless chickens as much as say the Acanthurus do and tend to be much more focused on picking at surfaces all day long rather than territory defences. Which is where the bulk of the recommendations come from. I personally dont see a need for it. Surgeonfish are great - But if your circumstances, building or tank size dont accomodate one then find a different species you can. There are a huge amount of fish available in this hobby for all sizes of tanks, none better than the next.

Its all a game of "our tanks are too small for all fish" at the end of the day but its still a matter of picking the lesser of two evils when it comes to tank size for me. If you know the fish you want is a vigorous swimmer than logic tells us it needs a tank on the larger end of the scale. 6 Foot is the industry standard largest tank hence thats the one thats called for.

Im in the UK by the way - Same as you i believe and totally understand the less space, smaller tank thing - But my tank size still dictates my stocking - Always - If i cant accomodate it i dont have it.

i cant think · Oct 29, 2021

LiamPM said:
The larger they go - The more happy most will be - Same with humans in that respect.

I imagine its a pretty large percentage of people that have Ctenochaetus in 3-4 feet tanks. It seems to be the normal recommendation these days and as much as the "patches" theory may be incorrect it does still hold weight. They just dont dart around like headless chickens as much as say the Acanthurus do and tend to be much more focused on picking at surfaces all day long rather than territory defences. Which is where the bulk of the recommendations come from. I personally dont see a need for it. Surgeonfish are great - But if your circumstances, building or tank size dont accomodate one then find a different species you can. There are a huge amount of fish available in this hobby for all sizes of tanks, none better than the next.

Its all a game of "our tanks are too small for all fish" at the end of the day but its still a matter of picking the lesser of two evils when it comes to tank size for me. If you know the fish you want is a vigorous swimmer than logic tells us it needs a tank on the larger end of the scale. 6 Foot is the industry standard largest tank hence thats the one thats called for.

Im in the UK by the way - Same as you i believe and totally understand the less space, smaller tank thing - But my tank size still dictates my stocking - Always - If i cant accomodate it i dont have it.

Yeah, I do a similar thing but have a jade wrasse in a 4’ tank (Said to get 8” but I highly doubt one would get there in captivity) if it gets to say 6” then it may tell me it’s time to trade it for another wrasse or two which is why I say you can have your dream fish in smaller tanks just be prepared to trade or upgrade.
I think a lot of the time people also get ideas from videos and stuff that show these tangs in cube tanks - Although yes they’re small, its still cruel to the fish.