Do people overexaggerate tangs

[vetteguy53081]

Yes but very few tangs aren’t pacy in small tanks. I find some that are safer in small tanks (Achilles have thrived in my LFS and broken down into ich in large 6’ tanks).

In my 660 g were 23 tangs and same experience. Had jumbo vlamingi and sailfin along with atlantic blue, hepatus, clown and brsitlenose. Now the clown- that was a jerk

 

[Paul B]

You can keep tangs in a 1 ounce tank, as long as you keep their head under water. :rolleyes:

 

[i cant think]

It’s all about opinion with tangs… Nothing to do with what others think because let’s face it, people will do it even if they get advised against it. My most recent encounter with this was:
CBB in a month old tank… Advised against it but still did it. No fauna or anything to keep it alive.

 

[Jedi1199]

I kept a baby hippo tang in my 32g for several months. He did just fine in there. I have since moved him to my 180g (which was intended from the start). I have a Scopas and a Powder brown in the 180 along with the Hippo. They are all just fine and cruise the tank all day pecking at rocks and doing their thing.

I have a Yellow and another Hippo in my 55g. They were both very small juveniles when I got them and will eventually be moved into the 180 when I see that they are too large for the 55.

Personally, I have no problems with housing fish in tanks that they will eventually outgrow, but I also have a plan for that happening.

Where I find fault is when people get fish that are either too large for their tank to start, or have no idea or plan for what to do when the inevitable happens.

I have an agreement with my LFS that they will accept any fish I donate to them. When they outgrow my 180, they will go to the LFS and be rehomed (unless I find someone here who wants them).

For the interim, I get to enjoy the beauty and personalities of fish I love and enjoy.

 

[hart24601]

I don’t think people over exaggerate what tangs need, I do think people have a strong tendency to report how their particular fish behaves as true for all individuals of that species and many times with only a limited amount of time keeping those individual fish. I am not talking about anyone on this thread so no offense is meant, but I often see broad very aggressive statements based of one person owning a fish for a short time.

Others give advise that is based off decades of experience with the species along with knowing other hobbyists and yes, exceptions do occur with individuals. In my case I put a white tail and purple in a 120 and they paced up and down the glass constantly, clear sign to me they were not suitable for that tank. Of course tried various things including nori banded to rocks and feeding 6x or more a day and time to let settle in but to no avail. Tired again years later with a kole and tommi with similar behavior patterns although not quite as bad but They didn’t appear to have enough space to me so I personally don’t recommend any tang in a 4’ tank, but I try to give my reasoning and realistically most people do what they want anyway.

 

[Tamberav]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

Depends on the individual probably. I have a chill yellow tang but the two different koles I tried before the yellow were horribly aggressive.

 

[EugeneVan]

Yes. My Powder blue- Model citizen and not an ich magnet. I have 13 tangs with no issues.

What size is your tank? I have a power blue and power brown (both about 4 inches long) in my 210 gal. Most of the time they behave and once in an odd time, they will pick fight with each other for about 10 minutes and then back to normal. Lucky I have lot of caves for them to escape. I always want to have a purple tangs, but I am afraid if I add the purple tangs and all 3 will kill each others. BTW, my power blue and power brown are not ich magnet too.

 

[Saltandfresh]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

My blue tang is awesome and a model citizen. However blue tangs are very prone to ich. I highly recommend a UV sterilizer. Mine was showing spots off and on for a year till I hooked up a uv sterilizer over the summer. The tang hasn’t had a flare up since.

 

[jtf74]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

I don't think people over exaggerate. I've seen a yt kill a powder brown within the first two days in a 280 gallon so some tangs can be really aggressive even given space.

 

[Sumomann]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

I did the same, added purple first followed by PB 6 months later as my last 2 fish. They fight occassionally of an evening when its time for bed but nothing serious, they do not show any aggression to any of the other tank inhabitents. My large foxface is the boss of the tank lol. I think its hit and miss but is purely down to tank size and swimming space IMHO.

 

[i cant think]

To me, I’d never recommend throwing the two species of PBT into a 4’ tank unless someone had experience but even when they are experienced it’s risky. I’d always say 6’ minimum. I find that Twinspots are better suited to a 4’ tank than most of the other bristletooth tangs. Although I have had a Jade and Radiant thrive together in a 4’ tank then recently the Jade went against the radiant and began to bully. My twin spot doesn’t care about new introductions so I’m hoping I get away with adding a flashing tilefish.
I have owned fish for 10 years and bristletooths seem to be the less ich prone fish of Acanthuridae. I find these to be controversial though and just don’t go into it because of how its all about opinion over experience at this point. Again, I have experienced the PBT species absolutely panicked in the smaller tanks but then Achilles and Gold rims have just stayed calm and seem to swim more peacefully than the two Powder species. I also see the silverspot bristletooth go spastic in small tanks but twin spot bristletooth a seem to be much more like Achilles and goldrims. If I could, I would certainly be getting a hybrid Acanthurus (Preferably A. achilles x A. nigricans but Hawaii shut and that’s where there mainly or even only from).

 

[Theulli]

Rule to live by: almost nothing is as bad as people make it out to be. There’s just too much hay to be made about things being the worst or hardest ever, particularly if you have already done them.

I have a yellow tang, model citizen, requires no special care

 

[LPS Bum]

A bigger aquarium is always better when it comes to any active fish that likes to swim. More space equates to less fighting and more stability with water parameters. Having said that, I've kept Zebrasoma tangs in 4 foot tanks for many, many years. I've even kept Acanthurus tangs in 4 foot tanks and they've all done well.

IMO, the key to success with tangs is managing water quality, obtaining healthy specimens and quarantining/medicating them for a minimum of 3-4 weeks before you add them, providing a good quality diet, and giving them enough live rock for cover and grazing. Do those things, and you can make any decent sized tank (75 gallons and up) work for most tangs (save for the Unicorns and maybe the Nasos).

 

[Shooter6]

Honestly, I find people under exaggerate the tank size for their tangs. Yes some refuse to use the whole tank however when you see dinner plate sized tangs in 6’ tanks… **** me. I hate trying to say their tank is too small however it’s the truth. I find Achilles and both PBT’s/PGT’s to be very active and beyond aggressive. NEVER will I try like 5 fish with a PBT tang in a 4’ tank. Yes rockwork plays a huge role in this behaviour but I’m sorry, have you even seen how much tangs swim in the wild? It’s crazy! They’re along the reefs all day long almost never stopping their movements. I find many tangs in 6’ tanks and it’s upsetting when they’re like 6” and pacing but it’s said to be a normal behaviour. To me, when a fish stays on one side it’s a red flag of something being wrong with the other side of the tank (Most likely not enough o2).
A healthy tang will use every inch of tank they’re given, an unhealthy one or stressed one won’t do this.
I find tangs should have bigger and longer tanks. I always think “6’ for this tang minimum, so 8’ should have it be comfortable”. From that description of your tang it’s just staying at the side… Thats pacing, and that is never normal in any fish.

O2 depleted o. 1 side makes zero sense......

 

[TerraFerma]

Whatever works/looks right in your tank tang wise is what works for you - health, aggression and disease wise. Tangs and their algae eating are key for any highly lit tank to succeed. I don't keep big tanks so I buy tangs very small and when they start to look out of proportion I rehome them and repeat.

Literally no tank can recreate the ground that a tang or angelfish (or most fish we keep) would cover in day in the wild. So if your worried about keeping "free range" SW fish - that went out the door the day you bought your first fish unless it was say some blenny that hangs out in a dead barnacle all day. If a tang is healthy and doesn't look distressed I'm not sure how much better off you are keeping one in a 4 foot vs 6 foot vs 8 foot tank (size aside...if a large tang can't make a lap without banging into something that's obviously horrible).

Disease amongst imported fish is more rampant than ever. There is also a variety of Prazi resistant flukes popping up that is very worrying. Up to you if you want to get in front of all that (very labor intensive process) or just do what you can and hope for the best.

 

[Kfactor]

All be getting a tang for my 90 but going with somthing that will stay abit smaller . I think it’s more about the tang at full grown size that matters . I do think at size of tank does matter to a point I see these guys saying you need a big tank 6’ plus but see how much rock and what not they have in the tank left over don’t seem like much swimming area lol

 

[Zekireef]

O2 depleted o. 1 side makes zero sense......

Yeah O2 will always be dispersed relatively evenly, lack of O2 is an issues with tangs though, some species lurk on the reef crest and are used to water that has been aerated by wave crashes a few metres above, that’s bound to be rich in oxygen. I think many of those species sit in the acanthurus family (pbts Achilles, clowns etc.)

 

[glency]

Does captive born and bred change things?

 

[guysmiley]

if i put you in a meter square box with food youd survive would you be truly happy with the leg room im not so sure lol

 

[VR28man]

Tangs, especially the large ones, are open ocean swimmers. We should give them as much room as we can.
My Convict is now to big for my 120 and I have a 500 he is going to be rehomed to once I catch him.
My Tomini is about the right size and temperment for a 120, imo.

Just out of curiosity, what do you consider a good size for the convict tang? (Both in gallons in dimensions).

How about a group of like 5 them?