Do people overexaggerate tangs

[i cant think]

I have actually seen some VERY happy achilles and goldrims in the LFS tanks and they’ve not shown stress for months in those tanks so that’s why I find the A. achilles and A. nigricans to be the better tangs for smaller tanks (6’-8’). Leucosternon’s and japonicus’ tend to be more pacing and less calm swimming in those tanks which is why I avoid them. If I could get a purple in my tank that didn’t get 6-7” long I would have that over the yellows (Again, much more calm swimmers in smaller tanks from what I’ve seen).

 

[Zionas]

Your observations are interesting as always. I didn’t realize Purples got to 6-7” so regularly. Perhaps Yellows remain a lot smaller in captivity? And were you trying to refer to Yellows being much calmer swimmers?

Many Acanthurus Tangs either get large or have a very nervous, overly active and as you said, a pacing kind of swimming style. This is why I personally prefer other fish. Sure some are pretty in that genus but after some thought, they don’t hold that much appeal to me overall.

It’s interesting how you mentioned Achilles and the “real” Powder Browns seem a lot less prone to this than the Japonicus and Powder Blue.

Considering their susceptibility to disease, aggression and just the fact that they’re Ferraris and Lamborghinis even among the Tang family, I don’t think I’ll have an Acanthurus for a long time to come if ever.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its all about water quality and diet and which are stocked first and last. I have 13 tangs and the purple very Occassionally chases but none of them fight. I obviously introduced the most likely aggressor last

 

[KyOsIBa515]

This is my two cents on this matter. I have housed several tangs in a 4ft tank over the years. It isn’t about if you can keep one happy or healthy. All my tangs have been healthy as can be. It is a matter of when not if (outside of my yellow tang) will they get aggressive with other fish.

I just gave my purple tang that I got as a small juvenile to a friend with a 10ft 450 gallon tank because the purple tang finally got big enough where he was chasing all the fish. Not inflicting damage yet but letting it be know this was now officially all his tank. Expect this to happen if you wish to keep one in a smaller foot print tank and also have a plan in case there are aggression issues.

 

[J1a]

This is my two cents on this matter. I have housed several tangs in a 4ft tank over the years. It isn’t about if you can keep one happy or healthy. All my tangs have been healthy as can be. It is a matter of when not if (outside of my yellow tang) will they get aggressive with other fish.

I just gave my purple tang that I got as a small juvenile to a friend with a 10ft 450 gallon tank because the purple tang finally got big enough where he was chasing all the fish. Not inflicting damage yet but letting it be know this was now officially all his tank. Expect this to happen if you wish to keep one in a smaller foot print tank and also have a plan in case there are aggression issues.

I think you have made an excellent point. Tangs co-exist well now does not automatically mean they will co-exist well as they grow. It's true for many fishes really.

 

[Merv49]

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

If you compare a fish tank to the ocean how do you quantify what is adequate room for any captive fish. This argument is totally useless. Does a loon in a zoo have enough space?? How about a Killer Whale?

 

[kennyreef]

While diving in the Caribbean I saw how juveniles tang don’t swim away from their rock. They tend to grace on a small area not wondering away unless you spook them. They start schooling and swimming from reef to reef as they mature and need more food since they school together for protection but that mean they devours everything on their path.

Do tang need space, yes as they grow they’ll need space, specially if keeping multiples.

the same reason a clownfish will need space one mature cause they can get up to 5” but will take time, that same way work with tang, although this grow faster. Is all about keeping up with they growth rate.

 

[KyOsIBa515]

I think you have made an excellent point. Tangs co-exist well now does not automatically mean they will co-exist well as they grow. It's true for many fishes really.

Indeed. Outside of my yellow tang the 3 other tangs I had eventually within a few years became aggressive. Acanthurus species seemed to become more territorial and aggressive once they got bigger than the Zebramosa species did.

 

[Zionas]

The problem in my view when it comes to keeping a “school” of Tangs is that we’re still not entirely clear on their sexual allocation. Are they hermaphrodites? Or are they gonochoristic? Since Tangs are textbook pelagic spawners, they require huge facilities to spawn.

I am also not sure whether they spawn “randomly” or whether they pair off to spawn even if they shoal / school in the wild. That I’m not entirely sure about. We know very well that other fish like Clowns (spawn in pairs although live in harems in the wild), Angels (spawn in pairs and harems) and some others spawn as a mated pair, in harems or both, but with Tangs we’re really not so sure as to what their precise social and sexual structure is.

I’m mostly talking Zebrasoma.

Whereas an angelfish male spawns with one or multiple females in his territory, Clowns have a dominant male and female and the rest don’t get to reproduce until one out of the dominant pair dies and the surviving one changes sex and the next one in line becomes the new male.

We’re not so sure what Tangs do.

 

[J1a]

The problem in my view when it comes to keeping a “school” of Tangs is that we’re still not entirely clear on their sexual allocation. Are they hermaphrodites? Or are they gonochoristic? Since Tangs are textbook pelagic spawners, they require huge facilities to spawn.

I am also not sure whether they spawn “randomly” or whether they pair off to spawn even if they shoal / school in the wild. That I’m not entirely sure about. We know very well that other fish like Clowns (spawn in pairs although live in harems in the wild), Angels (spawn in pairs and harems) and some others spawn as a mated pair, in harems or both, but with Tangs we’re really not so sure as to what their precise social and sexual structure is.

I’m mostly talking Zebrasoma.

Whereas an angelfish male spawns with one or multiple females in his territory, Clowns have a dominant male and female and the rest don’t get to reproduce until one out of the dominant pair dies and the surviving one changes sex and the next one in line becomes the new male.

We’re not so sure what Tangs do.

I remember seeing a documentary before, where tangs (pbt I think) school and move to a spawning site. Then they basically do the typical broadcast spawner thing. Dash vertically upwards and release the gametes at the apex.

 

[Zionas]

That’s interesting. Was anything said about whether they change sex?

 

[J1a]

That’s interesting. Was anything said about whether they change sex?

Not that I remember.

 

[Zionas]

I’m very into keeping fish as pairs and trios, and I haven’t seen many people do that with Tangs successfully, which makes me suspect pairing or forming small harems isn’t their natural behavior.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

This is my two cents on this matter. I have housed several tangs in a 4ft tank over the years. It isn’t about if you can keep one happy or healthy. All my tangs have been healthy as can be. It is a matter of when not if (outside of my yellow tang) will they get aggressive with other fish.

I just gave my purple tang that I got as a small juvenile to a friend with a 10ft 450 gallon tank because the purple tang finally got big enough where he was chasing all the fish. Not inflicting damage yet but letting it be know this was now officially all his tank. Expect this to happen if you wish to keep one in a smaller foot print tank and also have a plan in case there are aggression issues.

This.

This isn't my first time with a Acanthurus tang in a 4ft tank. Got the PBT from a co-worker that had him in a 60 cube. He's already going after my Gold Spot Rabbitfish which surprises me due to the spines being poisonous. I'm hoping it will 'settle' down, but I may have to pull the PBT and off to the LFS he goes.

 

[J1a]

I’m very into keeping fish as pairs and trios, and I haven’t seen many people do that with Tangs successfully, which makes me suspect pairing or forming small harems isn’t their natural behavior.

I definately agree with you. I would say tangs co-exist because they tolerate each other, rather than forming any true bonds.

In the wild, tangs school mostly to overwhlem residential fishes so that they can graze.

 

[SHINYSuccubus]

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 have a Hippo Tang, two Yellow Tangs, and I plan to add a Blonde Naso to the mix once I’ve moved everyone over to my new tank. My Hippo is a serious swimmer - it does continuous laps in my 150gT. I think it will appreciate moving to a 200g where it has more room. My Yellows do lazy circuits of the tank, space doesn’t seem to be as important to them. I don’t think adding a Naso to the 200g will be a problem.

 

[SHINYSuccubus]

Mine stay around the whole tank… 2 years of feeding them in the same spot, I find this abnormal though, I have a bristletooth, 5 wrasse, CBB, Genicanthus melanospilos, and a Foxface. None of them stay around where I feed and always peck the rocks, that’s normal in my eyes. No tang should be constantly swimming and more peck a rock every so often as they drive by.

my tangs are constant peckers - i leave one wall of the tank deliberately covered in algae and they love it. they pick at the rocks as well. [1 hippo, 2 yellows]

 

[Jesterrace]

I'm of 2 minds on the subject. I don't think every tang needs a 6-8 foot tank like some claim, but on the flipside I have seen some careless folks tell newbies that there is nothing wrong with sticking a Tang in a 20-40 gallon tank AND then don't bother mentioning that the Tang will outgrow it in a year or two. Saw one idiot who bragged about keeping a Yellow in a 22 gallon Hex tank with no issues. When pressed further he admitted he bought them all at around 2 inches and then got rid of them and replaced them every year. He didn't bother mentioning this though until questioned. Bottom line we don't need to adhere to minimum tank sizes mentioned by live aquaria like some kind of Holy Doctrine but we also do need to be responsible and let people know that there needs to be a plan in place for fish that clearly aren't suited for a given tank long term.

 

[alain Bouchard]

they are living thing, these are general guidelines...just like dogs, you can say that XYZ breed of dog is known to be aggressive, but its not a fact that it will be aggressive.

 

[i cant think]

they are living thing, these are general guidelines...just like dogs, you can say that XYZ breed of dog is known to be aggressive, but its not a fact that it will be aggressive.

+1 to this, I do however find the larger the tank the more the aggression gets dispersed.

I'm of 2 minds on the subject. I don't think every tang needs a 6-8 foot tank like some claim, but on the flipside I have seen some careless folks tell newbies that there is nothing wrong with sticking a Tang in a 20-40 gallon tank AND then don't bother mentioning that the Tang will outgrow it in a year or two. Saw one idiot who bragged about keeping a Yellow in a 22 gallon Hex tank with no issues. When pressed further he admitted he bought them all at around 2 inches and then got rid of them and replaced them every year. He didn't bother mentioning this though until questioned. Bottom line we don't need to adhere to minimum tank sizes mentioned by live aquaria like some kind of Holy Doctrine but we also do need to be responsible and let people know that there needs to be a plan in place for fish that clearly aren't suited for a given tank long term.

while yes this is true, not many people will follow what they get told by others. I would still prefer to see a photo of the OP’s tank because with just words, I can’t really imagine much on the good side. Also @Dave1993 how is the PBT doing? Also, what size is it, I think that’s the key to how you know if it’s too big (4”+ PBTs won’t fit in a 4’ tank and thrive, they will survive though).