Do Tangs And Foxfaces Really Need Massive Tanks?

[nicisareefer]

I have a really small foxface that is about 2 inches in my 34 gallon who is on algae duty, and in a month it will be moved to my reefer 300. Do tangs and foxfaces actually need 100 plus gallons of swimming space, or does tankmates and hiding spots matter more? Whatdo you reefers think?

 

[Bbio]

I would say realistically they need about 4+ feet of horizontal, unobstructed swimming space.

You can double the swimming space if you put your scape in the middle and they can also swim behind it.

A foxface and many tangs can get quite large.

 

[Naso180!]

Depending on the species of tang. Yes, ultimately a giant tank. Naso tangs for example can reach well over a foot. Some larger. That's said, they can live in a 4 ft tank easily for years. Especially if you get a juvenile.

 

[Fish Fan]

Swimming space matters most for these fish, and the problem can be that they grow much more quickly than a lot of people expect. I wouldn't underestimate how much room they need, and how fast they can grow.

 

[Biokabe]

It depends entirely on your the species of fish, and your definition of "giant."

The absolute bare minimum for the least demanding tangs is probably 3 feet long, and I do think that's pushing it. More realistically, 4 feet is what they need. From what I've read and experienced, a 4-foot long, 75-120 gallon tank is sufficient for most tangs in the Ctenochaetus genus (chevron are the notable exception, not that you can get a chevron tang these days), some Zebrasoma (yellow tangs, mostly, with some people reporting success with purple tangs), and some Acanthurus (Lavender, Zebra, Convict, Mimic). You might be able to have a second tang if your tank is a larger 4-foot tank, but I personally wouldn't push it.

For foxfaces, there's really only one that stays small enough for a 4-foot tank, the one-spot foxface. The others get considerably larger.

The tangs I've had (tomini, blue-lip, lavender) have all been pretty active swimmers that don't really care about hiding spaces so much. They'll cruise through the rockwork looking for algae, and they've all chosen a preferred sleeping cave, but they like being out and about and cruising through the tank.

I think rockwork can make the foxface feel a little bit more comfortable (it doesn't cruise about as much as the tangs I've had), but even so it still wants enough room to feel like it can spread its fins about.

Personally I don't think a 4 foot tank is giant. I don't even think a 6 foot tank is giant, even though I don't currently have anywhere in my house that I could put a 6-foot tank.

 

[Subsea]

With respect to the title, it depends on individual fish within the species. I have kept Tangs > 50yrs and stopped 1 year ago when I decided that I wanted ornamental seaweeds in my 120G display. In general as fish age, they often develop alpha agression within the tank.

 

[exnisstech]

I kept a wild yellow and two spot bristle tooth in a reefer 300 for 2 years. They seemed fine, no aggression at all and healthy. I say seemed because I moved them into a 4ft peninsula with rock scape in the middle so the have two 4ft swim lanes. I can't believe how much more active they are now. I have two mp40s cranked up on the back wall and the two spot hears them wind up when kicking into NT mode and he goes over and swims into the flow like us being on a tread mill. So I guess they were surviving in the 300 but far from thriving.
I have 9 other tangs and moved from a 72x24x24" because I felt it was two small. They're in an 84" tank now and I wish I could have gone larger. As @Subsea mentioned they change as they mature. I have a 5yo convict who was the most mellow and is now becoming quite the butt head. I like to have an exit strategy when trying fish that may or may not work. Sorry I can't comment on the foxface tho I've just started thinking of adding one for bubble algae in the tank with the two tangs.