Naso Tang, help me out here

[huthain]

So im in the process of recieving my redsea 750 which is a 6 foot tank. The Blonde Naso is honestly a fish i am absolutely in love with but I am finding so much conflicting information about tank size with some saying 6 feet is good and some saying its too small.
Where im from animals are generally not treated well unfortunately, ive rescued over 100s of cats and dogs because of this and rehomed them, some outside to USA. Ive seen someone come in purchase a sailfin, purple, gem tang, sohal, kole tang, yellow tang and a hippo tang for his 2 feet tank I **** you not. We get quite a few nasos coming in and they always get sold quickly and im 100% confident majority of them end up in tanks significantly smaller than a 6 foot tank and possibly overstocked as well. Maybe this is me trying to justify that even if 6 feet is too small it will still probably be in a better home than most other buyers. Ive seen all LFS using the line of a fish will only grow according to the tank its placed in.
So help me out here whats the verdict? Im not going to have a few other small fish like blennies, wrasse, goby etc. But will also have a foxface and potentially 2 to 3 other tangs like the hippo, purple and bristletooth.

Would love to hear all your thoughts.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So im in the process of recieving my redsea 750 which is a 6 foot tank. The Blonde Naso is honestly a fish i am absolutely in love with but I am finding so much conflicting information about tank size with some saying 6 feet is good and some saying its too small.
Where im from animals are generally not treated well unfortunately, ive rescued over 100s of cats and dogs because of this and rehomed them, some outside to USA. Ive seen someone come in purchase a sailfin, purple, gem tang, sohal, kole tang, yellow tang and a hippo tang for his 2 feet tank I **** you not. We get quite a few nasos coming in and they always get sold quickly and im 100% confident majority of them end up in tanks significantly smaller than a 6 foot tank and possibly overstocked as well. Maybe this is me trying to justify that even if 6 feet is too small it will still probably be in a better home than most other buyers. Ive seen all LFS using the line of a fish will only grow according to the tank its placed in.
So help me out here whats the verdict? Im not going to have a few other small fish like blennies, wrasse, goby etc. But will also have a foxface and potentially 2 to 3 other tangs like the hippo, purple and bristletooth.

Would love to hear all your thoughts.

First, there have been a huge number of reports of blonde naso's failing to adapt to captivity and dying within the first 40 days or so. This didn't used to be such an issue, but ever since covid, it has been an problem. I suspect that the supply chain has changed and these fish are now being exposed to shipping/handling stress that they just cannot recover from.

For the "tank size" issue, take a look at this article I posted:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

 

[ndrwater]

Depending on the size of the fish when you get it, a 6' tank is probably fine for a while.
The tang police will clutch their pearls saying that you need a massive tank regardless..
Get what you want, if/when it outgrows the tank, rehome it. Problem solved

 

[Gordo8]

I’ve had a Naso tang in my 6ft 200 gall tank for over five years now. I got her when she was small and dosed her with copper for a two weeks in qt. I’ve had zero issues with her and she gets along with my other tangs.

 

[huthain]

First, there have been a huge number of reports of blonde naso's failing to adapt to captivity and dying within the first 40 days or so. This didn't used to be such an issue, but ever since covid, it has been an problem. I suspect that the supply chain has changed and these fish are now being exposed to shipping/handling stress that they just cannot recover from.

For the "tank size" issue, take a look at this article I posted:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

Oh haven't heard of that good to know! I already had read your article and based on those calculations the results do show that the tank size is too small for a naso.

 

[huthain]

Depending on the size of the fish when you get it, a 6' tank is probably fine for a while.
The tang police will clutch their pearls saying that you need a massive tank regardless..
Get what you want, if/when it outgrows the tank, rehome it. Problem solved

Rehoming here is almost impossible. Not too many in the hobby and the ones that are would usually have tanks my size or smaller. So what I take in needs to be permanent.

 

[huthain]

I’ve had a Naso tang in my 6ft 200 gall tank for over five years now. I got her when she was small and dosed her with copper for a two weeks in qt. I’ve had zero issues with her and she gets along with my other tangs.

What size was it when you got it and how big is she now? Also how's your stocking? Any other tangs?

 

[huthain]

First, there have been a huge number of reports of blonde naso's failing to adapt to captivity and dying within the first 40 days or so. This didn't used to be such an issue, but ever since covid, it has been an problem. I suspect that the supply chain has changed and these fish are now being exposed to shipping/handling stress that they just cannot recover from.

For the "tank size" issue, take a look at this article I posted:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

Jay on this topic plus the quarantine, how do you go about quarantining a large fish like a naso given no quarantine tank is suitable for its size and it would have to stay in there 2 or more months

 

[Gordo8]

It was a juvenile, so pretty small, and now a little over six inches. My tank is fully stocked with queen angel, blue hippo tang, powder brown tang, purple tang, fox face and a few smaller fish. All get along great.

 

[huthain]

It was a juvenile, so pretty small, and now a little over six inches. My tank is fully stocked with queen angel, blue hippo tang, powder brown tang, purple tang, fox face and a few smaller fish. All get along great.

The ones ive seen for sale here are mostly at a minimum 6 inches but usually I would say closer to 8 inches

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay on this topic plus the quarantine, how do you go about quarantining a large fish like a naso given no quarantine tank is suitable for its size and it would have to stay in there 2 or more months

There is no good solution for that. Quarantine means to isolate the new fish from existing fish so that it doesn't bring a disease into the existing tank and infect those fish. There are two types of quarantine: reactive and proactive. For reactive, you hold the fish in isolation and treat if you see a disease. I prefer the proactive method, where you assume the new fish has been exposed to disease at some point before you got it, so you treat them (even if they don't show symptoms).

I would avoid buying a fish if you don't have a quarantine system that fits it. Another possibility is to just add the fish to your display and cross your finger (grin). That works in some cases. In other cases, if the fish then develops flukes, you can treat those in the display without harming the other animals. However, if the new fish develops a protozoan infection like ich or velvet, you would then need to move ALL of the fish to a treatment tank, as the treatments for those are not compatible with corals and invertebrates.

 

[huthain]

There is no good solution for that. Quarantine means to isolate the new fish from existing fish so that it doesn't bring a disease into the existing tank and infect those fish. There are two types of quarantine: reactive and proactive. For reactive, you hold the fish in isolation and treat if you see a disease. I prefer the proactive method, where you assume the new fish has been exposed to disease at some point before you got it, so you treat them (even if they don't show symptoms).

I would avoid buying a fish if you don't have a quarantine system that fits it. Another possibility is to just add the fish to your display and cross your finger (grin). That works in some cases. In other cases, if the fish then develops flukes, you can treat those in the display without harming the other animals. However, if the new fish develops a protozoan infection like ich or velvet, you would then need to move ALL of the fish to a treatment tank, as the treatments for those are not compatible with corals and invertebrates.

Im going to follow your quarantine steps and do proactively after losing most of my fish from ich.

But are you saying even though i have a 6 foot tank im limited by the size of the quarantine tank? And a fish like a Naso or some other larger tangs won't survive for 2 months in quarantine?

 

[Gordo8]

I would check with Dr Reef and see what size they have. They qt at a reasonable price and I’ve had great success with them. Plus they have a sale this weekend. https://drreefsquarantinedfish.com

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Im going to follow your quarantine steps and do proactively after losing most of my fish from ich.

But are you saying even though i have a 6 foot tank im limited by the size of the quarantine tank? And a fish like a Naso or some other larger tangs won't survive for 2 months in quarantine?

No - the tank size is for long term maintenance of the fish. For quarantine, you can easily hold a fish like that for 50+ days in a 40 gallon tank (36"x14"x18" wide) as long as there are not a lot of other fish in with it.

 

[huthain]

No - the tank size is for long term maintenance of the fish. For quarantine, you can easily hold a fish like that for 50+ days in a 40 gallon tank (36"x14"x18" wide) as long as there are not a lot of other fish in with it.

Ok fair enough, thanks Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

So im in the process of recieving my redsea 750 which is a 6 foot tank. The Blonde Naso is honestly a fish i am absolutely in love with but I am finding so much conflicting information about tank size with some saying 6 feet is good and some saying its too small.
Where im from animals are generally not treated well unfortunately, ive rescued over 100s of cats and dogs because of this and rehomed them, some outside to USA. Ive seen someone come in purchase a sailfin, purple, gem tang, sohal, kole tang, yellow tang and a hippo tang for his 2 feet tank I **** you not. We get quite a few nasos coming in and they always get sold quickly and im 100% confident majority of them end up in tanks significantly smaller than a 6 foot tank and possibly overstocked as well. Maybe this is me trying to justify that even if 6 feet is too small it will still probably be in a better home than most other buyers. Ive seen all LFS using the line of a fish will only grow according to the tank its placed in.
So help me out here whats the verdict? Im not going to have a few other small fish like blennies, wrasse, goby etc. But will also have a foxface and potentially 2 to 3 other tangs like the hippo, purple and bristletooth.

Would love to hear all your thoughts.

I agree on Min 6 foot tank and 8' is best.

 

[huthain]

I agree on Min 6 foot tank and 8' is best.

So would you say 6 feet they'll get by rather than thrive?

 

[vetteguy53081]

So would you say 6 feet they'll get by rather than thrive?

I have an 11" and it did not take long for this fish to attain that. They require length and depth as they tend to be an active tank dweller. I have a total of 30 tangs and May go back to a 660 gallon which I once had

 

[huthain]

I have an 11" and it did not take long for this fish to attain that. They require length and depth as they tend to be an active tank dweller. I have a total of 30 tangs and May go back to a 660 gallon which I once had

So youre saying I should pass on it :( only planning on adding 3 more tangs and a bunch of other small fish plus a foxface

 

[vetteguy53081]

So youre saying I should pass on it :( only planning on adding 3 more tangs and a bunch of other small fish plus a foxface

You have good choice for your tank which are also able to dwell happily such as flame tomini tang. lavender, convict, kole tang (great algae eater), lavendar as examples