Purple tang in 75 gallon

[tmcd94]

On the topic of tang and accommodation, I consider the moments immediately before and after light off the most telling observation time for community dynamics.

If the fishes don't start to become more restless as light off draws near, it's a sign that the social hierarchy is stable, and (almost) all fishes have their need for space met, even if at the bare minimum level.

If there is an increase in posturing, pacing or any stress behavior during those period. Then I consider the accomdation is inadequate.

This observation is important because it allows us to catch the sign of fishes out growing their original hide. We can rectify the problem before further aggression kicks in.

Interesting you say that about the moments before and after the lights go out. I have noticed that behavior after my yellow tang was first added, and also after the tank was restructured. The behavior would go away after a few days and everyone had their new sleeping spots.

The yellow tang was way more of a bully than my purple, yet he was half the size. I'd be more hesitant to get a yellow tang than a purple tang again, based on my experience with their behavior.

 

[J1a]

The reason (according to my imagination) is that a space to hide is 100000x more important than a space to feed.

If a fish does not have a hiding place at night, 99.5% (unsubstantiated) it's gonna become reef shark food.

If a fish don't have a place to feed... Well.. It's not the end of the world.

 

[J1a]

Interesting you say that about the moments before and after the lights go out. I have noticed that behavior after my yellow tang was first added, and also after the tank was restructured. The behavior would go away after a few days and everyone had their new sleeping spots.

The yellow tang was way more of a bully than my purple, yet he was half the size. I'd be more hesitant to get a yellow tang than a purple tang again, based on my experience with their behavior.

That's also why I prefer to go against common advice to add fish after lights out. I would rather give them a good half a day to sort out who is boss and who sleeps where.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

I agree at some level that very experienced reefers may have success with it but think of the majority who are novices walking into their LFS with the kid begging for dory in the tank and then they read a post from a 15 year experienced expert saying you can do it no problem....cmon we all know the end result.

I am not sure I understand what you point is. Does it matter OP put the purple tang in a 75g or a 300g if he/she has no experience? There will be growing pains. There will be ich/velvet outbreaks. There will be crashes. There will be failures and hopefully not the catastrophic ones. Whether its a 75 or 300g, its all the same. If anything, the OP will need more experience to maintain that larger aquarium and not just the purple tang.

I personally would advise the OP to start off with hardier fish. Gain much needed experience as he/she will experience outbreaks, failures and understand what correct husbandry of a saltwater tank is all about.

 

[Lavey29]

I am not sure I understand what you point is. Does it matter OP put the purple tang in a 75g or a 300g if he/she has no experience? There will be growing pains. There will be ich/velvet outbreaks. There will be crashes. There will be failures and hopefully not the catastrophic ones. Whether its a 75 or 300g, its all the same. If anything, the OP will need more experience to maintain that larger aquarium and not just the purple tang.

I personally would advise the OP to start off with hardier fish. Gain much needed experience as he/she will experience outbreaks, failures and understand what correct husbandry of a saltwater tank is all about.

My view on this is clear

 

[JPM San Diego]

What are the dimension of your tank?
Please provide the "open water" length and width.
What I mean to say is, if you have piled up the back half of your tank with rocks, just measure the space in front of the rocks. If your rock work is more scatter, and there are open spaces going front to back, then provide the full depth measurement.
Thank you

 

[i cant think]

I’m actually against the thought of ANY tang that isn’t a Ctenochaetus in a 4’ tank. The other genera of tang get a, much larger than the 4” Ctenochaetus can get and b, are MUCH bigger swimmers than Ctenochaetus. My Binotatus can get from 1 side of the tank to the other side of the tank within 3-4 flaps of its fins.
Here’s my 4’x2’x2’ tank and two videos of one of the more “Calm” swimming tangs in it:

 

[|Tom the Bomb|]

I’m actually against the thought of ANY tang that isn’t a Ctenochaetus in a 4’ tank. The other genera of tang get a, much larger than the 4” Ctenochaetus can get and b, are MUCH bigger swimmers than Ctenochaetus. My Binotatus can get from 1 side of the tank to the other side of the tank within 3-4 flaps of its fins.
Here’s my 4’x2’x2’ tank and two videos of one of the more “Calm” swimming tangs in it:

I 100% agree with this


purples or any tang except for smaller ctenochaetus for that matter are too active and large (upwards of a foot) for a 75 or 90g, 90s are basically taller 75s anyways.

I'd go with a small ctenochaetus for a 75/90

 

[i cant think]

I 100% agree with this


purples or any tang except for smaller ctenochaetus for that matter are too active and large (upwards of a foot) for a 75 or 90g, 90s are basically taller 75s anyways.

I'd go with a small ctenochaetus for a 75/90

Yes! Also a list of the smaller Ctenochaetus are:
C. binotatus - Twin Spot Bristletooth (The one I own)
C. flavicauda - White Tail Bristletooth
C. CF striatus - Orange Lined Bristletooth
C. Tominiensis - Gold Rush/Tomini Tang
C. CF strigosus - Indian Gold Ring Bristletooth
C. sp 1 - Blue Lip Bristletooth

Photos of each one:

 

[tmcd94]

Yes! Also a list of the smaller Ctenochaetus are:
C. binotatus - Twin Spot Bristletooth (The one I own)
C. flavicauda - White Tail Bristletooth
C. CF striatus - Orange Lined Bristletooth
C. Tominiensis - Gold Rush/Tomini Tang
C. CF strigosus - Indian Gold Ring Bristletooth
C. sp 1 - Blue Lip Bristletooth

Photos of each one:

Do you actually refer to the fish by latin in conversation? Seems a bit unnecessary when the common name is widely used outside of academia and research purposes, especially when the topic is in regards to a person new to marine fish keeping.

The black and white logic of no tang, besides certain Bristletooth’s, being comfortable in a 4’ tank doesn’t make much sense. There are many variables that go into each fish and their comfort level in any aquarium.

Such as a 1-2” hippo tang. I can’t think of one logical thought that would prevent that tang from living a quality of life similar to a 3-4” clown in the same tank, other than referencing Liveaquaria and saying it must be in a 1xx gallon tank minimum because the site says tho.

 

[MnFish1]

Based on what? I've never seen anyone recommend before that a fish that size will be healthy in this small of a tank.

I have a purple tang in a redsea reefer 525 xl - I guess its about 5 feet long. It is 105 gallons and doing fine - with 2 yellow tangs and a harlequin tusk. I guess I've had it for 5+ years. Off topic - given the price of yellow tangs I'm thinking of selling the lol

 

[MnFish1]

IMHO - you can do whatever you want. Also IMHO - 75 gallons is on the small side. The reason I say this is they do tend to get jumpy in small tanks - and territorial.

But - its funny (to me) - I know I will get criticism for this 'heresy' - but - the people (like me) that have tangs in 5 foot tanks say thats enough. The people that have 6 foot tanks say thats required. The people that have 8 foot tanks say thats required, etc etc etc.

In reality - very few of the fish ANY of us keep - let alone tangs - are in a tank anywhere NEAR the size of their natural range. There is quite a bit of research on this as a matter of fact. So - rather than "arguing" about 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 foot tanks - maybe we shoudl be discussing whether its appropriate to keep tangs at all? (and angelfish, and triggers, etc)

 

[i cant think]

Do you actually refer to the fish by latin in conversation? Seems a bit unnecessary when the common name is widely used outside of academia and research purposes, especially when the topic is in regards to a person new to marine fish keeping.

The black and white logic of no tang, besides certain Bristletooth’s, being comfortable in a 4’ tank doesn’t make much sense. There are many variables that go into each fish and their comfort level in any aquarium.

Such as a 1-2” hippo tang. I can’t think of one logical thought that would prevent that tang from living a quality of life similar to a 3-4” clown in the same tank, other than referencing Liveaquaria and saying it must be in a 1xx gallon tank minimum because the site says tho.

Yes, I do actually refer to the fish by Latin names. The reason for this is how in the UK our common names can be VERY wild compared to yours. I.E. Twin Spot Bristletooth = Blue Eye Kole Tang, Tomini Tang = Gold Rush Tang, Gold Rim Tang = Powder Brown Tang, Powder Brown Tang = Goldrim Tang, ect. And that’s JUST a few of the tanks, they get worse.
And yes, I know not just bristletooth will cope but long term, 4’ is going to be hell for any other species in terms of space. I mean let’s face it a 2 foot Acanthurus is NEVER going to be happy in a tank only twice it’s size. I find it better to have the tang in its forever home from the start (Of course not always the case with things like Achilles as they’re in and out sparatically).

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Do you actually refer to the fish by latin in conversation? Seems a bit unnecessary when the common name is widely used outside of academia and research purposes, especially when the topic is in regards to a person new to marine fish keeping.

The black and white logic of no tang, besides certain Bristletooth’s, being comfortable in a 4’ tank doesn’t make much sense. There are many variables that go into each fish and their comfort level in any aquarium.

Such as a 1-2” hippo tang. I can’t think of one logical thought that would prevent that tang from living a quality of life similar to a 3-4” clown in the same tank, other than referencing Liveaquaria and saying it must be in a 1xx gallon tank minimum because the site says tho.

I keep cichlids and we use their scientific names almost 100%. I find it interesting how in the saltwater community rarely use scientific names even though IMO people in the saltwater community are more informed.

 

[tmcd94]

Yes, I do actually refer to the fish by Latin names. The reason for this is how in the UK our common names can be VERY wild compared to yours. I.E. Twin Spot Bristletooth = Blue Eye Kole Tang, Tomini Tang = Gold Rush Tang, Gold Rim Tang = Powder Brown Tang, Powder Brown Tang = Goldrim Tang, ect. And that’s JUST a few of the tanks, they get worse.
And yes, I know not just bristletooth will cope but long term, 4’ is going to be hell for any other species in terms of space. I mean let’s face it a 2 foot Acanthurus is NEVER going to be happy in a tank only twice it’s size. I find it better to have the tang in its forever home from the start (Of course not always the case with things like Achilles as they’re in and out sparatically).

Ahh that’s interesting with the naming convention over there. Learn something new every day.
I do agree long term, the keeper would have to be responsible and know before they purchase the fish that they plan on upgrading.

In a perfect world the fish would be in the same tank for its entire life, but very few reef hobbyist are going to jump into the hobby at a 125 gallon plus tank, even tho stability wise it’s easier.

You and I both agree that the fishes best interest must always come first, just differ on our route to that same conclusion.

 

[i cant think]

Ahh that’s interesting with the naming convention over there. Learn something new every day.
I do agree long term, the keeper would have to be responsible and know before they purchase the fish that they plan on upgrading.

In a perfect world the fish would be in the same tank for its entire life, but very few reef hobbyist are going to jump into the hobby at a 125 gallon plus tank, even tho stability wise it’s easier.

You and I both agree that the fishes best interest must always come first, just differ on our route to that same conclusion.

I definitely agree that a 1-2” fish can thrive in a smaller tank but it should be in its final tank just before it’s at max size. I have had a Scopas in a 3’ tank before but even at 2.5-3” it was a nightmare and caused a blood bath. I then accidentally killed it in an ammonia incident in my 4’ tank. But I have learnt from the mistake I’ve done in the past though and did stick to a smaller tang when it came to the algae (Along with a foxface to help combat it).

 

[Simon Reefing]

Why not get different tang? I have a scopes tang in an 80 gallon tank from waterbox but it’s 5 ft and honestly that’s probably the smallest I would go. I only have three other small fish to. There are other beautiful tangs besides the purple.

fish will survive in any size tank I have my scopes in a 30 long before I got my waterbox. Only because I gave my brother my other tank so it was a holding tank but he survived. He swam fine and even got fat but once I put him back in a bigger tank you can see their color change into a happy fish. Although I’m in line with others that we are taking this animal out of the ocean and should provide for it the best we can.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I have a purple tank in a 120 G. I got it 2 years ago and it was very small. It is now probably 7"or so , is still growing and is doing well so far. My tank is 6' long. However I saw a purple tank in my LFS a few days ago and that tang was probably twice the size of mine, and the LFS employee told me they can get even bigger. If mine becomes as big, even my 120G tank will be too small for my purple tang.
So definitively 75 G is too small for long term. There are many other beautiful smaller fish you could get.

 

[Grumblez]

I have a purple tank in a 120 G. I got it 2 years ago and it was very small. It is now probably 7"or so , is still growing and is doing well so far. My tank is 6' long. However I saw a purple tank in my LFS a few days ago and that tang was probably twice the size of mine, and the LFS employee told me they can get even bigger. If mine becomes as big, even my 120G tank will be too small for my purple tang.
So definitively 75 G is too small for long term. There are many other beautiful smaller fish you could get.

If someone has a 14" purple tang they should mount it on one of those fish placards fisherman use when it dies since they are supposed to max at 10"

Zebrasoma xanthurum - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[tmcd94]

If someone has a 14" purple tang they should mount it on one of those fish placards fisherman use when it dies since they are supposed to max at 10"

Zebrasoma xanthurum - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Lol at first I was hesitant to believe his purple tang grew 7" in two years, then after reading the 14" purple tang at the LFS I'm even more skeptical.