Shout Out: Smallest Tank, Biggest Tang and YOU!

[JoannaLola]

From 100g to Reefer170 (34) From sick and thin to healthy and fat. Now...is he happy? I don’t know... I know that he likes scratches every morning and follow me around. He have HLLE when I bought him and it’s not progressed, but it’s not healing either. My biggest dream is to find out why they develop this and how to cure that nasty thing. He eat 3 plus times a day and I’m buying him 30$ pellets and LRS food, spirulina and algae...Again, I think pets like humans like to have big house, rather than small apartment, but in the end as long as they are not hungry and sick, life is good... ps. I’m talking about Zebrasoma and not Hippos, Acanthurus and other big guys!

 

[Kmsutows]

Totally depends on what kind of tang and tank dimensions and what else is in the tank. Tomini or small bristletooth tangs 75-90... yellow tang over 90, ideally 125. Acanthurus tangs some would say 150 but if you do it right and have nori or ogo available 24/7 you can have them in much smaller and multiple

 

[Jesterrace]

Smallest bristletooths in the 4 feet long x 18 inch wide range. Yellow Tangs in the 5 foot long x 18 inch wide range. Anything else 6 foot long or longer x 18-24 inch wide range.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Sorry to bring this back up, but while looking into best options to feed my new Powder Blue, I came across a site that says, for the Powder Blue, a minimum tank size of 400l (or 88g) is the bare minimum.....

Although I typically look up a fish on liveaquaria to get a “basic” idea of reef compatibility, temperment and size, I don’t take everything I read as “absolute”

Either way, Liveaquaria says minimum size for a Powder Blue is 125g

again, many other factors are important too, the fact that these two particular sites differ, I believe, is in the fact that they are basing it off of what standard size aquariums are readily available.... I only know what aquariums local-big-box pet stores in the US carry, and 400l is probably just a more common size elsewhere.


Long story short, use your references as basic guidelines and realize that being even above what any source lists as a “minimum” is still relegating the fish to life inside a box, so just be cognizant of that when you want to bring a fish home.

 

[Amaroq]

Would a 40 long, 48"x12"x16", or a 33 long, 48"x12"x12", be more appropriate then a 40B, 36"x18"x16", if one was to keep a smaller bristletooth tang in a smaller display?

 

[Admann]

Wow...
@revhtree must really get a kick out of posting a known hot topic and just sitting back and watching you guys battle it out like this

I read every single post and kept going to the next page when I know I need to get to bed

Yeah me too

 

[Stigigemla]

Count Liveaquarias size recommendations as valid for the size of fish they sell.
If You want tank size recommendations from someone not dependent on sales figures look here:
https://se.reeflex.net/tiere/529_Ctenochaetus_strigosus.htm This site is made of German hobbyists.
In Sweden I get a mixture of languages in the text but I hope with an american IP adress You will get it in english.

 

[Katrina71]

I think it COULD depend on the condition it has been housed in prior to getting the fish. If the damage has already been done, I think they can be happy with any type of larger tank. I also consider diet and bullying as much as tank size.

 

[Bramzor]

I think it COULD depend on the condition it has been housed in prior to getting the fish. If the damage has already been done, I think they can be happy with any type of larger tank. I also consider diet and bullying as much as tank size.

Exactly! I think it's fine to put minimum values on tank sizes because they like to swim a lot and because people like guidance. Some say that this is for creating their natural habitat but really? I actually think other parameters like the food, which other tank habitants and room to swim (so compared to the stocking level of the tank) is way more important than a number in gallons.... If you put a high number of tangs in a big tank, it's still better to keep one tang in a small one.

Also with all the tank bred fish out there these days changes the way we should think about their needs. I personally think that tank bred fish can be kept in way other conditions compared to wild caught animals.
It's like comparing domesticated animals and wild animals... They have different needs, in food but also in habitat.

 

[Stigigemla]

The cattle, pigs and chickens we breed has been domesticated for many, many generations. They were selectivly bred for more than 1000 years.
The fishes we have is bred for less than 10 generations. Its a huge difference.

 

[spfahnestock]

1. What's the smallest tank you think is suitable for a tang (surgeonfish)?

I would personally think 50 gallon.

2. Why do you think the certain size tank you answered above is the smallest a tang should be housed in?

I believe the answer to this is solely based on the size of the fish. A smaller tang can be happy in a smaller footprint tank. However I do believe as they grow the owner will need to upgrade or rehome. I view it this way a 2 inch tang does not require the overall footprint that a 6 inch tang would. It is like my kids a one mile walk is more than enough for my 6 year old however my 14 year old would need a longer walk to achieve the same results.

I have never been one to subscribe to the you must have this to house that. I believe it is based on individual set up and the plans for the future. When I set up my 60 gallon I was pretty sure i would be upgrading to at least a 120 or 150 within a year. However my wife would not buy off on a bigger tank. Now that my wife has interacted with the tank and has grown attached to the fish she is initiating the talk of an upgrade.

To answer the question yes their are two tangs in my tank. However i got them at about 2 inches in total length. Plenty of room to move.

 

[JoshO]

I'm glad this thread has resurfaced.
I'm in the process of planning a future tank which is likely 2+ years away, but I'm a bit of a sucker for every detail being planned how I want so the process has to begin now!

I'm wanting to keep a tang for their movement and also their grazing habits.

The main question I would like the #TangPolice to answer is what they think of shallow v deep set ups?? (LxWxH = 45"x30"x16" v 45"x15"x32") 80g approx
Fish swim predominantly in a horizontal plane, so would a shallower set up with smaller islands and arches be far better than a deep tank of the same capacity? And could this be a way of allowing better health for a tang by allowing greater variety of swim routes and area?

 

[Formidableone14]

*whoo whoop* AH crap they found me, Theo (my tang), its time to ride! Skkkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttt!

 

[MnFish1]

Using any of the information here - No tank is big enough for a tang - based on their range in the wild - of course - if you look at the literature - that applies to 80% of the fish we keep

 

[Acros]

Can I keep a juvenile Kole tang in a 29 gallon for 6 months or until it eats all the algae (I have hair algae and sea lettuce)? My LFS will give me store credit when I give the fish back. Is it too much stress on the fish? Are there any other good options? I have some banded trochus snails (for 3 months) and a lawnmower blenny (for 1 month) (he has a big belly all the time). Should I get a sea hare instead?

I am setting up a sump refugium with chaeto this weekend.

I do not have upgrade plans for the next 3 years (maybe a 40 gallon next year, but that will not make a tang happy). I will just have to give the fish back to my LFS when it outgrows my tank or gets restless in the tank.

 

[magicwhistle]

I always hear people say “you can’t keep a tang in less than 6-8’ tanks” but what’s that based off of really?

Have there been studies done on stress levels of these fish? Do we even know what stress responses are in these fish? (Do we look at brain activity? Respiration levels? Unhealthy behaviours like self harm?). Where are these studies?

The most frequent thing I hear about it is “how far they swim in the wild”. Sure. But WHY do they swim these distances in the wild? Is it for finding a mate? Evading predators? Their food is scarce or well protected by other species and they go from food spot to food spot till they get kicked out? People want to make it sound like they’re out in the ocean sightseeing travelling many kms.

During university I remember a course on Ecology and animal behaviour that went over stuff like this and given the choice most wild animals would rather stay put and be fed and protected rather than walk for days and months on end. That’s not to say there’s no minimum bounds to keep an animal healthy because there’s other variables at play than food and predation. But it is to say that you can’t really compare what happens in our tanks to what happens in the ocean. Predation is typically non existent. Territorial battles are relatively non existent. Starvation isn’t a concern. The “weather” is incredibly consistent.

Ive just never seen any good evidence that supports the idea that tangs should only be kept in x-size aquarium. But I have seen many cases of tangs being kept long term in smallish tanks (30-55gallons) and kept healthy...

I think part of the issue may come down to imagined success rates. Ie. people imagine “more tangs live longer in larger tanks than smaller tanks” which shows a correlation. However what about the person keeping the tank? Typically beginners or people not very invested will have smaller tanks. Aren’t they likely to have larger fish losses overall? Are tangs really MORE likely to die in a smaller tank than say clownfish? I’d imagine not...

TLR I’d say the smallest tank is the one which can provide a tang everything it needs to remain healthy. Has that been scientifically founded? I don’t think so. Anecdotally though I have seen and heard about tangs being healthy in tanks as small as 30gallons. I will say though a big fish in a 30 gallon tank probably looks awkward.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Kole tangs are pretty finicky. They do not usually eat hair algae. They like the algae that builds up on rock and tank walls. I have never had one actually eat hair algae (over 14 years with them, one living with me over 12yrs). So, this will not help your situation. You can try a sea hare and try to bring back to store when done. Astrea snails are good grazers too.

 

[69cam]

My 8 inch male Naso seems happy in my 6 foot tank.

 

[Milkman420]

I have a 12 year old purple tang in my 75g. I thought about rehoming him but couldn’t do it since it was my first salt water fish along with a pair of clowns( only one still alive). The oscellaris clown is also now a little to big for the tank but my family would kill me if I got rid of them plus they can’t be too stressed or they wouldn’t be alive still and doing so well

 

[Acros]

Thank you for the replies. I decided not to get a tang. I had to re-home a yellow coris wrasse as he was too big for my tank. I had to pull out every rock to get him. I also do not want to see a fish pacing through the tank.

I am looking for a sea hare. My LFS did not have them. I will keep looking. Got chaeto and pods for the sump.