Shout Out: Smallest Tank, Biggest Tang and YOU!

[a;lksdjf]

75g for the Ctenochaetus and Zebrasoma tangs (minus the Chevron of course), 100 for the smaller Acanthurus tangs (Powder Blue, Convict, Lemonpeel, etc.), 150 for the larger Acanthurus (Lavender, Atlantic Blue, Achilles, etc.) and Paracanthurus, and 180+ for the largest Acanthurus (Mustard, Clown, Orangeshoulder, etc.) and Naso tangs

 

[Two Gay Reefers]

*Not our tank*
We filmed a tank with over 50 fish and at least 25 Tangs... they get fed 5 times a day.
Check it out below.

 

[smartwater101]

No one is going to start giving their dog a small piece of chocolate once in a while just because the dog looks fat, happy, clearly thriving, or hasn’t gotten the poops. Yeah, sure, you could get away with a small piece of chocolate once in a great while. And maybe not the best example, but the point is still the same… why put an animal at unnecessary risk?


So look, I get why people get super defensive when it comes to topics like this. No one wants to be told the way they take care of their pets might be the wrong way, or even slightly inappropriate. No one. Not with dogs, not with cats, not with fish, anything. (Parents have to deal with this on a whole other level.) I get that.


Just try to realize the tang-police, are not saying people who house a tang in a 4’ tank are torturing the thing. (Many are likely very well cared for.) We’re just pointing out that there are common sense practices that shouldn’t be ignored just because someone else managed to not have a problem.

Tang-Police, OUT!

 

[SMB]

With decades of diving on tropical reefs, there is nothing more amazing to watch than a shoal of Tangs sweeping over a reef, grazing for a bit and moving on. I've never kept Tangs because I can't afford to recreate that environment. Just my personal feeling.
I don't keep large angels for the same reason; smaller Centropyges yes. I like a lot of rock in my tanks and tend to keep rock dwelling fish which I may not see for days at a time. Again that's how I have seen reefs close up.
If you have ever been to an older zoo and seen captive wolves or foxes pacing in a closed off space, that's how I see Tangs in anything but humongous systems. Yes the wolves are well fed and healthy but it's not a natural environment.
That said, as long as Tangs are being sold I rather see it well cared for than languishing in a LFS.
BTW I feel the same way about Clownfish. You will never see a Clownfish in the wild that isn't hosting an anemone. They don't wander far and they don't use substitutes like Goniopora or GSP corals! So I haven't kept Clowns without a Pacific anemone of some sort. Clowns don't need a lot of space
but they are wired for that symbiotic relationship (and are probably more healthy because of it).
People will keep the fish they want but I agree with those that have recommended doing research before you stock your system. In the long run it is likely to be a healthier environment.

 

[RtomKinMad]

Happy

They look nice! Healthy and are very small size. The tank is not overstocked and they look fine there!!! They have lots of space to swim since the tank is not full of coral or other fish!!! They look good!

 

[FishDoc]

6' at the very least. I'm getting sick and tired of people claiming their tang "seems happy" in their 4' tank.

Your skill level and years of experience mean absolutely f@#&all. You haven't discovered some new technique to keeping fish.

Just stop getting fish that are inappropriate for the home you have available to them.

/grumpy old man rant

I’m tired of hearing the 6’ minimum rule, which might I add, is no more valid and is based on nothing more than a bit of observational anthropomorphism. Let’s calm down folks, all tanks are to small for fish from the ocean.

 

[FishDoc]

Made me laugh. I agree. Not sure how one tells that a fish is happy versus unhappy anyhow. Stressed or not stressed perhaps .... but happy? More anthropomorphism me thinks.

Then how does one settle on 6’. Not being critical I’m honestly curious how some people become so set in something they themselves have no evidence to back.

 

[markfmvl]

I had a sailfin tang in a 10 gal QT for 2 months He hid a lot. Then moved him to a 55 he was happy there. Then up graded to a 90. I now have a 29 for fish QT.

 

[markfmvl]

I had a sailfin in a 10 gal QT, he hid a lot. was happy in my 55 then I up graded to a 90. I also have a 29 for fish QT now.

 

[ca1ore]

Then how does one settle on 6’. Not being critical I’m honestly curious how some people become so set in something they themselves have no evidence to back.

Did you actually read my post (you quoted the wrong one)? I noted 6’ is a good compromise - hardly dogmatic. Based on my own anecdotal experiences keeping tangs over 30 years and observing behaviors. Not terribly scientific, I’ll grant you that. What would you deem to be acceptable evidence LOL? I tried having my tangs take a short survey but they have trouble holding the pencil in their fins.

 

[Drew in Texas]

I've completely given up on tangs. I haven't had one yet in any variety that wasn't such a bully to the include another fishes demise. I like them, but after having zero luck with 4 different tangs (yellow and sailfin) I'll just find something else. I just picked up a copper banded butterfly. It's eating like a little piggy and getting along well with his tankmates. Maybe angels are a better choice for my tanks...

 

[RtomKinMad]

Type of tang will best determine tank size needs. I have a kole and yellow in 93 cube for which they're doing just fine

I have the same tank with a purple and tomini! Mine also good! Much better than either was in my 300 gal. I posted a picture too! Yours are beautiful btw!

 

[RtomKinMad]

To be fair you're kind of just proving my point. Getting away with it doesn't make it a good practice. You claim its "thriving" and yet I guarantee you put that guy in a tank twice the size and you'll see a difference in behavior that is night and day.

No one said anything about 'suffering'. Its not like its akin to torture. But there certainly is a difference between 'surviving' and 'thriving.'

Please see my post below.... I have a 300gal 8’ and a 300gal 6”. I removed my purple and tomini tangs and put them in 93 cube due to stress and aggression. The purple and tomini were both getting bullied. Both are not stressed instant change in their color, they are active and out and visible in the tank not hiding. No aggression in the tank at all. Removing them from 300 gal also changed the whole demeanor of the 300 gal as well and that whole tank is less stressed and all fish swimming peacefully going about the eating algae on the rocks and swimming! I think environment and tankmates therefore stress is more important than actual size. If these fish look stressed I’ll change things around again. But for now they seem good by this I mean how they swim, breathe, color, eating and no aggression. See my pictures below!

 

[Jase4224]

But the difference between the ocean and a 6 foot, versus the ocean and a 3 foot, is negligible. Irrelevant. Both are in environments that are millionths of a percentage of what tangs normally utilize.

A fish only utilises what it needs to. Yes fish use more space in the ocean but even then only the narrow habitat that has what they need. In an aquarium it is certainly possible to give a tang/fish everything it wants and needs in a much smaller space. No predators, plenty of food and enough space to exercise enough.

I think it is dependent on the tank design as well. Aquascape, water quality, flow and other inhabitants are all important. Not just size.

As for ‘happiness’ I believe it’s absolutely possible to know if your fish are satisfied and thriving. Fish that have illness, low weight and skittish behaviour are clearly not in a good way compared to a fish that is relaxed, colourful and fat.

 

[GoatmealJones]

People who condemn others who claim their tang is "happy" in x gallon system should themselves realize that they too are also ignorant to the true feelings of the tang. You and I are not fish. As far as we know, clownfish could feel uncomfortable in anything less than a 100 gallon tank without showing it. People are too quick to make generalizations and also fail to realize that 2 given fish, just like 2 given people, are different.

 

[ccombs]

Yeah that’s what she said lol

 

[ccombs]

Alright, this was certainly a ton to read. I am no tang expert and will not answer the question at hand but will provide this.

Attacking others and condemning others will turn those who disagree with you away and they probably won't listen to your point. If we can all approach each other with respect, facts, and hear each other out, I think we can all advance the hobby and give our fish a better habitat. If you respectfully listen to an opposing point of view, I believe that other person will hear you out too.

Being in this hobby is not black and white, there is a ton of grey. The sooner we can understand this, the sooner we can move forward. However, for this to happen we must all approach these sorts of conversations with an open mind.

 

[mattzang]

tank size is an interesting discussion. on one hand, i'm sure there are so many tiny tanks that are housing numerous tangs that would make the tang police freak out. check out youtube or reference some other forums. i peruse reddit/reeftank from time to time and there's always some massive violation going on there. some guy posted his 15 gallon tank earlier today that had 6 fish in it. another guy posted his 13 gallon tank with like 5 fish including 1 mandarin. i didn't decry him, but i did ask how long things have been going like that. he claimed the mandarin had been in there for 8 months and ate mysis like a champ, so.. shrug? i'll add most lfs imo are not practicing members of the tang police, when i asked one of mine what fish to add to my 50 gallon 2' x 2' tank, his response was a blue tang (they had a bunch in stock, surprisingly!). i said, idk man, don't they get pretty big and need a big tank? his response was, well eventually, but they're fine for years in smaller tanks, i have a tiny one in my 10 (!!) gallon tank at home.

what interests me more are the people that have observed whatever fish in a smaller tank and how their behavior or development was different than normal. someone recently posted their biocube that had a foxface in it. others asked about that, the op responded that he had it for over a year, yet the fish was still only 2-3" long. for a fish that grows quickly, that seems like obviously stunted growth. ergo, probably too small of a tank for that fish. another is fish that are just supremely mean in a smaller tank, whereas in larger tanks they're normally acceptable community fish.

i also see people mention their fish uses the entire space of their tank, or they see it swim one side to the other quickly. therefore, that fish needs at least that much space to be happy. well, my recent trip to aquarium of the pacific included watching a clown trigger swim a good 40 feet one side of a massive tank to another. so i might consider forming the trigger police for anyone with one in less than a 40' tank!

 

[RJ F.]

Where is @revhtree ? I would love to hear his side to this lol.

 

[Stigigemla]

When I have customers wanting fishes that will grow to big for the tanks I always say: How would You feel if You were living in a room so small that You wouldnt grow to full lenght.

I had 3 yellow, 1 coeruleus and 1 bristletooth in my 5 foot tank. Then I transferred them to the new 410 gallon of almost 10 foot. They totally changed their behavour. But the tank was to small.
They mobbed out the coeruleus first and then the bristletooth in the first year. 2 or 3 years later it was the smallest yellow. But 2 yellows seems to go well in 400 gallons.
In another tank of almost 4 x 5 feet I have a single yellow that seems to go fairly well but I dont think its possible to have 1 more tang there going good. It is partly due to the scape. It is a frag tank so there is not many hiding places. The yellow is checking up every inch of it.