Tang for an 80 gallon

Opus

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LOL this is hilarious, the great tang debate......again. My tangs talk to me and say they are "happy" all the time.

I so agree with you. For all we know, the true minimum for a tang to be "happy" could be a 3000 gallon tank. Do we really think a tang is "happy" he can only swim for a couple of seconds before he is forced to turn around by a glass wall. That is what he has to do in a 90 gal tank or a 400 gal tank.
 

Tired

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Then would that not imply that people shouldn't keep tangs, at all?

(Which I'm not disagreeing with. I'm sort of skeptical that a lot of them are suitable for basically any home aquariums, frankly. They're really active.)
 

anthonygf

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A fish eating doesn't mean it's happy, it just means it's eating. If tangs do well in 50 gallon tanks, why do people say you can't keep them that way?

Petco is going to continue to have a pathetic saltwater section until it stops being profitable. They don't care about animals, just about profit. I've been to one that had tiny baby dart frogs in stock, but hadn't given the employees any info on how to keep them alive, and didn't even make sure to have a proper-sized food for them. Poor things were in there with pinhead crickets the size of their heads. Yelling at the employees won't change anything, either- they don't control the decisions about what to get in.
I did not yell at anyone, just said they should be ashamed of themselves for not taking care of their animals. I also told them I will no longer shop there for fish.
 

sas226

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No, it will not. Otherwise, more people would do it. I ask the question again: why do people say the minimum tank size is much bigger than that, if it's not? Is there a conspiracy by the giant tank manufacturers?

You should not "do what you want" in this hobby. You should do what works, or what, based on reasonable evidence, can be expected to work. Otherwise, you'll kill things. And it's one thing to experiment with coral in new environments, it's another to put fish, which have brains and feel pain, in inadequate conditions because you want that particular pretty fish.
Not taking sides.. but you say "You should do what works". What he's doing is literally working. Also, if we're on the topic of the ethics. A lot of the fish we all keep is taken from it's home and shove it in a tiny glass box.. without sin cast the first stone etc.. If you're going to be that hyper-ethical about it it then one might consider that stance a bit hypocritical no? His tank looks healthy, the fish looks far from unhealthy. You should absolutely do what you want in this hobby within reason. Don't shove a 2 foot fish in a 20g. Don't put 10 tangs in a 40. Putting a single smaller (Yellows are on the smaller) in a 45 for the time being it not outside the realm of reason. We all care about the animals, but there is a line where we've all strictly drawn a boundary about not caring THAT much otherwise we wouldn't be here.

When one adds a tang or large angel crammed into a small tank with little swimming room, their internal organs often grow faster than their body can. They often don’t get near the size, or live near as long as they would in the wild or in a properly sized tank. Tangs can live for a very long time when healthy, you’ll see That’s not the case in a small aquarium. Do what you will, just consider other people’s advice who may have been there.
Also your three large tangs in a 65 is absurd nano Ryan.

While not entirely inaccurate you're reaching to the extremes with the first. putting a 1-2" yellow tang in a 40g isn't doing anything to stunt it's growth. Leaving it there after 2 years? maybe. As for them not getting to their full wild size? There are a ton of fish, almost all of them that when in captivity they never get to wild adult size. Not to mention I think it was Paul B who made a thread awhile about the life expectancy of fish in the wild vs ones kept in aquariums. If I remember it was there's a good chance they might not have made it that long just due to nature. Just because something can live a long time doesn't make the rule that they will. Again, the ethics of fish keeping are a little weird because people advocate for what's best for the animal while shoving them in a relatively small glass prison. Captive bred is one thing but most people get WC fish as a lot of them aren't bred in captivity to a consumer level yet. So, I try not judge people unless it's something like a Kaudern's Cardinal and they buy a WC when CB is readily available and they're literally on the endangered species list.
 
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anthonygf

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When one adds a tang or large angel crammed into a small tank with little swimming room, their internal organs often grow faster than their body can. They often don’t get near the size, or live near as long as they would in the wild or in a properly sized tank. Tangs can live for a very long time when healthy, you’ll see That’s not the case in a small aquarium. Do what you will, just consider other people’s advice who may have been there.
Also your three large tangs in a 65 is absurd nano Ryan.
I have been doing fresh water for around 40 years and I've kept Oscars in a 55 gallon, never seen them or other large cichlids stop growing and internal organs outgrow their body. Maybe it is different for salt water fish. Anyway I've always had the intention of getting a larger aquarium at the time but things have changed and now do not want to upset my system just to take out my Tang. I am hopeful will find something soon and I can transfer everything from the 46 all at once.
 

anthonygf

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Not taking sides.. but you say "You should do what works". What he's doing is literally working. Also, if we're on the topic of the ethics. A lot of the fish we all keep is taken from it's home and shove it in a tiny glass box.. without sin cast the first stone etc.. If you're going to be that hyper-ethical about it it then one might consider that stance a bit hypocritical all things considered no? His tank looks healthy, the fish looks far from healthy. You should absolutely do what you want in this hobby within reason. Don't shove a 2 foot fish in a 20g. Don't put 10 tangs in a 40. Putting a single smaller (Yellows are on the smaller) in a 45 for the time being it not outside the realm of reason. We all care about the animals, but there is a line where we've all strictly drawn a boundary about not caring THAT much otherwise we wouldn't be here.
What do you mean by " the fish looks far from healthy "?
 

anthonygf

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Mistype, edited.
I take very good care of my pets, I have 2 cats and the one for my avatar is Rusty and he had a cracked tooth, I have a wellness plan for both of them and part of the plan is dental cleaning. Well I had to have the tooth extracted which cost me $370. I could have refused to pay that and let him suffer with a decaying tooth. No way, My pets are more important than my money. He's watching me brush my teeth.
 

OrionN

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When one adds a tang or large angel crammed into a small tank with little swimming room, their internal organs often grow faster than their body can. They often don’t get near the size, or live near as long as they would in the wild or in a properly sized tank. Tangs can live for a very long time when healthy, you’ll see That’s not the case in a small aquarium. Do what you will, just consider other people’s advice who may have been there.
Also your three large tangs in a 65 is absurd nano Ryan.
:~ :/ :(
I truly did not know this is the case. I guess that is why my fish is so round in the stomach. All their inner organs much be twice a big as they should be. Do you think they die soon?
BigBoneTangs.jpg
PBT2019071801FatFish.jpg
YellowTang2019062402.jpg
 

Dolphins18

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:~ :/ :(
I truly did not know this is the case. I guess that is why my fish is so round in the stomach. All their inner organs much be twice a big as they should be. Do you think they die soon?
BigBoneTangs.jpg
PBT2019071801FatFish.jpg
YellowTang2019062402.jpg
What size tank is that? The PB is massive. Also how old are they?
 
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nano_ryan

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When one adds a tang or large angel crammed into a small tank with little swimming room, their internal organs often grow faster than their body can. They often don’t get near the size, or live near as long as they would in the wild or in a properly sized tank. Tangs can live for a very long time when healthy, you’ll see That’s not the case in a small aquarium. Do what you will, just consider other people’s advice who may have been there.
Also your three large tangs in a 65 is absurd nano Ryan.
I wouldn't say its “absurd” to have 3 small tangs in a 65g. Whats absurd is that there is no evidence that a tang’s organs will grow faster then their body. False fact.
 

OrionN

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What size tank is that? The PB is massive. Also how old are they?
My DT is a 320 gal tank. And my PBT is about 7.5-8 inches. I just think that it is silly to state that tangs and angels in small tank have internal organ grew faster than the fish over all.
 
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Dolphins18

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What is silly is people encouraging bad habits to be honest. I mean you obviously know a PB and a yellow is fine in a 320 gallon tank.. and we both know 3 in a 65 is incredibly unacceptable.
 

OrionN

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What is silly is people encouraging bad habits to be honest. I mean you obviously know a PB and a yellow is fine in a 320 gallon tank.. and we both know 3 in a 65 is incredibly unacceptable.
I am never an advocate for keeping big fishes in little tanks but trying to promote certain practice by using hyperbole or out right false information is something we should not do.
Sometime it is difficult to jokingly post something, but almost everybody should recognized my post you objected above was a jest. I did my best to make it so. I never said or imply that my tangs were in a small tank.
In fact, when choosing fish, I always try my best to choose species that can spawned in my tanks, and do have multiple species regularly spawned in my tank. It confirm to me that I provide good care for my charges.

Regard the morals of keeping fish. I take care of my tanks and my fishes. There are a lot of suffering of humans children on Earth for me to worry too much about the tang in reefer A have a stressful and shorten life.
 

Tiki Reef Joshua

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I have a yellow and tomini in a 100 gallon (4x2x20”). No issues. Neither are huge but the tomini is adult I believe and a decent size. I have no issues. I think a 4x2 is minimal IMO and that’s why I went for this size as my minimum. Also I have several re-homing options available at any time as I am part of a large reefing club and people always are willing to take in a fish. If I ever see problems one of them is coming out and getting replaced with 3 anthias.

I think people, rightly, get upset on the issue around here because so many threads they have seen about “what’s wrong with my tank/fish” and it’s a blue tang in a 65 gallon tank. Also a lot of people think they will “upgrade” and don’t... they are just rationalizing their situation to get the fish they want right now. But the fact is some people do get larger tanks or have plans to rehome if the tang becomes stressed etc...

Everyone has their limits. For me it was 100 gallons and I still think that is pushing it. I wouldn’t recommend that for anyone new to the hobby or without immediate backup plans. That isn’t judgment, just my personal opinion and the limits I set for me. There is no way I would try a powder brown or even a baby blue tang or anything like that in less than a 5’ or 6’ tank.

The issue will always pop up on the forums. For good reason. Long timers on the forums have just seen a ton of terrible fish keeping, with Tangs especially, and they are playing the odds. I totally understand and don’t blame them. That said there are plenty of people who keep certain Tangs in 4’ tanks with great color, virtually no aggression, that eat like pigs. If the fish isn’t stressed it isn’t stressed. Is a 5’ tank better? Of course! The ocean is better. So if it is a matter of what is best why keep the fish at all? I think following general recommendations is always the best policy with fish keeping, and certain Tangs can do fine in 4’ tanks......but......be very prepared if they don’t to take action. That is on the fish keeper to do the right thing.
 

Jen1978

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I see everywhere that most tangs require 100+ gallon systems. My LFS was the only one I saw with a suggested mininum tank size of 75 gal for a yellow tang. I really think it depends on how much swimming room you have in any particular tank. My 55 gallon tank has minimal aquascape as it's a bonsai reef from west mariculture so I bought a small yellow tang. I hope as she grows she should have plenty of room to happily zip around things and the top 1/3 of my tank is completly obstacle free. If I find I'm wrong in a year or two, then I will buy a bigger tank or re home her. The LFS did caution me though that she was aggressive with her own kind and she had to be an only tang child.

I've seen tangs in worse enviroments. I visited a different LFS that seems to do more coral than fish and they had a few adult tangs in their frag displays. Sure the met the "gallon requirements" but the water was only deep enough for the tang to swim back and forth, not up and down at all really. I could tell the one was just severely leaning against a wall stressed. Send the tang police for me now.
 
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