So you want a tang?

[TDEVIL]

this is a great post Craig

should anything be said about "ich" with these fishes, or are you working on another post with this in mind

other things to consider is flow, certin tangs need flow (so ive herd), i found this out with my naso, i increased the flow and he calmed down
there is also the amount of LR, but as said, this are reef fish and LR shouldnt be an issue, but most tangs like to have a lot of rock work with plunty of hiding places

i only have 2 tangs yellow & the naso, and can only give my opinions with what i have learned from these 2

TD

[wooddood]

sorry craig i was refering to the yellow tang.my bad sorry. dave.

[Craig Manoukian]

Not to duck any questions, but as I qualified in the original post, this thread would be limited to the three genuses that have the best chance of being mixed in the average reef tank. Those genuses are Acanthurus, Ctenochaetus, and Zebrasoma. Nasos, Vlamingii and others are great fish, but require much bigger tanks than the average sized reef tank we encounter here.

For example, mojoreef has an absolutely exquisite Vlamingii in his tank, but keep in mind that is a 700 gallon tank.

HTH

[mojoreef]

Great post Craig. lots of solid info

thanks buddy

Mike

[Craig Manoukian]

Here is my take on ich and I expect some controversy from these remarks. I have never had a tang with ich in my tank in a little over two years.

Ich is a parasite. All parasites need a host. Parasites exist in all forms of nature and the negative effects of the parasite are in direct proportion to the host's ability to prevail against it.

It is widely believed that ich exists in every tank. If that is the case, then it stands to reason, that all the ich parasite needs is a host it can attack. So all ich needs is a fish under enough stress, whether it be a tang, an angel, etc., so that it can proliferate.

The best way to avoid ich is to have healthy unstressed fish. Red Skunk Cleaner Shrimp are also an important component of an overall Ich Prevention Plan.

The key to a successful Ich Prevention Plan starts before you add any livestock to your tank. The Plan assumes you have researched the type of tank you want to have, i.e. FO or reef, and have developed a stocking plan. This plan includes the total adult length your tank can accomodate for all fish and an introduction schedule that is slow and gradual. In addition, you add the fish in a least to most aggressive progression. I believe that people add too many fish too soon. This causes a spike in ammonia that the dentrification bacteria is not able to handle and results in poor water quality which will stress all of the fish in the tank.

In addition, we probably don't do a very good job of shopping for our fish. It is important to watch the fish at the LFS and see if it is swimming comfortably and eating. Are there signs of nipped fins, labored breathing, or other indicators of stress? Did the fish just arrive to the LFS from Fiji or has it had a few days to acclimate from being yanked out of the ocean? Did it take two hours for the LFS employee to completely exhaust your fish befor netting it? I tell the folks at my LFS that if it takes more than 60 seconds or two passes to catch the fish, I don't want it.

If you have followed the ideas presented above, bring home healthy fish, and properly acclimate them you can avoid the majority of ich challenges in my opinion. By proper planning, avoidance, and prevetion, you can eliminate the real challenge of treating a fish who has this disease, yikes, and that is a topic that needs its own thread which should be more properly be discussed in the forum dealing with the proper diagnosis and treatment of common fish diseases.

[cheeks69]

Just one thing I would like to add, is that stress (or weakened condition) is not a prerequisite to infection with Cryptocaryon irritans. Healthy fish that are not unduly stressed are susceptible to infection upon exposure to this pathogen. That's why it's so important to remember what craig said

Originally posted by Craig Manoukian

In addition, we probably don't do a very good job of shopping for our fish. It is important to watch the fish at the LFS and see if it is swimming comfortably and eating. Are there signs of nipped fins, labored breathing, or other indicators of stress? Did the fish just arrive to the LFS from Fiji or has it had a few days to acclimate from being yanked out of the ocean? Did it take two hours for the LFS employee to completely exhaust your fish befor netting it? I tell the folks at my LFS that if it takes more than 60 seconds or two passes to catch the fish, I don't want it.

If you have followed the ideas presented above, bring home healthy fish, and properly acclimate them you can avoid the majority of ich challenges in my opinion.

[Scooterman]

Ahh true so true.
If I was to do it again, I'd probably not have any Tangs in my 100g tank. I love them, they are beautiful species all of them. Maybe in a 700g I'd have a few but my reasoning is either reef it, or fish it. In the past I've read most reefs kept smaller fish, nibblers and less aggressive and less pooping fish. Most reefers have tanks 100g and under, I haven't seen any of these actually with enough room to accommodate a fish of these adult sizes. They actually grow pretty fast as I've noticed. I have a Sailfin & Hippo, both are growing fast, & eventually in my 5ft tank, they will out grow it fast as being over crowded something will eventually happen. The sailfin isn't scared to spread his wings and take control. The Hippo is the protector of the smaller fish inside, he will make the aggressor(sixline) back away from the fire fish. I will eventually reevaluate the fish proportions and remove the two tangs, maybe opt for a smaller species at a later date. If I was not keeping corals this would all be different, I'd probably have less rocks, no corals & as much swim room as I could make. One day I would like to build a larger system, thinking display 300g of the sorts, & a 300g sump, then maybe I'll rethink the tang idea. So in short I think with experience, I would not keep tangs in general in tanks smaller than 200/300g or larger.

[Craig Manoukian]

Scott,

I would agree in general, but would also suggest you could mix a couple of 7" - 9" tangs in a tank range of 75 to 100 gallons from the three genus Zebrasoma, Acanthurus, Ctenochaetus. One Cteoncheatus and one from either Acanthurus, or Zebrasoma in that size range should be fine together.

This assumes you account for the adult size of the fish in your overal stocking plan.

[Scooterman]

Yep, 7" tp 9" adult size would be the limits, I haven't found so many in that range and not under $80. only a few within reasonable prices. I may be wrong though, I'll have to look a little farther.

[Craig Manoukian]

Scott,

These fish meet those qualifications:

Acanthurus
Convict (Acanthurus triostegus), 10"
Whitecheek Tang (Acanthurus nigricans), 8"
Blue Caribbean Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus), 9"
Lavender Tang (Acanthurus nigrofuscus), 8"

Ctenochaetus
Yellow Eyed Kole (Ctenochaetus strigosus), 7"
Bristletooth Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis), 6"

Zebrasoma
Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum), 10"

The Convict and Purple tangs, although listed at 10" would work due to their excellent dispositions, IMO.

HTH

[Craig Manoukian]

Prices from www.liveaquaria.com and www.marinedepotlive.com

Acanthurus
Convict (Acanthurus triostegus), 10" - $25
Whitecheek Tang (Acanthurus nigricans), 8" - $39
Blue Caribbean Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus), 9" - $23
Lavender Tang (Acanthurus nigrofuscus), 8" - $30

Ctenochaetus
Yellow Eyed Kole (Ctenochaetus strigosus), 7" - $26
Bristletooth Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis), 6" - $79

Zebrasoma
Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum), 10" - $69

[Scooterman]

http://www.themarinecenter.com/

I just wanted to add The Marine Center, this company is a huge supplier to lots of the South and probably more!

[Sunburst]

Originally Posted by tankgirl

Craigy, I just read, recently, that some tangs need sand to digest food. Know anything about that?

[Craig Manoukian]

Yes that is true. Both of my tangs regularly pick up sand to aide them in digesting the algea that makes up the majority of their diet. My Sailfin (omivore) to a lesser extent than my Kole (algeavore) tang. Much like birds using gravel to aide in the digestion of seeds.

[corvettephreek]

wow!!! that was an excellent and well informative post, kudos 2 u!!!! now I wonder if someone will post about triggers?.........