Blue tang in a small box.

[Lionfish Lair]

Ok, here is my humble opinion, Tangs are the Devil!

It's true, in small tanks you get to see the fish in very good detail, my volitan is far from shy and he keeps very close to the glass, I get very close and he doesn't even glimpse on moving.
Hope when moving him to his new home it will be the same.

Our just lays there. Don't underestimate his weight and overestimate the strength of the net's frame. Don't be reaching for any of those little wire ones (although I don't know what you have over there). There are some fantastic wooden handled white ones that I love.

 

[jpsika08]

Thanks Renee, I have only the flimsy ones you mention, I will go to a fishing store, they usually have tough nets.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

When you get him clear of the water, that thing will bend over like a pole with a Marlin...... ask me how I know these little tidbits.... *sigh*

 

[sk8rdn]

If that's the case, the I'd suggest you stop feeding the lion lead weights Juan. And you could probably stop giving him all those doughnuts, too. This might make him a little lighter...

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....

 

[carlfike]

Wow I did not realize my post would spark such debate! I was just curious.

 

[redneckgearhead]

These posts ALWAYS spark debate and rarely end well....

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Wow I did not realize my post would spark such debate! I was just curious.

You say that like you are apologizing for the conversation that followed. What was wrong with the discussion? I don't think any comments got out of line here. No blood drawn. That means it was a good discussion! Disagreeing doesn't mean the conversation was futile.

 

[DaveK]

I am saying that people say tangs shouldnt be in tanks under 100 gallons, but people who do this for a living say they can and that its fine. I looked at four different places online and all four were different. Live aquaria was the only one of the four
that said 125 gallons, the other three said 70, 75, and 90 gallons.

You bring up some good questions.

There is a certain amount of latitude when selecting tank size. In addition, a very experienced reef keep may be able to get away the doing things that would result in a tank of very dead fish for a typical reef keeper.

Also, there is the difference between the fish surviving and it thriving. It's a lot easier to keep a tank in a larger tank, if for no other reason, tangs are big messy fish that produce a lot of waste. A larger tank can more easily deal with it. I wonder how many tangs, kept in 70 gal tanks are really thriving, and living for years. I suspect it's comparatively few. It also seems to me that many of the people using 70 gal or smaller tanks, don't have anything bigger are the same ones that are saying it's ok for a tang.

As for what you see on vendor web pages for requirements, is often a questions of how honest they are verses how bad they want to move the fish. Lower requirement makes for more sales. Also, a lot of times they copy the same information from one fish profile to make the new one.

Lastly, what is expressed in the posts here are opinions of the various posters. There is bound to be disagreement in some areas. You get to figure out who you want to trust, but don't make the mistake of trusting them because they are telling you what you want to hear.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Here's my stab at it.... (example) I always recommend a 100g tank for an adult volitans. Preferable wider verses taller. We came to this "self rule" via 2 ways. From keeping a volitans in a 60g for 10 years and then transferring an adult to a 100g. It was beautiful. The way he was able to turn was so gentle. He would just lazily swim back and forth a couple of time and then pick a different perch. My husband and I literally looked at each other and said "OMG, That other tank was too small".

Could the "standard" be a collection of such experiences? It would never hurt to go with the largest tank size recommended among "the lot". Tanks that are too tight are probably left over from the day when volitans were ok to put in a 60g *blush*. Live aquaria recently updated a lot of their stats after listening to "the people". LOL... that sounds very royal.

 

[lbiminiblue]

They purchase the fish because they fish is colorful, and maybe because they want a "Dori". Regretfully, they have no idea of what the requirements for the fish are.

True dat i hate finding Nemo for that. Every time some kid comes over and they see a true percula in the tank they go NEMO!!! and it doesnt matter that i have a black ocellaris either, he's also called Nemo by kids. The curse of every nemo character kept in tanks- they're named after movie characters before they're even purchased.

 

[lbiminiblue]

So with good care i could keep a naso or hippo or yellow in my 120. right?

 

[carlfike]

You say that like you are apologizing for the conversation that followed. What was wrong with the discussion? I don't think any comments got out of line here. No blood drawn. That means it was a good discussion! Disagreeing doesn't mean the conversation was futile.

Not apologizing for anything. Just didn't realize the passions people had for both sides of the issue. I was just curious if my new tank couple support one.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[DaveK]

True dat i hate finding Nemo for that. Every time some kid comes over and they see a true percula in the tank they go NEMO!!! and it doesnt matter that i have a black ocellaris either, he's also called Nemo by kids. The curse of every nemo character kept in tanks- they're named after movie characters before they're even purchased.

So with good care i could keep a naso or hippo or yellow in my 120. right?

If anyone ever refers to my clown as "Nemo" or my Hipo tang ad "Dori" I tell them point blank "WE do not use THAT sort of language" just as if they had used the !@#$ or %&*( word.

To answer your specific question, I'd say a yellow or hipo would be ok in a 125. A Naso, maybe, I think that would be asking a lot of a 125. There are also several other tang species you could consider. I'd say when the time comes to get it, choose one you like, choose a healthy one, and quarantine the fish a long time. Tangs are notorious "ich magnets".

 

[redneckgearhead]

If anyone ever refers to my clown as "Nemo" or my Hipo tang ad "Dori" I tell them point blank "WE do not use THAT sort of language" just as if they had used the !@#$ or %&*( word.

To answer your specific question, I'd say a yellow or hipo would be ok in a 125. A Naso, maybe, I think that would be asking a lot of a 125. There are also several other tang species you could consider. I'd say when the time comes to get it, choose one you like, choose a healthy one, and quarantine the fish a long time. Tangs are notorious "ich magnets".

I treat ALL new fish as if they have ich especially TANGS! As is posted in this http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/76106-why-qt-your-best-bet-but-not-sure-bet.html thread qt is NOT a guarantee that the fish is disease free!

 

[coralmadness]

You bring up some good questions.

There is a certain amount of latitude when selecting tank size. In addition, a very experienced reef keep may be able to get away the doing things that would result in a tank of very dead fish for a typical reef keeper.

Also, there is the difference between the fish surviving and it thriving. It's a lot easier to keep a tank in a larger tank, if for no other reason, tangs are big messy fish that produce a lot of waste. A larger tank can more easily deal with it. I wonder how many tangs, kept in 70 gal tanks are really thriving, and living for years. I suspect it's comparatively few. It also seems to me that many of the people using 70 gal or smaller tanks, don't have anything bigger are the same ones that are saying it's ok for a tang.

As for what you see on vendor web pages for requirements, is often a questions of how honest they are verses how bad they want to move the fish. Lower requirement makes for more sales. Also, a lot of times they copy the same information from one fish profile to make the new one.

Lastly, what is expressed in the posts here are opinions of the various posters. There is bound to be disagreement in some areas. You get to figure out who you want to trust, but don't make the mistake of trusting them because they are telling you what you want to hear.

One of the vendors is a sponsor on here that says 75 gallons. Are we willing to take their money buy not their advice? I agree that having multiple tangs in a smaller tank is to much. I have seen problems with that even with people
who do have bigger tanks. Im talking about having a single tang in a tank 75 gallons and up. A lot of people say that it is fish abuse.

 

[lbiminiblue]

Yes I've heard that they're quite the ich factories.....But yeah i hate when people call a certain fish NEMO!!! or DORI!!! or even GILLL! or FLOW!!! ugh it sickens me i hate it.

 

[cheeks69]

I don't think we should paint all Tangs with a broad brush, there are some Tangs that would will do well in a 4' tank like some of the Zebrossoma Genus as well as the Ctenochaetus Genus most of these are herbivores/grazers and don't grow as large as the Naso or Acanthurids and aren't open water swimmers so their requirements are different.

Now back to the Blue Tang this is an open water swimmer it isn't usually cruising in between the corals and feeding on algae he's a planktivore swimming 30 feet above the reef so a totally different Tang with different requirements so do some research on the fish your buying and don't assume that all the Tangs are the same.

 

[steved13]

One of the vendors is a sponsor on here that says 75 gallons. Are we willing to take their money buy not their advice?

Sure, Why not?

I would never take anyone's advice blindly. Some I'm more apt to take advice quicker than from others. Just because they are an RS sponsor, doesn't mean they're perfect.

Just offering a point of view.

 

[DesertOrchid]

But yeah i hate when people call a certain fish NEMO!!! or DORI!!! or even GILLL! or FLOW!!! ugh it sickens me i hate it.

My soon to be 3 yr old grandaughter has grown up around my tanks which house a "Nemo and Dori' fish and loves watching the tanks as much as she does the movie. What the heck is wrong with calling the fish Nemo and Dori?? No different than naming them something else except that these names represent something fun and beautiful to them.

 

[map95003]

My "Dori" needs a friend. I'm thinking of adding a "Nemo"...