Question about Tangs?

tex5620

tex5620

Member
Hey everybody, I have a quick question about tangs. I currently only have a bc29g so I don't feel like I am qualified to answer his question. I told him I would find out. Question: Currently running a 225gallon reef tank and was wondering how many tangs can be kept in tank. Maybe a sailfin, yellow, and regal. Fish stock currently is 2 percs, flame wrasse, diamond goby, trio of anthias, and mandarin goby.
 
GSELLERS

GSELLERS

Has been struck by the ban stick
really depends on the mixture and or type of tangs....you can have a school of yellow tangs but i wouldnt go more than 6 or 7 that get along. I have 6 in my 90 waiting for the 220 to go up and they are a poop factory.:)
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
I think he is just wondering if he can keep those exact ones in a 225. He knows that they grow pretty quick but thinks that they might get to territorial. The local fish store seems to think that as long as they sell a fish it is agood idea. told him not to listen to them because I have gotten nothing but bad info from them.
 
blue_eyes53813

blue_eyes53813

Well-Known Member
As long as they arent from the same family of tangs. And I would try to get about the same size. If he adds them at different times than the tang being added should be a little bigger than the ones already in the tank and healthy of course to stand up for himself... PLenty of hiding places as well.
 
GSELLERS

GSELLERS

Has been struck by the ban stick
yeah those 3 should be fine. key is adding them all at once and have a 3 day complete darkness period to explore and there wont be a downright war between them. If nipping does occur, rearrange rockwork and they will establish new territories. i have a purple, blue, sailfin, purple lineatus, chevron, and scopas tangs all in a 90 and all get along perfectly from the methods listed above, i got lucky and never had to rearrange rocks
 
blue_eyes53813

blue_eyes53813

Well-Known Member
The sailfin and the yellow are both in the Zebrasoma family.. I would try to add them at the same time and about the same size...


What family is the regal tang in????? Anybody?

It can be done Tex...


I wanted to correct my above post... Same family tangs can be added together but it is best if it is at the same time.

It can become a problem when an established tang runs into a new tang from the same family down the road.
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
Thanks for the help. I really don't think he will be rearranging any of his LR. What would be another good fish to put with them. I know he really likes the sailfin and blue regal. and yes he will both get them small. He only has one quarantine tank so if he was to add seperately which would you add first. I know he likes foxfaces but he told me they might eat his cleaner shrimp, clams, or some corals. I think LFS told him that. Are they correct.
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
Thanks Craig, I have actually looked for this forum today because I have seen it before. Thanks for the help. I think after I showed him the thread and let him do some research he is just going to go with a sailfin and kole. I think he is wanting to make the third fish something like a copperband butterfly or something like that. Any suggestions since he has some clams would be appreciated.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
I have a sailfin, chevron, and yellow belly hippo. One from each family. The sailfin and chevron were the same size and added at the same time. The hippo was added later but again the same size. They picked on the hippo a bit and wouldn't let him get to the nori for a while but hippos tend to be timid to begin with. No agression at all now.
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
Heres an idea. How bout sailfin, Kole, and or convict or powder blue. Never seen a convict before and did some quick research and he likes the convict but neither of us know anything about. He have heard the powder blues can be somewhat difficult to manage. What do people have to say about them.
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
thanks craig. I don't know how easy it is to get a convict tang because I have never seen one at my lfs. I have seen plenty of powder blue. The LFS gets sailfin and kole tangs pretty regularly. I think he can get both of those at the same time. The only problem I see is quaranting them at same time. He only has one QT. How close together time wise does he need to put them in together without having any problems or does he just need to spend alittle and QT at same time.
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
Craig I was doing little more research on RS and I found this topic. Not sure how yet to quote topics so I just copy and paste.
Witfull said:
powder blues are hard to acclimate to captivity, are ich prone and delicate,,,,and thats the easy part. they require massive amounts of space, are highly territorial and get a bad attitude to anything that swims when they get big. as pretty as they are, i would suggest you shy away from this species, or let him have a tank to himself.

as for convict tangs, this species shouldnt be imported. this is a shcooling tang that covers miles of reef a day. they are similar to a marauding horde. keep singly in an aquarium they usually die.
Click to expand...
 
Craig Manoukian

Craig Manoukian

Well-Known Member
It would be best to order 3 juveniles of the same size and introduce them all together. Two's will fight more readily, but three's spread any aggression. If the QT is big enough to handle three juveniles in the less than 4" range you should be fine.

Contact your or other LFS in your area and see about having them order the trio for you and then hold them for a week or two to ensure they are the right size, healthy and eating.
 
Craig Manoukian

Craig Manoukian

Well-Known Member
Consider these in place of the Convict;

Whitecheek Tang (Acanthurus nigricans), 8"
Blue Caribbean Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus), 9"
Lieutenant Tang (Acanthurus tennenti), 10"
Lemon Tang (Acanthurus sp.), 10"
Lavender Tang (Acanthurus nigrofuscus), 8"
 
tex5620

tex5620

Member
That carribean blue sure is pretty. I don't think our LFS will do the above. They say that they don't really know what they will get at a time. but I'll ask. What size QT will he need to quarantine all three at same time. I thought u could only QT one fish at a time in a tank. I have honestly heard that u should do one at a time and then u can do both but have heard more people say to do only one. I have only done one at a time but that was just for a bc29g so I don't have much experience with bigger fish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top