Powder blue tang tank size?

[soggydrysuit]

Just wondering what size tank would you consider a good size for one of these - 6 foot?

[Brooks]

There is a lot of controversy that goes on when it comes to tangs. Powder Blue tangs get pretty big, and most would argue that you shouldn't put it in anything below a 120 if you plan to keep it long-term. However, there are some that will say you can keep them in a smaller tank when they are tiny, and then just move them out when they're bigger.

A 6ft tank sounds like a pretty nice sized tank, and I don't think you'd have to worry about him running out of room.

[teg]

I kept a powder blue in my 210 tank before. It's a very easily stressed fish, you'll probably have to keep him alone. I have two other tangs in my tank and that seems to always bothers the powder blue.

[GKarshens]

One of my favorite fish that i gave up on. Couldn't keep one alive even in my 125. They always seemed stressed out. I am one of the voices that says no Tangs in anything under 120.

[soggydrysuit]

Many thanks for your replies, they make a lot of sense. 120g min noted. So six by two by two feet may be ok for a chance...? Prob is I may only manage a 5 by 2 by 2 to fit in a certain alcove. Or throw a sofa out and get an 8 by 2 by 2.

If I quit smoking, I'll afford it quite quickly...! (don't worry this is the room I keep most of my tanks in and it has a concrete slab floor at ground level).

There's a powder blue in my LFS - it's huge for one for sale in a shop at four to five inches. That's the second one I've seen there, the first was smaller, was covered in ich and this ones got lymphocystis (can be fixed) AND ick. I'm trying not to encourage him to get more by buying and attempting to fix the fish in the 60g ? usg - ukg (48 by 15 by 21 inch) tank I do have - way too small. BTW, shop one is a 15 - 20g and not centralised.

I'd love to do a tank including an emporer angel, porc puffer and a powder blue - must be into a 200g system there not including a large sump. Have to be a FOWLR, I suppose unless the powder blue would do better in a reef environment? Then it would have to be alone.

If you were going to set a tank up specifically for a powder blue, how would it go?

Strong currents, sure - surge machines. Algae, loads of it - any preference on the algae or just nori on a lettuce clip? I do have a double 150W 10,000k MH which might do that job. Would a sump based synthetic filtration sysyem be better than piles of LR - I've got just 40kg.

I'd just value your opinions - there is no rhubarb on this board and you all seem scarily competent at reefing!

Non-marine related below, just for interest if any are...

Slight joke - I'm running a 360g koi vat (plastic stock tank from Laguna) as a tank for a red belly pacu so maybe something that size would do?! I'm currently just sorting the condensation problems this has created in a concrete floored conservatory. Fortunatly most things in there are inert or plastic coated...

My problem is I seem to want to keep literally everything. If they come from as different an environment and are as different as possible then that's me. Pacu and freshwater pipefish, seahorses and triggers. I'm a very slight loonie with pufferfish, too. There is one 'normal fw tetra tank' in the house. But that's set up for my lady wife and she picks the fish for that.

Edited April 15, 2010 by soggydrysuit

[TexasTiger]

Definitely not recommending it, but for what it's worth I have a powder blue in a 75g. This tank was my brother-in-law's until recently and the fish has been in there for several years now. He's still pretty small, but he's a total tank bully. He'll probably have to get pulled out of there before too long for both his own good and the good of the other inhabitants.

[Robb in Austin]

I'd just like to add that the longer the tank the better. A 120 is, typically, 4ft long and even though it is wider than a 75/90 I feel it is not much difference fish wise.