kmacc05 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 First off, this is not a post to start any kind of debate or argument. Just looking for info. I've seen how this can turn into a sore subject quickly on other forums. My roommate and I have been researching like crazy on all different subjects, and the other night he came across something that seems to go against what I have learned regarding tangs as a whole. I have learned that to safely keep tang, there needs to be a minimum of 120 gallons for a lot of swimming room, algae and territory. 75 gallons or more for some of the smaller, less active ones. I know many people will put a baby tang in a small tank, wait until it grows and then get rid of it. I don't feel comfortable with this, because I want the fish to always be happy. Not happy at the beginning and then stressed out because it's too big and doesn't have enough room. And then the thought of catching it down the road just sucks IMO. So, this website seems to think that Blue Hippo Tangs require a 20 gallon or larger tank. Most other tangs on the site seem to have the usual bigger tank size requirements. Is this just because you can purchase these at such a small size when they are babies? I couldn't imagine a full grown Blue Hippo Tang being happy in a 20 or so gallon tank. http://www.aquacon.com/Surgeonfish_saltwaterfish.html I know there is a lot of debate out there about tangs and with the "tang police" and yadda yadda. But, I would like opinions from those knowledgeable of tangs, not people that have jumped on the band wagon of "you shouldn't have a tang because that's what I've heard" BS. Thanks in advance for any info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 6 ft tank minimum for swiming room. and dont ever trust aquacon, they even have con in their name for a reason..... I noticed some sites say you can put hippos in nano's because they are so small as babies but they quickly grow up and require a lot of room. I personally feel something smaller than 200 is a bit small for tangs like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 What Bio3 said. The longer the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 6 ft tank minimum for swiming room. and dont ever trust aquacon, they even have con in their name for a reason..... I noticed some sites say you can put hippos in nano's because they are so small as babies but they quickly grow up and require a lot of room. I personally feel something smaller than 200 is a bit small for tangs like that. Totally agree. Find someone that has a large tank and go watch their tangs swim. After watching them dart across the tank in seconds, you will understand why 6' seems almost too small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 That seems to be the general consensus on tangs. I remember reading somewhere that they average in the wild around 25 miles a day!!!! 6 ft seems even too small to try and recreate that amount of swimming room. It sucks that there are sites out there like this misleading people into thinking they are doing good in buying a baby tang. I was at AD the other day and they had several hippo tangs no bigger than 2" but I know better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I had tangs in a 90 and a 75 that did well. I currently have 5 tangs in my 200 that's 7'. I wished I would have started with at least a 125 for that 6' length. Definitely the best way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I don't disagree on length. The 12 or 25 miles per day statistic I do think is partly taken out of context for this argument. Obviously a fish in the wild isn't going to have food delivered to them so they have to swim a lot. But definitely when you see a fish get spooked and it covers 10 feet in about 1/2 second, they probably need as much length as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Scott Micheal's "Maine Fish" list reccomended tank sizes for adult tangs. Yellow tangs are probably one of the smallest tangs and will grow to adult size and do fine in a standard 75 gallon. I've never kept a Regal tang smaller than about 3" so I can't speak to how fast those really small sizes grow but almost always the tangs I've kept only grow about a 1/2" a year with few exceptions growing as much as 1" Tangs maturing after 4 - 6 years or more is where I see the real problem with keeping tangs comeing into play. For example a group of yellow tangs may be placed in a tank that according to common concensus is big enough to house them all as adults but as they mature the dominate fish will get more aggressive and assertive with the subordinates and after years of apparent happy cohabitation the dominate fish often does decide to take out the subordinates. I have no problem puting several 3" yellow tangs in a 55 as I know before they mature and start killing each other off I can catch them as they grow with "realtive" ease. I would not put a half dozen of the same age/size in a 500 since there is almost a certainty when they mature around 5" or 6" I will not be able to catch the subordinate fish when they get picked on. In a 500 If I add a group of yellow tangs it will be at least multple additions over time and other tang species will be added to break up the social hierarchy. I would add two or three small - medium yellow first then if at all possible a large 6" mature tang then several more 4" - 5" yellow tangs. Fish darting around a tank certainly is an indicator it has not acclimated or adapted to a tank. In my experience it probably does not have anything to do with the size of the tank but but a fish's inability to find a safe hiding place it is comfortable with. Regal tangs are probably one of the best examples of this: Quarintining one in a large tank with hiding places is not enough, if they do not see other fish comig out to eat they wil not either and need to be quarintined in a group or with multiple dither fish or other fish to get comfortable and come out to eat. But darting, scittish behaviour can also be indicative of a fish that has a problem or has developed a problem, I've seen this occur with a yellow tang in one of my tanks that for several years was quite calm but died about 6 months aftre getting very scittish and there was no other indicator of disease (it really is helpful to take short videos and review them periodicly to observe changes in behaviour). It can also be indicative of a fish that has not been acclimated to having people around the tank. Fish in tanks that have only an autofeeder and only occasionally people around when food is dropped are going not going to associate those big funky looking fish with wierd jointed fins with the food source and should be avoided and will appear very scittish. I use autofeeders extensively but I still try to hand feed the fish or at least stand in fron of the tank after dropping in some pellets. And just like like people fish have personalities and some just don't deal with stress as well as others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I've gotten good results using the RC guidelines: Tank Sizes for Tangs (Surgeonfishes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 thanks for all the info guys! Very helpful I'm going to stick to the, tangs = big tanks funny how the RC guide has the hippo tang at 240 gallons at 8 feet. That's quite different from aquacon. Also regarding Bio's statement, is aquacon not a reputable site? I know the 20 gallon tang thing is bad info, but are they known for being untrustworthy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 thanks for all the info guys! Very helpful I'm going to stick to the, tangs = big tanks funny how the RC guide has the hippo tang at 240 gallons at 8 feet. That's quite different from aquacon. Also regarding Bio's statement, is aquacon not a reputable site? I know the 20 gallon tang thing is bad info, but are they known for being untrustworthy? Google them I've never personally ordered from them just researched before placing orders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 I plan on looking into reviews of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I have used Aquacon. I have been satisfied. However, IMO, they color up their pictures. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I used them once years ago because at the time, I wanted a Blackcap Basslett and they were the only place that had them in stock. I was weary from reading reviews but everything came in healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I've had tangs in a 180g that was 72" long x 18" wide and in a 150g that was 48" long x 24" wide. In my experience certain tangs did better in different tanks. Blue hippo, Sohol, Clown, and Naso do well in a long tank but often suffer when they get to larger sizes because the width isn't enough for a full turn. Convict, Yellow, Powder Blue, Sailfin, Achilles etc. do better in wide tanks where they have more open space to pick the rocks. What I've always seen from these latter types of tangs is that they spend most of their time in the middle of the tank and don't cruise back and forth like Naso, Hippo and Sohol do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I'd love to have a 10-12ft long by 4-6ft wide setup with lots of rock islands and arches and fill it full of anthias, chromis, and tangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 I'm going to be setting up a 75g here soon and was thinking about and yellow eye kole, and a yellow tang, both babies would do alright in that size. I'd love to have a 10-12ft long by 4-6ft wide setup with lots of rock islands and arches and fill it full of anthias, chromis, and tangs. That would be pretty awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I'd love to have a 10-12ft long by 4-6ft wide setup with lots of rock islands and arches and fill it full of anthias, chromis, and tangs. That would be awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 @Bio, what are the measurements of the 750? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 10 ft by 4 ft. Robb and I were standing in my garage drinking a beer discussing the whole island scape with tangs earlier in the week lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 10 ft by 4 ft. Robb and I were standing in my garage drinking a beer discussing the whole island scape with tangs earlier in the week lol Forget tangs. Go with the sharks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 10 ft by 4 ft. Robb and I were standing in my garage drinking a beer discussing the whole island scape with tangs earlier in the week lol Forget tangs. Go with the sharks. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 10 ft by 4 ft. Robb and I were standing in my garage drinking a beer discussing the whole island scape with tangs earlier in the week lol Forget tangs. Go with the sharks. +1 I was very tempted but I feel it's on the very small end of what sharks need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 That has to be a typo in the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 It would be awesome! I couldn't imagine having that size of project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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