Black Tang!!??

[dizzy]

I agree with Matt, the list of fish you've selected grow very large (Clown triggers max out at 2 feet, half the length of this tank!), it's unlikely that the angels will get along w/ eachother, and theres a risk with the tangs getting along. If it were my tank, I'd do the black tang, emporer, and clown trigger, starting them all off young with the clown trigger going in last.

Chill,
I've often been able to keep more than one species of angel together in a tank that size. If one is considerably larger than the other the battles for domination are usually short lived. Some seem to get along together remarkably well. I love clown triggers, but they can grow into nasty critters. I have one that is so mean he lives along in 75 gallon sump and working in the sump is dangerous. I once saw a clown trigger disembowel as 6" imperator angel in a single bite. Fish keeping rules are not written in stone.
Mitch

PS
You might trying a nice large foxface or a harlequin tusk instead of multiples from the same family. I have a large tassled file in my 450 that is well behaved and always gets attention. Instead of the porcupine puffer I would recommend a Sapo or Guineafowl from Mexico. You might also consider lions and eels. A large zebra moray is a very cool fish. Don't rush it. There are great things to choose from.
M

Just wanted to add that most 120-gallon tanks are longer than 4' unless it is really deep.

 

[Anonymous]

Chill,
First, my opinion. $250 for a black zebrasoma is just silly. There's nothing special about them other than the fact they cost so much. It's worth about $18. Supply and demand, and all that. However you may want to reconsider this. It's your tank, and and as someone else said, different strokes.
Secondly, clown triggers get too large, and are far too nasty to cohabitate in that tank long term. You will be fine for a year, or even two or three. Eventually though that fish will need his own tank. This I can promise. :wink:
May I suggest that you consider a Rhinecanthus species such as the huma huma? They don't get large, even in the wild. In captivity they reach 8" or so, and it takes a while for them to get there. They also have a much better record for cohabitating with other fish over the long haul.
Keeping angels together presents no issues if you do it right. You need space, and in general you need at least 3. Keep only two, and the dominant one only has one other angel to pick on. It still can work, it's just a bit more risky is all. I've done it many times in the past, and once had a 180 gallon tank with 8 species of large angels. I took it down before I ran into space issues, but it wouldn't have worked over an extended period of time. I again urge you to think long term. You have space issues. I have a tank bigger than yours, and I have an imperator, however I cannot consider another large angel due to the size they attain. Consider a dwarf angel along with the imperator.
My choice for your tank, if you want things to work 3 and 4 years down the road would be this:

Huma huma (R. aculeatus)
Emperor angelfish
Flame angel, or other dwarf
Yellow tang (or black tang) Do NOT mix zebrasoma species.
Puffer (consider leaving him out, just for space reasons)

Jim

 

[jims47]

Chill seems responsbile, hence the questions. There is no guarentee that if Chill doesn't buy it, a responsible hobbiest would. If I were the fish, I would rather take my chances with Chill, then with someone with gold dripping off them buying it because they "have to have it"(whatever it is) and hell on the price. Find out what it's eating at the lfs and see if you have a problem matching it, if not, put a deposit down on it and research the heck out of it, if you feel comfortable I would get it. It's a 50-50 proposition for the fish, atleast you seem to want to care for it properly, no guarentee that the person with a wad of money in their pocket will. I suspect the lfs will sell it to whoever has the bucks and not check membership cards or degrees from xyz university. Just my thoughts.
Jim

 

[Anonymous]

Good point.

 

[CHILL]

Thank you all for your responses.

The Clown is not high on my list either as it just seems too agressive to put up with (regardless of how sharp it looks), and I am slowly trying to talk her out of it. This may be more difficult as that fish as well as her porcupine puffer were her 2 favorites when she kept fish 8 years ago. We'll see how that goes.

I really like the idea of many different species of fish in the tank 1 tang, 1 angel, 1 trigger, 1 something else, etc... I think it provides a pleasing variety and keeps the tank fresh. I recently bought my fiance a guide to fish species that has something like 400 pages - she really enjoys pointing out all the neat fish she hasn't seen before as well as starting to pick fish by their compatability.

The Black Tang is on hold at the LFS waiting for my 180 to mature and be able to support him. As far as the price goes, I love the fish and have never seen one in a tank before (nor have I been scuba/snorkeling in a school of them) so am still probably going to pay the high price tag - centerpiece fish and all. The only hesitation is the fact I could get a whole lot of the others on my want list for the same price as the one fish. It's a matter of preference - I see people paying $100 for a single red or pink Ricordia Mushroom or $150 and higher for PPE Zoanthids and think nothing of it because of their rarity. This fish will be my "collectors item".

Again, thank you to all who have helped with this.
Chris

 

[Tarasco]

Doing some research, found this thread. How is the tang doing?

Also, does anyone know the scientific name for a black tang? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Len]

Zebrasoma rostratum.

I had one for many years and it finally died from eating bad algae (no joke!). To me, this fish was easily worth the money In fact, my new tank should have one as well.

 

[dizzy]

Might as well post a picture of mine. Out of all my tangs this is the one that holds itself the proudest. Try taking a picture of your tangs with the dorsal fin up, it is harder to capture than you think with most species, including the sailfin varities. This tang actually swims over to me and lets me touch it on the side. Anybody that don't think these fish are special ain't never had one.
Mitch