tang and tank size

[SnowManSnow]

what makes a tang so incompatible with smaller tanks? Why do they need so much room????

B

 

[Anonymous]

they swim fast and need the length of a tank to swim. Look at a video of a tang swimming and you will see how fast and far they can get in a few seconds.

 

[Mike612]

There's also the fact that tangs get big really fast that makes them need big tanks. If kept in too small of a tank, a tang will develop stress induced diseases like ich and hole in head which can both be deadly to tangs.

 

[ChrisRD]

In addition to what's already been mentioned, tangs have a very fast metabolism and need to eat a lot and often to maintain a healthy body weight. This quantity of food/waste can make it very tough to keep water quality high. The smaller the system, the worse the effect.

Also, many of them are very territorial and trying to cramp them into a small area will result in stress/aggression which generally results in poor health or even death over time.

 

[primetime]

There's also the fact that tangs get big really fast that makes them need big tanks. If kept in too small of a tank, a tang will develop stress induced diseases like ich and hole in head which can both be deadly to tangs.

I am finding this out to be true in the worst way. My Naso is under stress. I am contemplating just selling him to the LFS, or I may sell the 2 foxfaces to the LFS. Its rather disheartening to se him hiding and not swimming about like he used to.

 

[Mike612]

I'm sorry to hear that. I recommend you get him into a quarantine tank ASAP and that you start treating him. Use garlic enriched foods. A Cleaner Shrimp would also be a big help. If the tang is really full of ich, it's best that you take him out and put him in a quarantine tank with a Cleaner Shrimp for a little while until he seems better. In that time, you can decide what to do with the Focfaces.

Just as a last note SnowManSnow, probably one of the most important reasons for a tang to need such a big tank is because they need a lot of oxygen. This adds on to what Rob said, that tangs swim fast and a lot. Obviously if a person was to run, he would need a lot of oxygen circulating in him. If he didn't have too much oxygen, he would tire out a lot faster. The same applies to tangs. Since they swim a lot and also swim fast, they need tanks rich in oxygen. Obviously the more room they have, the more oxygen they have.

 

[SnowManSnow]

regardless of what it may appear I do know of the above arguements. My only real issue is tank SIZE.. as in dimensions (not water volume) As far as gallons go for o2 I have around 75 g total. I have 65 in my display. The water quality is top notch, because everything I have is well oversized. I think my skimmer is rated for over double my tank. (Octupus recirc 150). I only have 3 small fish in there, a pseudochromis and 2 clowns. Becuase of good skimming I don't think feeding more would foul my tank.

MY ISSUE is, as stated, size between 2 walls. The tank is a cube that only measures 24x24x24, or somthing to that proximity. I guess as a responsible reefer a tang, of most any type, would be out of the question.

ummmm.. what about a kole tang?

just my last thought before chalking up another fish that i can't keep.

B

 

[Anonymous]

...just my last thought before chalking up another fish that i can't keep.

B

S'matta Snow, can't you accept "because we said so!" as an answer :lol:

In my HUMBLE opinion its really a matter of keeping an animal "alive" vs. having that animal "thrive". Can you keep one alive? Sure you can. Will it thrive in a 2'x2'x2' tank? Probably not, and its simply due to the nature/needs of the fish.

 

[Anonymous]

Tangs are more trouble than they are worth in my experience anyway. I recently took a hippo tang I had for over five years into the fish store, he was eating too many corals and causing too much trouble for the pretty flash of blue he added. Once they get large you have to feed them so much food, it was really unbelievable how much food I was giving this hippo, and still he seemed ravenous and would clear out a patch of zoanthids in a day. He had this neurotic personality too, and would sometimes hide when I fed the tank, meaning I had to feed even more to keep him in good condition.

Now in the 120 we just have the sailfin tang, and even though he seems a little more well adjusted than the crazy hippo, I still feel a lot of guilt about how little swimming room he has. He is about 8 years old and a very big fish. Someone who got him as a baby gave him to me when he outgrew what they had. So I feel a little better that he is not cramped in a smaller tank, but if I ever find anyone with a 400g or something that wants him, I would give him away. He just has no room, sometimes when I watch him he reminds me of a tiger in a cage, pacing. Not exactly the relaxing scene you want when you sit back to watch your tank.

 

[SnowManSnow]

thanks

b

 

[primetime]

Well... I lost the battle to keep the Naso alive. I lost him this morning. I guess placing him in a QT and garlic was not done fast enough. He did not have ICH but I did notice a white "hole" once I could really look at him. I gave the 2 foxfaces back to the LFS but I guess it was too late for the Naso. Now I only have a cleaner wrasse, maroon clown, purple and yellow in my 110G. The deminsions are 48x30x18.Is this considered a small tank for Tangs? The current tangs are only small fellas.


Prime

 

[Anonymous]

Tangs typically are open water swimmers as well, they swim vast distances, so having plenty of "hiding places" in rock really doesn't make any sense as a valid argument.

And I would stay away from a Kole tang as well in a tank that small.