Baby Tangs in Smaller Tanks...

[ReefSafari]

So I never really was into the fish side of the hobby, I always had a coral reef tank with a couple small fish as accents, but I was curious I see baby (small) Hippo Tangs, Sailfin Tangs, ect. and know they get large, and require fairly big tanks, but do small ones do ok in smaller tanks like 55g and under? with the idea of once it grows rehoming them?

 

I know people have kept smaller tangs in smaller aquariums, and its very frowned upon, but if you have the intention of rehoming it after say 6-8 months, and start with a small one, do they do ok? I always wondered how the smaller "baby" tangs, groupers, ect. do in smaller tanks.

 

I would imagine it depended on how fast they grow as to how quickly you would have to rehome them, I know people do it, but for those who have done it, did it work out? did they do ok for a while? or is the whole idea just not a good one?

 

My next tank will be bigger, but most likely not big enough to properly house tangs and larger fish, so I was curious if it was frowned upon to "rotate" smaller fish and as they grow to large rehome and get a small one again? That is if they even survive to the rehoming process.

 

For those who have raised baby tangs, how fast do they normally grow? with regular normal feedings? All my experience has been with Nano Reef Fish, like Royal Grammas, Gobies, Firefish, Clowns, ect...Just trying to learn about the larger fish, and what can and can't be done...Would love to hear some peoples experiences with raising baby tangs, I see them in shops all the time, cute little 2 inch babies, if only they stayed that small, they would be perfect...Most people say Tangs need 100+ (some say 200+) gallons...as adults though...right?

[Gill]

So IMO your main problem is going to be that your talking about tangs, regardless of how big they will get or the size of your setup they are simply a difficult fish to keep. Secondly they need to eat a lot, unlike a clown who's growth will be stunted by underfeeding a tang will continue to grow and become bone thin, all this just means you may have issues with water quality do to "overfeeding". You can do it though so long as your system is over filtered and you feed quality foods, to be honest I think most baby blues die in larger tanks and have a muvmch better chance in a nano.

[ReefSafari]

Interesting, thanks Gill for the imput...Never thought about the difficultness of keeping them, I was focusing on the size issue, thanks!

[sharoleb]

At the risk of exposing myself to the tang police, I will share my story. Any smack talk tossed my way will simply be summed up to - well, she's still doing great! (whistle)

 

When we started reefing about 2 1/2 years ago, we started w/ a 36 bowfront. Our first two fish were a blue damsel and a convict damsel. The blue damsel cooked that first summer when we were struggling to maintain a decent tank temp.

 

A while later, we went to our local and reputable fish store, who helped w/ our tank. My husband really wanted a blue fish to replace the damsel. They had tiny little baby blue tangs that were just SO CUTE. Obviously we didn't know any better, and took home our little tang.

 

Fast forward a while and we found that people considered what we were doing to be the ultimate faux pas in saltwater keeping. OOPS. That was when I knew we would need to rehome her or upgrade eventually. But, we watched our tang closely and fed her well. She was very very healthy, never signs of stress or disease. Knock on wood - I've never had ick or anything bad on my fish.

 

Soon after, we upgraded to a 75, tang was very happy and growing well. Now, we have a 90 and she's still doing well. At some point I will either upgrade again - when I buy a home - or rehome her.

 

To date I have lost two fish total - the blue damsel, and a dragon goby (still a mystery about the goby.) We still have our tang.

 

I think part of the contributing factors of why we've never gotten ick is I have a fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp, and most importantly - a striped neon goby. This goby keeps all of my fish very clean. He will latch himself onto the fish and swim w/ them as he eats any parasites. We got the neon goby shortly after the tang.

 

Regular water changes and a decent skimmer have kept my params in check. I feed them every day. The pics are hard to judge size, but this is how big she's gotten in a little over 2 years.

 

Happy baby tang:

 

Happy tang in 75:

 

Happy tang in 90:

[ReefSafari]

Awesome Sharoleb! Thank you for replying, I totally understand the "Tang Police" and that was not my intention and hope that nobody goes that route, So I thank you for sharing your experience, its great to hear yours is and has done well for you...How quickly did your Blue Hippo Tang grow? I am guessing it was one of the cute 1-2" babies? and by the time you upgraded to a larger tank was the Tang pretty big for the 36 bowfront?

 

This is one thing I was dissapointed with smaller tanks, was the fish availablity, when working with smaller tanks, you seem limited as to what fish can be kept, many of the fish aren't compatable with each other so, your even more limited. This is something I am considering with my next tank, the ability to keep different fish, larger fish...

[sharoleb]

Yes, she was one of the 1-2" fish. Teeny tiny.

 

Actually, when we upgraded to the 75 we didn't feel like she had outgrown the 36 yet. To be honest, we upgraded because I had updated the lights, skimmer and filter on the 36. Right when I said "I'm happy with this tank and it's equipment" I wanted another one. So I jumped on a really good deal for the 75. (Thre were plans for it anyway...) The picture above of the 75 was actually one of the last pics I have of that tank, right before we switched again. The fish definitely grew more in the 75. I wish I had better measurements for you.

 

Smaller tanks can be really cool - but you're right, also very limited at times.

[Bicyclebill]

I had a blue tang for 10 years, starting in a 55, to a 60, then into my 90G. He just up and died one day. Seemed pretty happy to me though. At 10 years old, he was only about 6". He was one of three tangs I had in my tanks. I love tangs!

[Blue Z Reef]

Also, if your tang gets ick, make sure you do something about it asap. Mine had issues that left scars. He also had the lateral line errosion issues. Ick wasn't an issue after I added a UV filter and started feeding properly with garlic (cleaner shrips help also). Also, as a precaution, buy a grounding probe if your going to get tangs, it's worth the piece of mind for $10-15 and prevents some issues. I had never had tangs before I bought my first one and mine lived 2 years in 3 different tanks (55 and 2x 90 gals) and moved with me once. He died when I had an unexpected amonia spike.

[aquaman30k]

I have several blue tang one of which I also picked up as a baby and has been living happy as a clam in my 29gal biocube for almost 2 years. He is one of 2 fish in that tank and I attribute his good health to quality food and quality filtration.

 

As I break down that tank he will moving to his new home in the 65 but IMO he looks just fine in the 29 and I would feel comfortable leaving him there if I didn't already have a larger tank for him to move into.

 

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

[Emerald525]

Shhhh watch out the tank police are watching this thread(enforcer)(scary)

 

The little baby blue hippo tangs are fine to keep in a smaller tank they are just more susceptible to ick and you do have to feed them frequently and make sure they have algae available.

 

I too am guilty of getting tangs and not knowing better. I got 2 blue hippo tangs. They were small and I had them in a 55 gallon tank. The first ones I got developed ich and I took them out and treated them with cupiramine and that stressed them out and they died.

 

The LFS owner thinks they also may have been cyanide caught because all of the ones he had died too.

 

Got replacements, they too developed ich, this time left it alone and they survived and grew to be fat and happy hippo tangs when we upgraded to a 150 tank.

 

We eventually had to get rid of them though as they developed a taste for acans!

[richmckee]

My buddy had a blue hippo for for 4 years in a 55 gallon and it got to be about 5 inches. It started eating the shrimp in his tank so it had to go and it ended up dying shortly after the move. I've had one for about a 9 months now and he's one of my favorites. So far he hasn't eaten any corals or critters in the tank, but I've heard from a lot of people that they can be a menace once they get a taste for it.

[reefnjunkie]

I have an Lavander tang in my 50 gallon frag but the footprint is 48x24-The "tang Police" thankfully dont reside here on this forum-

 

I am pretty sure most of them preach animal cruelity as they order sushi and rib eye steak or veal

 

The fish wil let you know if it is not happy-Hyperness, ich, etc...

Its good to be proactive and ask-Hats off to you for that-more peeps act first (myself as well) and react later

[Jeramy]

The one thing I would say. Is that although small tangs in small tanks will work out on for a short time, however lots of people will by a fish then try and change there habitat to fit the fish. I feel it is better to buy fish that fit the habitat. Ok one more thing is that some times we as hobbiests buy somthing with the intentions of later upgrading but that up grade is slow in coming or does not happen and then the poor critter who is at our merrcy suffers for it. Not trying to be a downer just pointing out the other side of the coin. Ultimately the decision is your and what you feel comfortable doing. My two cents =)

[JonBoy]

I have 3 tangs in a 120 although my clown tang is starting to get mean :( but i would try it although its hard for me to get rid of fish once it out grows the tank.

[steelhead77]

As I have 4 Tangs plus an 8 inch FF Rabbit Fish in my 180, I am the farthest thing from the Tang police, however......Can you keep a German Shepard puppy in a closet? Sure you can. Will it be happy and healthy? Probably for a little while. Quite quickly it will outgrow that tiny closet, then what?

 

I'm actually quite shocked that so many people think it's ok to do this. Tangs need room to swim. IME, gallonage and horizontal swimming room are both concerns. These fish don't swim vertically. A six foot tank should be the minimum for a fish like a Blue Tang. They get big fast. As do Sailfins, Clowns, etc. Big fish make big poop, which means extra bio-load, which stresses everything. IMO, smaller Tangs such as Yellows, Purples, Chocolates and Koles can be kept in four foot tanks, but that's about it.

 

Once these guys get big, or even semi-big, they are almost impossible to get out without tearing your tank apart - especially if you have a lot of live rock and delicate corals. I couldn't imaging trying to get my Blue or Sailfin out without removing most, if not, all of my rock. Then the stress of doing that would be brutal on all the fish, not just the Tangs. A little common sense goes a long way in this hobby. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

[CoralCrazy]

I have a very happy baby powder brown in my cube style 30 gallon frag tank. The only reason hes not in the bigger tank yet is because I have a bully of a bristletooth tang. So I'm letting him grow a little before he encounters the bully. The only tank mates he has are 2 clowns and they all seem to share food very nicely.

[Raamiah]

So I've got a question...

I'm getting ready to set up my tank this weekend and will be adding the fish in the next month or so, so I'm planning what to put in it. For a long time I didn't look at tangs because I had a 55 and knew that was too small, but now I have a 75 and I thought maybe I could. I did most of my research on Live Aquaria and there were only a few species that could go in a 75 but now that I look at other sites like Vivid Aquarium they have a VERY different scale of minimum tank size.

How do I know which tangs will be happy in a 75? What site or sites are the best when looking at fish size and what size aquarium they will thrive in?

My wife and I were looking at Kole Yellow Eye Tang or the White Tail Bristletooth simply because they were the only ones we liked that Live Aquaria said would fit in a 75.

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions on tangs?

Thanks!

[Burningbaal]

So I've got a question...

I'm getting ready to set up my tank this weekend and will be adding the fish in the next month or so, so I'm planning what to put in it. For a long time I didn't look at tangs because I had a 55 and knew that was too small, but now I have a 75 and I thought maybe I could. I did most of my research on Live Aquaria and there were only a few species that could go in a 75 but now that I look at other sites like Vivid Aquarium they have a VERY different scale of minimum tank size.

How do I know which tangs will be happy in a 75? What site or sites are the best when looking at fish size and what size aquarium they will thrive in?

My wife and I were looking at Kole Yellow Eye Tang or the White Tail Bristletooth simply because they were the only ones we liked that Live Aquaria said would fit in a 75.

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions on tangs?

Thanks!

 

I'll be putting one or two tangs in my tank soon. I'm getting them small, and they're in a 55 now, I'm upgrading to a 90 in the next few months (same footprint as the 75, just taller). All my understanding is that the ones I'm considering will be ok. basically, the advice I have heard (and will pass on to you) is this: bristletooth tangs (including the kole) should be ok in a 4' tank and the yellow tang probably would too, most other tangs need a 6' or longer tank.

Mostly: It's more about the longest dimension (width) of the tank than it is the number of gallons.

[MVPaquatics]

Anyone else think it is interesting that like 90% of the small tangs are "hippos." Is this because of Dory? or the fact they are one of the most often imported small tang?