Atlantic Blue Tang: Acanthurus coeruleus

[Struggler]

So I have seen people say that you need a 180 gallon tank and others say a 75 gallon tank for this fish. How is there such a variation in the recommendations? I have a 90 gallon right now would that work for them? I would like to get one very young in the yellow stage and watch it change over time. Do they grow very fast? I free dive in the Florida Keys and often see them darting around, and I would love to have one, but I don't want to keep one if it won't be Healthy, Happy, and Fat!

 

[Crabs McJones]

So I have seen people say that you need a 180 gallon tank and others say a 75 gallon tank for this fish. How is there such a variation in the recommendations? I have a 90 gallon right now would that work for them? I would like to get one very young in the yellow stage and watch it change over time. Do they grow very fast? I free dive in the Florida Keys and often see them darting around, and I would love to have one, but I don't want to keep one if it won't be Healthy, Happy, and Fat!

Good on you for this! Very happy to see someone thinking about the fish and it's health over their wants . At a max size of 9 inches I would lean more towards the 180 gallon requirement. #reefsquad would you agree?

 

[Oldreefer44]

I raised one from the juvenile stage to about 6 inches in a 135. Became a bully so finally had to remove it. IMO just gets too big and aggressive,even for a 180.

 

[kschweer]

I would agree with 180 being the minimum for this fish.

 

[Struggler]

Yeah I figured 180 would be best. The 75 gallon recommendation seemed silly. Probably just for the juvenile stage

 

[4FordFamily]

Atlantic blues grow QUICKLY and can double in size in 6 months from their juvenile size. They also get progressively more aggressive as they grow, much like a Sohal would but not quite as nasty.

I’d say a 180 is definitely a minimum tank size for these guys.

 

[saltyhog]

Agree with the above. Is the 9" maximum from LA (maybe for captive fish?) because I've seen them considerably bigger than that in the wild.

Mine became a bully at 4". Beautiful fish and would probably be a good fit if you had zero other tangs or angels.

 

[d-man]

Yes very aggressive in smaller tanks. Give them at least 6’ of swimming space but better at 8’

 

[User1]

Have to say this was going to be my 2nd tang purchase, and last, in my 210 which is 54" wide x 30" tall and 30" deep. What I didn't have in total width of swim lanes I had depth. I did a lot more research and figured this fella wasn't a good fit. Pretty fish and not one of the more common ones which is a nice change. However, general consensus is that they are a wee bit more aggressive if there isn't enough room.

I then did some more reading to see what might be a good fight with my Kole tang yet different. Lieutenant tang came up. Another pretty fish but more research, saw it was almost has large has the naso, so back to the drawing board In any case the Atlantic while pretty everything I read said to avoid it unless you have a larger tank. I say that having wanted one but passing because I don't have enough room.