Do people overexaggerate tangs

[Dave1993]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

 

[boacvh]

Ahhh the Tang landmine...
(I agree with you)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes. My Powder blue- Model citizen and not an ich magnet. I have 13 tangs with no issues.

 

[Bars]

I believe lots of people like to exaggerate and just copy other people's words. Not just for tangs.

Aggression isn't solely caused by the size of a tank. Saying you need X foot tank for X number of tangs and that's it is just wrong. Feeding plays a big role, types of fish and most importantly what a tank looks like. Minimalistic scapes (the ones with 2 or 3 rocks or something) or no ability for fish to swim behind, around and through the scape is much worse than a X foot tank that's supposed to be Y foot in my opinion.

 

[Dave1993]

Yes. My Powder blue- Model citizen and not an ich magnet. I have 13 tangs with no issues.

Yea my powder blue never had ich and also never QT him but my LFS treat the tanks with 0.25 copper so i reserve them and let them sit for 2-3 weeks before i take them

 

[Dave1993]

I believe lots of people like to exaggerate and just copy other people's words. Not just for tangs.

Aggression isn't solely caused by the size of a tank. Saying you need X foot tank for X number of tangs and that's it is just wrong. Feeding plays a big role, types of fish and most importantly what a tank looks like. Minimalistic scapes (the ones with 2 or 3 rocks or something) or no ability for fish to swim behind, around and through the scape is much worse than a X foot tank that's supposed to be Y foot in my opinion.

i agree with this 100%

 

[Jedi1199]

Excuse me sir, I am going to need you to come downtown with me. We have some questions you need to answer.

 

[X-37B]

Tangs, especially the large ones, are open ocean swimmers. We should give them as much room as we can.
My Convict is now to big for my 120 and I have a 500 he is going to be rehomed to once I catch him.
My Tomini is about the right size and temperment for a 120, imo.

 

[Mr Fishface]

This happens with almost everything in the hobby. Saying certain things will nuke your tank when, in fact, there has never been a recorded confirmed case of something like that happening in a home aquarium.

I think tangs get a bit extra of this. They are maybe one of the most popular fish out there. They are also fast and most get large so I think people have good intentions when they try to say you need a large tank.

People repeat all sorts of things they hear and take at face value. They don't look deep to confirm or bust theories and just assume it's all true.

 

[Dave1993]

but powder blue are swimmers yet mine only uses 2 foot of my tank 3 if it decides to go for abit of a swim (not often) i feel the only reason tangs swim is for food and if they have food right there then they is no need for them to swim so much dont get me wrong i think tangs that get over a foot long need bigger tanks and would never put 1 of them in my 4 foot tank depending on if my powder blue or purple tang gets to about 7" i know i will have to rehome them but in the passed year my purple has grown about half an inch if that he is now growing in width (becoming a fatty)

 

[i cant think]

So i went against everything i heard and decided to get a powder blue tang added to an established purple people said the powder blue would murder all my fish not enough room blah blah blah the powder blue uses 2 foot of the tank (the side i feed also my tank is 4 foot)

so what's you're opinions do you think people overexaggerate the space needed for tangs maybe i got lazy tangs that don't like swimming

Had the purple 2 years the powder blue 1 year

Honestly, I find people under exaggerate the tank size for their tangs. Yes some refuse to use the whole tank however when you see dinner plate sized tangs in 6’ tanks… **** me. I hate trying to say their tank is too small however it’s the truth. I find Achilles and both PBT’s/PGT’s to be very active and beyond aggressive. NEVER will I try like 5 fish with a PBT tang in a 4’ tank. Yes rockwork plays a huge role in this behaviour but I’m sorry, have you even seen how much tangs swim in the wild? It’s crazy! They’re along the reefs all day long almost never stopping their movements. I find many tangs in 6’ tanks and it’s upsetting when they’re like 6” and pacing but it’s said to be a normal behaviour. To me, when a fish stays on one side it’s a red flag of something being wrong with the other side of the tank (Most likely not enough o2).
A healthy tang will use every inch of tank they’re given, an unhealthy one or stressed one won’t do this.
I find tangs should have bigger and longer tanks. I always think “6’ for this tang minimum, so 8’ should have it be comfortable”. From that description of your tang it’s just staying at the side… Thats pacing, and that is never normal in any fish.

 

[Jedi1199]

Honestly, I find people under exaggerate the tank size for their tangs. Yes some refuse to use the whole tank however when you see dinner plate sized tangs in 6’ tanks… **** me. I hate trying to say their tank is too small however it’s the truth. I find Achilles and both PBT’s/PGT’s to be very active and beyond aggressive. NEVER will I try like 5 fish with a PBT tang in a 4’ tank. Yes rockwork plays a huge role in this behaviour but I’m sorry, have you even seen how much tangs swim in the wild? It’s crazy! They’re along the reefs all day long almost never stopping their movements. I find many tangs in 6’ tanks and it’s upsetting when they’re like 6” and pacing but it’s said to be a normal behaviour. To me, when a fish stays on one side it’s a red flag of something being wrong with the other side of the tank (Most likely not enough o2).
A healthy tang will use every inch of tank they’re given, an unhealthy one or stressed one won’t do this.

It is interesting.. I have found that the fish in ALL of my tanks, tend to spend most of their time in the general area of where I drop the food in. Yes, they use the entire tank, but most often can be found in the "feeding area"

 

[Dave1993]

Honestly, I find people under exaggerate the tank size for their tangs. Yes some refuse to use the whole tank however when you see dinner plate sized tangs in 6’ tanks… **** me. I hate trying to say their tank is too small however it’s the truth. I find Achilles and both PBT’s/PGT’s to be very active and beyond aggressive. NEVER will I try like 5 fish with a PBT tang in a 4’ tank. Yes rockwork plays a huge role in this behaviour but I’m sorry, have you even seen how much tangs swim in the wild? It’s crazy! They’re along the reefs all day long almost never stopping their movements. I find many tangs in 6’ tanks and it’s upsetting when they’re like 6” and pacing but it’s said to be a normal behaviour. To me, when a fish stays on one side it’s a red flag of something being wrong with the other side of the tank (Most likely not enough o2).
A healthy tang will use every inch of tank they’re given, an unhealthy one or stressed one won’t do this.

My wrasse and pipefish go on the other side of the tank though my pipefish spends most of his time on that side my powder blue doesn't pace not aggressive and if you read about many people have very bad success rate with these tangs (usually die within 6 months had mine for the 1 year mark now) i agree with you on the massive tangs needing bigger tanks i wouldn't stuff a tang that gets 14" long in a 4 foot tank

 

[i cant think]

It is interesting.. I have found that the fish in ALL of my tanks, tend to spend most of their time in the general area of where I drop the food in. Yes, they use the entire tank, but most often can be found in the "feeding area"

Mine stay around the whole tank… 2 years of feeding them in the same spot, I find this abnormal though, I have a bristletooth, 5 wrasse, CBB, Genicanthus melanospilos, and a Foxface. None of them stay around where I feed and always peck the rocks, that’s normal in my eyes. No tang should be constantly swimming and more peck a rock every so often as they drive by.

 

[i cant think]

My wrasse and pipefish go on the other side of the tank though my pipefish spends most of his time on that side my powder blue doesn't pace not aggressive and if you read about many people have very bad success rate with these tangs (usually die within 6 months had mine for the 1 year mark now) i agree with you on the massive tangs needing bigger tanks i wouldn't stuff a tang that gets 14" long in a 4 foot tank

So am I… I just find it cruel throwing any tang in a tank that’s below its minimum because these things swim and do a drive by graze. Bristletooth tangs IME should be the only tang in a 6’ tank. Zebras are absolute brats and don’t even get be started with Z. scopas. NEVER again until I have an 8’-9’ tank.
These tangs are just not worth the risk and IMHO only nigricans should be kept in a 4’ tank since these aren’t so pacey and don’t stress as easily. I spend hours and both types of PBT are having spasms around the LFS’s tanks. Bear in mind these are the 2” babies… I don’t care about the size of the tang at max size it just feels cruel, I find bristletooths are the only tang suited to smaller tanks because they swim in patches (Although mine still is a constant swimmer doing the drive by chomps).

 

[boacvh]

Yea my powder blue never had ich and also never QT him but my LFS treat the tanks with 0.25 copper so i reserve them and let them sit for 2-3 weeks before i take them

@Dave1993 first start with the tangs and now no QT, you really are pushing it here....

 

[Dave1993]

@Dave1993 first start with the tangs and now no QT, you really are pushing it here....

All our fish rack systems are treated with a 0.25ppm copper treatment 24/7 to eradicate Oodinium, Cryptocaryon, Amyloodinium, Ichthyophthirius (external parasites)
We monitor our systems daily by testing and treating and documenting all dosing information.

We also treat all our fish rack systems for Flukes, Tapeworms, Flatworms and turbellarians (internal parasites)
We monitor our systems daily and document all dosing information.

This is from the fish store i order from

 

[vetteguy53081]

Honestly, I find people under exaggerate the tank size for their tangs. Yes some refuse to use the whole tank however when you see dinner plate sized tangs in 6’ tanks… **** me. I hate trying to say their tank is too small however it’s the truth. I find Achilles and both PBT’s/PGT’s to be very active and beyond aggressive. NEVER will I try like 5 fish with a PBT tang in a 4’ tank. Yes rockwork plays a huge role in this behaviour but I’m sorry, have you even seen how much tangs swim in the wild? It’s crazy! They’re along the reefs all day long almost never stopping their movements. I find many tangs in 6’ tanks and it’s upsetting when they’re like 6” and pacing but it’s said to be a normal behaviour. To me, when a fish stays on one side it’s a red flag of something being wrong with the other side of the tank (Most likely not enough o2).
A healthy tang will use every inch of tank they’re given, an unhealthy one or stressed one won’t do this.
I find tangs should have bigger and longer tanks. I always think “6’ for this tang minimum, so 8’ should have it be comfortable”. From that description of your tang it’s just staying at the side… Thats pacing, and that is never normal in any fish.

It depends on individual fish. Mine- Model citizen. In with 5 yellows, tomini, purple, gem, chocolate, Achilles, chevron more fish

 

[i cant think]

Yea my powder blue never had ich and also never QT him but my LFS treat the tanks with 0.25 copper so i reserve them and let them sit for 2-3 weeks before i take them

I can’t even talk about this haha, I have never QTed my fish and it has bitten me in the back with flukes once this year haha. Still refuse to add more stress onto a fish with QT though. I find most of my fish have thrived in the DT instantly.

 

[i cant think]

It depends on individual fish. Mine- Model citizen. In with 5 yellows, tomini, purple, gem, chocolate, Achilles, chevron more fish

Yes but very few tangs aren’t pacy in small tanks. I find some that are safer in small tanks (Achilles have thrived in my LFS and broken down into ich in large 6’ tanks).