Future Reef Planning

[Kodski]

Hello all,
I'm looking for some opinions on some fish I'd like to keep in the future and what size of aquarium would best suit my fish goals. I have a few tangs on my list of fish that I'd like that I'm most concerned with.

Currently have:
Gold Rim/white cheek tang
sailfin tang
Purple Tang
Orange Stripe Bristletooth tang (in a separate tang but would like to consolidate)

Would REALLY like to have:
Achillies Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Vlamingi tang


Would highly consider but wouldn't add if I had the above three:
Sohal Tang
orange shoulder tang
chocolate tang
Dussumieri Tang
Fowleri Tang

I currently have a 8ft 240 gallon (at least that's the best way to describe it) aquarium that I'm tempted to setup, but the only thing holding me back is whether or not I could keep all these tangs in this size of tank. If not, I'm deeply considering build a much larger tank. Something along the lines of 8ftx4ft, but that brings up the question of, what really would be the recommended sizing for this list of tangs. I feel like a 300 gallon tank would accommodate these tangs fine, and some build threads have similar stocking lists for that size. At the same time though, I know that's a lot of tangs, and three acanthurus tangs to boot, I'm wondering if something over 400 gallons isn't required for success. Of course bigger is always better, but I'd like to have a good starting point of, how big is big enough and build from there.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello all,
I'm looking for some opinions on some fish I'd like to keep in the future and what size of aquarium would best suit my fish goals. I have a few tangs on my list of fish that I'd like that I'm most concerned with.

Currently have:
Gold Rim/white cheek tang
sailfin tang
Purple Tang
Orange Stripe Bristletooth tang (in a separate tang but would like to consolidate)

Would REALLY like to have:
Achillies Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Vlamingi tang


Would highly consider but wouldn't add if I had the above three:
Sohal Tang
orange shoulder tang
chocolate tang
Dussumieri Tang
Fowleri Tang

I currently have a 8ft 240 gallon (at least that's the best way to describe it) aquarium that I'm tempted to setup, but the only thing holding me back is whether or not I could keep all these tangs in this size of tank. If not, I'm deeply considering build a much larger tank. Something along the lines of 8ftx4ft, but that brings up the question of, what really would be the recommended sizing for this list of tangs. I feel like a 300 gallon tank would accommodate these tangs fine, and some build threads have similar stocking lists for that size. At the same time though, I know that's a lot of tangs, and three acanthurus tangs to boot, I'm wondering if something over 400 gallons isn't required for success. Of course bigger is always better, but I'd like to have a good starting point of, how big is big enough and build from there.

240-300g would suffice but I see potential war with powder blue added and sohol will be your newest nightmare
Dussomieri gets large quickly as will vlamingi

 

[Kodski]

240-300g would suffice but I see potential war with powder blue added and sohol will be your newest nightmare
Dussomieri gets large quickly as will vlamingi

If I did the 240 gallon, I would just hope to add an Achilles and powder blue to what I have. The Achilles is my favorite tang, and the powder blue is my fiancés favorite. I love vlamingi tangs but I guess it would be more on the nice to have list.

If it helps, the 240 gallon is actually a reversed L-shaped aquarium. Long side is the viewing pane where normally the long side would be the wall side. Each long side is 60” and each short side is 36”. So straight, long side would add up to 10ft. Both sides are 24” front to back, and 24” deep. So middle length is 8ft.

 

[Kodski]

Also, all tangs would be introduced at the same time in the new tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

If I did the 240 gallon, I would just hope to add an Achilles and powder blue to what I have. The Achilles is my favorite tang, and the powder blue is my fiancés favorite. I love vlamingi tangs but I guess it would be more on the nice to have list.

If it helps, the 240 gallon is actually a reversed L-shaped aquarium. Long side is the viewing pane where normally the long side would be the wall side. Each long side is 60” and each short side is 36”. So straight, long side would add up to 10ft. Both sides are 24” front to back, and 24” deep. So middle length is 8ft.

Ironically but historically, both the Achilles and PBT are the most susceptible to ich and velvet
I would highly suggest 30 day quarantine or at minimum, 90 minute bath in ruby rally pro

 

[Kodski]

Ironically but historically, both the Achilles and PBT are the most susceptible to ich and velvet
I would highly suggest 30 day quarantine or at minimum, 90 minute bath in ruby rally pro

Partially why I’m concerned about size of the tank. If the 240 is really that much of a stretch to add a powder blue and an Achilles tang to, I’d rather go bigger. Either way, I trust where I source my fish from and they consistently have the healthiest powder blues, or any fish, every time I go there. I have dealt with ich in the past in my current tank, and I believe more in ich management. Too many experiences with failed quarantine have convinced me that there is no way to eradicate ich from a system. Buying healthy fish from a trust worthy source makes all the difference though. I acknowledge that I could be playing with fire with a PB and Achilles tangs, but I just haven’t had any success with preventing ich. I have had success with beating ich back and keeping it from coming back though.

 

[am3gross]

I have a 375 gallon, 8x3x2 and the Powder Blue eventually killed my Achilles. I also added both at the same time, as they were the "show" fish of the tank. They both were very small, very close to the same size.

My PB is currently in the 300 gallon sump because he was not playing nice with the other inhabitants in the tank.

 

[Kodski]

T

I have a 375 gallon, 8x3x2 and the Powder Blue eventually killed my Achilles. I also added both at the same time, as they were the "show" fish of the tank. They both were very small, very close to the same size.

My PB is currently in the 300 gallon sump because he was not playing nice with the other inhabitants in the tank.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Would you share what other tangs you had in there with the achillies and PB?

 

[i cant think]

If I did the 240 gallon, I would just hope to add an Achilles and powder blue to what I have. The Achilles is my favorite tang, and the powder blue is my fiancés favorite. I love vlamingi tangs but I guess it would be more on the nice to have list.

If it helps, the 240 gallon is actually a reversed L-shaped aquarium. Long side is the viewing pane where normally the long side would be the wall side. Each long side is 60” and each short side is 36”. So straight, long side would add up to 10ft. Both sides are 24” front to back, and 24” deep. So middle length is 8ft.

I see war between the Goldrim, Achilles and Powder Blue. These three tangs are of the same Complex, I come from the Wrasse World where it’s generally known not to mix two or more species from the same complex. I find that in the tang world there is less belief in the Complexes though (I would assume this is due to there being less complexes).

I’ve found with tangs 3 is a good number to have, aggression is split to 3v3. There’s more of a chance of them coexisting due to the aggression being split up. I will warn you though, after adding the tangs you most likely will be unable to have anything else. Also with any fish and mixing the same species;
Be ready with an escape plan. An 8’ tank is a large tank and you wouldn’t want to fight a fish because of aggression.