I love the look of Tangs but understand that they are susceptible to ICH. The last Tang I had was a Toni Tang and it brought on a bad case of ICH. I forget to put him in my HT and it cost me quite a bit of dead fish. I know, DUMB ME!!!
My general question: How does anybody keep tangs without bringing on health problems. I would love to keep tangs but don’t want the mental heartache of dead fish. Please, Who can give me some serious advice so I don’t kill anymore fish. I see tanks at aquarium stores with tangs but they don’t give much advice.
Most tangs are highly susceptible to cryptocaryon and amyloodinium, so I highly recommend quarantine to start. A minimum of thirty days' observation to ensure that the fish are feeding properly and showing no discernible signs of disease or parasites is a must. Seventy-seven days will break the life cycle of the most stubborn ectoparasite, but around thirty days is generally seen as sufficient. Some keepers medicate during quarantine as a prophylaxis, others do not; you'd likely want to research this in some detail. But, do check into recommended parasite medicines, along with anti-bacterials, and keep some on hand. And, remember that a fish can look healthy for several weeks even as it may be very sick- another good reason to quarantine for at least thirty days. If you want to keep more than one, try taking them through quarantine together and introducing them to your display tank as a group, as this may help sort out the aggression issues that often plague this family. A 40 gallon breeder with some PVC tubing makes for a good isolation set up. Some tangs, particularly those in the acanthurus genus, are partly detritivorous, so adding them to a tank that has been established for at least six months may bring greater success. If you are not running copper or dosing other medications, you can put a piece of live rock in your quarantine tank, which your tang(s) will very much appreciate. Just remember to remove it if you need to medicate. (And don't put it back in your display tank.) Water quality is paramount, with an emphasis on high oxygenation- O2 in your tank should be at saturation levels. Along with high oxygen levels, water flow is also important, so a fair amount of current/turbulence is recommended. Some tangs, like the Achilles, are adapted to live in surge areas, so heavy flow in the tank is a prerequisite for keeping that fish. Tangs are active fish and have a demanding metabolism, so the more dissolved O2, the better. These fish can be aggressive, so they need a lot of space; check some of the tang threads here, as they have good information regarding recommended tank sizes and tankmates for various tangs. And research the adult sizes of these fish- some, like the Naso and Vlamingii grow too large for many home aquaria. Feeding may be the most important issue with tangs. These fish need seaweed, and lots of it. Plain, additive-free sushi nori is possibly the most important food you can give them- I regard it as a staple. Check the fish food section at any online reef retailer. I had a powder blue who each day got nearly a notebook page-sized sheet of folded green and brown seaweed (~75% green/25% brown) that had been treated with Zoe, Selcon, and vitamin C, and left to soak overnight in the refrigerator. He also availed himself of pretty much any other food I gave to the other fish, including carnivore preparations. This is a good thing, since we don't really know what these creatures incidentally ingest as they graze on seaweed all day on the reef. I think that a good rule for feeding marine fish in general is to make sure they get plenty of their recommended foods, but after that, the more variety, the better. So, to sum up: 30 days or more quarantine, medication if necessary, good water flow and high oxygenation, attention to potential aggression which can lead to stress and disease, proper tank size, with larger being better, and feeding, feeding, feeding. This is just my advice, garnered from keeping a variety of tangs over the years. There is substantially more information on here regarding these fish- you have days worth of reading ahead. Don't let the demands of tangs or a couple of mishaps scare you away from these fish. We've all dealt with their parasite and aggression issues, and you'll be able to work your way through it, too.
