Need Help Tang Police

[JWHITESP88]

We are currently building a house and I am already getting a list together for the new tank build. My old tank was a deep blue 57 and while I liked the tank, I hated the fact that I couldn't house a tang comfortably. I have been looking at new tanks and I keep coming back to the deep blue 45 gal rimless frag tank. I love the look and dimensions but am worried that I will be faced with the same dilemma as before, not enough space for a tang. the 45 gal is 48'' x 18'' x 12''. Will this tank be long enough to house a tang and the fish be happy? Any thoughts on this tank or something of similar size that would work for a tang would be awesome. I work shift work so I am trying not to go very big to keep my maintenance manageable working rotating shifts.

 

[Dsnakes]

It depends on which type of tang you are interested in. Perhaps a yellow eye kole tang would be ok in those dimensions.

 

[ndrwater]

Short term, sure a tank this size can house a tang. Problem is, short term is just that. Unless you would be willing to re-home the tang sooner than later, I would either rethink the tang, or the dimensions of your new tank.

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

Yeah im sorry but that is still too small for a tang, you MIGHT be able to get by with a small tomini but thats about it i wouldnt even consider anything else. The best option if your looking for a tang with a setup on the smaller size Would probably be a 120(48x24) its wider and double the height. You could keep a yellow, kole, I would still stick to smaller species.

 

[JWHITESP88]

Squaretail bristletooth is what I was hoping for. I do like the yellow eye Kole tang as well. Should I be prepared to rehome either of these as they grow?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

*WHEW WHEW WHEW*

Yup, I’m going to have to agree with my colleagues on this one.

 

[ZoWhat]

Short body tangs like yellows, koles, sailfin are ok for 4ft tanks.

You go with long body tangs like hippos, orange shoulder and the like....they really need a 6ft tank



.

 

[JWHITESP88]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just forfeit the idea of the tang. I don't want to keep a fish to suffer in a tank that is not adequate. A smaller tank is what fits my lifestyle right now and that's ok, there are other great fish options out there to pursue.

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

Short body tangs like yellows, koles, sailfin are ok for 4ft tanks.

You go with long body tangs like hippos, orange shoulder and the like....they really need a 6ft tank



.

4 feet but when there are other dimensions involdved. A standard 4 footer is usually 24” front to back and 24 high. I would never put a yellow especially not a sailfin with its long top fin in 12” of water.

 

[ndrwater]

Squaretail bristletooth is what I was hoping for. I do like the yellow eye Kole tang as well. Should I be prepared to rehome either of these as they grow?

I have several species of tangs in my tanks including Kole and Tomini. They ALL are very active swimmers and subsequently require as much room as you can give them. Rehoming would probably be within a year, 2 at the outside. As long as you can in good conscience know that your fishy friend is short term and better suited to a bigger tank sooner than later, go for it.. I would suggest staying away from some of the larger species like Naso, Dursomeri or even Sailfin. All grow quite large quickly

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

Squaretail bristletooth is what I was hoping for. I do like the yellow eye Kole tang as well. Should I be prepared to rehome either of these as they grow?

If your going to get one no matter what look for the smallest one and definetley be prepared to rehome it SOON. But its never a good idea to say your going to rehome it without already planning a larger build. Usually the poor tang just ends up staying in the smaller tank.

 

[ZoWhat]

If you're in the planning stage of a house built.... why not a 6ft standard tank. Wife being difficult?

 

[JWHITESP88]

Na the wife loves having the tanks around, she loves a good cup of coffee and watching the tank in the morning. A couple of reasons for the smaller tank, the first being space. I don't believe I would have room on the bottom floor of the house for a tank that long as I never planned for that when building the house. Second and most importantly, a smaller less maintenance intensive tank fits my lifestyle the best. I work shift work at a power plant so I work both days and nights on a rotating shift and have found that smaller tanks just fit my lifestyle better. I found that the smaller thank that I had before the 57 actually turned out the be a nicer tank because I could devote the time required to maintain it properly whereas the larger tank I just did what I had to do to get by and it never took off.

 

[DSC reef]

A 45 gallon is gonna be tough long term to house a tang to be honest. If you have a solid plan to rehome the fish then you could try a yellow but I don't like to recommend that. A sailfin, blue tang, etc, I wouldn't even consider.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

To the OP, not sure why a member would suggest your wife's being difficult as that's pretty rude IMO but for a 45 gallon tank it would be hard to keep a tang long term. We kept a purple in our 4' tank but it was 75 gallons and he did great for many years. Have you looked into a dwarf or pygmy angelfish? They are a gamble when you have coral but I've seen people keep them with little to no issues.

 

[Mr. Limpid]

Didn't plan for a tank in your new house, shame on you. When we bought our house that was my first item on my list was were would the 6' tank go.

 

[User]

If you're in the planning stage of a house built.... why not a 6ft standard tank. Wife being difficult?

Lol @ wife being difficult. Why do people always blame the wife.

He literally said in his first post that he does shift work and wants to keep the maintenance down.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

To the OP, not sure why a member would suggest your wife's being difficult as that's pretty rude IMO

I personally agree. I find the meme about lying to your wife about how much a coral cost particularly troubling. First and foremost, it means you're lying to your partner. Second, it probably means you aren't budgeting and you haven't set aside an amount every month that can be spent guilt-free on aquarium stuff. Third, it means that you and your partner don't support one another in your interests and financial goals. This is not typically what I think of when I think of a happy relationship.. but different strokes I suppose

Back on topic, I do agree that a 6' tank would be better. I don't personally think that a 4' tank is going to be significantly less maintenance than a 6' tank. While it might cost more, now is the best time to do something like this (during a new home/tank build, that is).

 

[DSC reef]

I personally agree. I find the meme about lying to your wife about how much a coral cost particularly troubling. First and foremost, it means you're lying to your partner. Second, it probably means you aren't budgeting and you haven't set aside an amount every month that can be spent guilt-free on aquarium stuff. Third, it means that you and your partner don't support one another in your interests and financial goals. This is not typically what I think of when I think of a happy relationship.. but different strokes I suppose

Back on topic, I do agree that a 6' tank would be better. I don't personally think that a 4' tank is going to be significantly less maintenance than a 6' tank. While it might cost more, now is the best time to do something like this (during a new home/tank build, that is).

Well said