Need Help Tang Police

[Scrubber_steve]

I'm conflicted. I should be a bit dissapointed that you have a vlamingii in a 3 foot tank. But you've had it for 5 years and it's healthy means you're doing something right.

Good food, excellent filtration, & a cosy bedroom

 

[Amoo]

Oh good grief everyone hug and swap frags.

the irony in this post in this thread alone coming from one of our female reefers was gold. Well done to you Ma'am

 

[nereefpat]

Who has a 2' fish in a 3' tank???

You do.

And good work editing out the part where you don't know what kind of fish you own.

 

[EW_Fish]

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.

I work shift work also. 12hr days and a ton of overtime to afford this hobby. I would think having a larger tank would be much easier to maintain then a smaller tank. I have a 120g and I don't do anything but fill the top off. Its all about making things easy in this hobby. If you build a salt mixing station and you can do a water change with a flip of a switch then I don't under stand what all you have to do. drain some water fill it up A bigger tank dosn't mean more work

 

[Scrubber_steve]

You do.

I see; you have to create a strawman to make an argument.
My Vlamingi, which is what we call them in my part of the world, is only 9" long, & hasn't grown any in three years.
And I will never keep a fish measuring 2 feet in a three foot aquarium.

And good work editing out the part where you don't know what kind of fish you own.

?
I thought I said I have a Vlamingi Tang. Yes, yes, I did say I have a Vlamingi Tang. LOL
another strawman

 

[Crabs McJones]

Just a reminder to all to please keep it civil and friendly and on topic to the OP's original question. Thanks everyone

 

[User]

I'm conflicted. I should be a bit dissapointed that you have a vlamingii in a 3 foot tank. But you've had it for 5 years and it's healthy means you're doing something right.

Many, many examples of zoos keeping animals in environments too small, and the animals surviving a long time, before mental illness, aggression, growth effects, lethargy, depression kick in.

Just because it’s surviving and eating (in a food rich habitat, so it doesn’t actually have to do anything) doesn’t mean it’s completely healthy. No way it’s showing natural behaviors in such a small tank, but it looks fine so I guess he’s doing something right (/s on the last part...)

 

[Amoo]

I'm not really sure why this conversation about the guy with the large fish, who already said he wouldn't have gotten it to begin with had he known, is still ongoing. At the end of the day we're all ripping fish, inverts and corals out of the ocean and sticking them inside tiny glass boxes in our homes for our personal enjoyment. If dude has had it for a few years and it's become a pet and he's attached to it, it happens.

I think the point to the OP was made that even some of the medium sized tangs are probably too big for a tank his size, so let's quit beating this dead horse and move on.

 

[Mr. Limpid]

To put some perspective into this thread, I have a 46 gal, 3' x 1.5' x 1.5' tank.
I have a vlamingi, a yellow, & two blue tangs.

Here are my Tangs

You do relies that vlamingi can grow to two feet long. It will definitely out grow your tank or die from stress from that tank. He is sure a beautiful fish.

 

[MiniNina]

you can't have a tang and deal with it, get other type of fish and thats it or get a bigger tank, if you're kidnaping a fish from the ocean and sticking it into a glass cage at least get a big one.

 

[DSC reef]

you can't have a tang and deal with it, get other type of fish and thats it or get a bigger tank, if you're kidnaping a fish from the ocean and sticking it into a glass cage at least get a big one.

Welcome to R2R. You should start a build thread, we love pics.

 

[User1]

Sort of like me being a home builder, which I'm not, and Shaquille O'Neal asks me to build him a house. He goes to take the key and see his dream home only to find 6" high ceilings...

Scott - I'm THIS TALL, not a bloody Hobbit!

 

[ca1ore]

Vlamingi is a tank destroyer. I took on a rehome a few months back. A 14" fish in my 8' 450 ...... should have been fine, right? Nope, tank too small LOL. V was a one-fish fragging machine and ripping up the nori clip. No thanks.

4' tank is tough for any fish that gets past 5". Swimming space aside, the aesthetic just doesn't work for me.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Vlamingi is a tank destroyer. I took on a rehome a few months back. A 14" fish in my 8' 450 ...... should have been fine, right? Nope, tank too small LOL. V was a one-fish fragging machine and ripping up the nori clip. No thanks.

4' tank is tough for any fish that gets past 5". Swimming space aside, the aesthetic just doesn't work for me.

I could never describe my vlamingi as a tank destroyer, because he isn't. Of course I've had my vlamingi for 5 years in a tank that isn't chocka-block with rock & coral, with no room to swim for anything other than the smallest of fish. He loves his nori, but as yet failed to destroy the piece of pvc pipe I attach it to.
He's 9" max, from lips to tips, which sounds bigger than he actually appears. He hasn't grown any in three years, swims freely around, & doesn't look too big for the tank.
Happy, healthy & non-aggressive is how I'd describe him.
Of course, everything I write here is based on actual fact, unlike those who suggest he'll grow to two feet long (LOL), suffer a mental illness & be physically poor.
Now doubt, if I'd posed the question to those people - "how would a 2" vlamingi tang go in my 3 foot aquarium", the answers would have been "it will be dead within two years!"

 

[User1]

Well, the deal is Scrubber is that just because you can doesn't mean you should. Like driving in wet weather with high performance race compound tires, or slicks. Heck, without rubber at all and just the rim butt on the pavement. Sure you can but... The end game is that you won't change your opinion because it is working for you. The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, great book mind you - I suggest you get a copy - says otherwise. I mean @ca1ore is stating it on actual fact for which you can see his build thread. It is there. I can also speak factual because I have a Lt. Tang that I purchased in May at 3" in my 210 gallon tank. May of 2018 mind you. It is already 9" and I'm afraid it is too big for my tank. Why is that you may or may not ask? Because latterly it can, and does, swim like a bullet from one side of the tank to the next in a blink of an eye. My tank is only 54" wide but 30" tall and 30" deep. It uses every bit of space there is in that tank and I'm pretty sure he isn't done growing judging by what it has already done.

Let us not even get into the waste. Tangs eat non stop and, well, poop just as much. But again - I digress. You have a nice looking fish and what appears to be a nice tank. Glad it works for you. However, most others tend to disagree that it is the right thing to do outside of QT. Which sort of reminds me back in the 80's there was an aquarium in Okinawa Japan that had the first whale shark display. dang tank it was in was massive. Didn't matter because a 38' whale shark is doing nothing more than running a Nascar circuit 24x7 and it slowly withered away.

OP - what did you decide?

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Well, the deal is Scrubber is that just because you can doesn't mean you should. The end game is that you won't change your opinion because it is working for you. The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, great book mind you - I suggest you get a copy - says otherwise.

Yes, it is working, for me & the V. And what that means is, you can do it. Whether one should or shouldn't is irrelevent as that proposal is arbitary & based on opinion. And the Marine Aquarist book most likely states what an article in a magazine i read recently stated; that a vlamingi tang grows to two feet long >>>in the wild<<< & will quickly out grow the largest of aquariums. Well, in practice mine hasn't outgrown my aquarium in five years. I can say that because he's not growing, is happy & healthy as any fish can be in an aquarium. However, if he was to suddenly & miraculously have a significant growth spurt, I would find a better home for him.

I mean @ca1ore is stating it on actual fact for which you can see his build thread.

I don't doubt ca1ore, but he put a large & mature V, a "rehomed V", into his tank & had it for only a few months. I'm talking about my V, Ive had since it was 2", for 5 years.

It is there. I can also speak factual because I have a Lt. Tang that I purchased in May at 3" in my 210 gallon tank. May of 2018 mind you. It is already 9" and I'm afraid it is too big for my tank. Why is that you may or may not ask? Because latterly it can, and does, swim like a bullet from one side of the tank to the next in a blink of an eye. My tank is only 54" wide but 30" tall and 30" deep. It uses every bit of space there is in that tank and I'm pretty sure he isn't done growing judging by what it has already done.

Again, I'm talking about a V, and the only reason a fish darts like the speed of a bullet is to escape being eaten, or if scared by something. Look in a natural reef; they just cruize around.

Let us not even get into the waste. Tangs eat non stop and, well, poop just as much.

Yes, you need good filtration. My phosphate is 0.03 & nitrate never above 10ppm.

But again - I digress. You have a nice looking fish and what appears to be a nice tank.

Thanks.

 

[ca1ore]

Of course, everything I write here is based on actual fact

Sample size of one ..... me too though LOL. Just because somebody does something, doesn't make it a good idea. Glad yours is working out - I'd still not suggest it's advisable if asked. Although it's something of a dubious scientific claim, it has been my consistent observation that fish don't grow to their maximum wild sizes in aquaria.

 

[ca1ore]

I don't doubt ca1ore, but he put a large & mature V, a "rehomed V", into his tank & had it for only a few months. I'm talking about my V, Ive had since it was 2", for 5 years.

Noop ..... Days only. Was immediately clear it wasn't going to work.

 

[Syed123]

Sample size of one ..... me too though LOL. Just because somebody does something, doesn't make it a good idea. Glad yours is working out - I'd still not suggest it's advisable if asked. Although it's something of a dubious scientific claim, it has been my consistent observation that fish don't grow to their maximum wild sizes in aquaria.

I've observed fish not growing to their full sizes as well in captivity. I just don't think we can emulate the wild in terms of their diet and space.

An LFS brought in new wild caught fish and there was this gigantic clownfish. It looked like a saddleback clownfish. This thing was at least 6 inches long, vary tall like 5 inches and it looked like a mean killer. I doubt any saddleback in captivity would grow into that thing.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Although it's something of a dubious scientific claim, it has been my consistent observation that fish don't grow to their maximum wild sizes in aquaria.

I have no doubt that this is true! The question is, just how large would an aquarium need to be for, say a V, to grow to full size?
My answer is - a much larger tank than mine.