Not another Tang post!

[Atrumblood]

Hello all,

I have a 100 gallon 47.3" x 23.6" x 19.7" aquarium which I am upgrading into shortly. I really want to get a fish that will graze on the algae on the rocks. The obvious choice would be to get a tang.
My question is one that has been asked again and again, but can I or would you recommend I get a tang for this setup?

I am not too thrilled with the idea of rehoming my fish once it gets too big, but I will if that is my only option with this setup.
If a tang isn't a great idea for my tank, what other fish can you recommend that will graze on algae and live a nice long happy life in my setup?

 

[G Santana]

For that size tank I'd house either a purple or yellow tang. I've seen them in smaller setups and they managed well for a long time, it's not a popular opinion but as long as it weren't crowded it would be fine.

 

[BostonReefer300]

For that size tank I'd house either a purple or yellow tang. I've seen them in smaller setups and they managed well for a long time, it's not a popular opinion but as long as it weren't crowded it would be fine.

Agree with the above. Any smaller of the tangs should be fine as long as the tank isn't too crowded with other fish and aquascaping. That being said, have you considered a foxface? Very pretty and, IMO, hardier than tangs. They can get big, but not so big that 100G would be too large. In any case, it would be easy to re-home that fish

 

[Atrumblood]

Thanks for the feedback.

@BostonReefer300 Am I correct in assuming that you meant to say that a 100G aquarium wouldn't be too small for a Foxface?

My tank is going to house mainly LPS and some SPS coral with minimal fish.
My 30 gallon that I am upgrading from houses 2 saddleback clowns, 1 sailfin blenny, and 1 damsel. I would only be adding the Tang/Foxface and possibly 1 wrasse to the 100-gallon once it is set up.

My rockwork will have a few tall spires of rock for SPS, but most of the real estate will be lower on the sand bend and shorter rockwork. That should give a bigger fish swimming space in the middle to the upper part of the tank.

Thoughts?

 

[G Santana]

Thanks for the feedback.

@BostonReefer300 Am I correct in assuming that you meant to say that a 100G aquarium wouldn't be too small for a Foxface?

My tank is going to house mainly LPS and some SPS coral with minimal fish.
My 30 gallon that I am upgrading from houses 2 saddleback clowns, 1 sailfin blenny, and 1 damsel. I would only be adding the Tang/Foxface and possibly 1 wrasse to the 100-gallon once it is set up.

My rockwork will have a few tall spires of rock for SPS, but most of the real estate will be lower on the sand bend and shorter rockwork. That should give a bigger fish swimming space in the middle to the upper part of the tank.

Thoughts?

A 100 gallon tank is a nice size tank, but everything is relative, you can house a tang or foxface, everything depends on how many fish are going in there.
I have a 130, I have 5 fish two are tangs yellow and purple, and this year I'll probably add two more, but I have seen hobbyist with the same size tank have close to 30 fish. I will keep my numbers on the lower end, that's what I like.

 

[Atrumblood]

Cool. Thanks for the information.

 

[adittam]

A 1-spot foxface will do well in that tank long-term. As would any one of the bristletooth tangs OR a yellow tang.

Lots of people keep purple tangs in tanks that size, but I know they get a little bigger than yellow tangs and are known to become a little more aggressive, so you'd have to keep an eye on it if you went with a purple.

 

[JPM San Diego]

Use this article, and calculations, and the type of tang you wish to keep.

Estimating the Need for Swimming Space for Aquarium Fishes

This article explores required aquarium sizes for marine fishes

www.reef2reef.com

 

[JPM San Diego]

I created an Excel tool based on the article. My prior post just had "standard" tank dimensions.
I added row 21 which anyone can use to enter the dimensions of their own tank.
I took the liberty of entering your tank dimensions. Columns AD through AQ show the results for tangs and foxface.
Each fish has two numbers. Both black means sufficient space, both red = insufficient swimming space, first black second red means sufficient space for juveniles, but full size adults may need to be re-homed.
As you can see Kole, Tomini, and Yellow tangs are all good. A full size, large Purple Tang is just barely outside the preferred ratio. Blue and Naso tangs are considered too large. Certainly adults would need consideration of being re-homed. Hope this helps

 

[nereefpat]

My question is one that has been asked again and again, but can I or would you recommend I get a tang for this setup?

Certain ones would be fine. The best would be most in the genus Ctenochaetus, but not Chevron. Kole & tomini are the most popular in the group, but there are others.

Zebrasoma besides the 2 huge sailfins would be fine as a single. That group will be aggressive to any similarly shaped fish, like butterflies or other tangs.

Which one are you looking at?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Thanks for the feedback.

@BostonReefer300 Am I correct in assuming that you meant to say that a 100G aquarium wouldn't be too small for a Foxface?

My tank is going to house mainly LPS and some SPS coral with minimal fish.
My 30 gallon that I am upgrading from houses 2 saddleback clowns, 1 sailfin blenny, and 1 damsel. I would only be adding the Tang/Foxface and possibly 1 wrasse to the 100-gallon once it is set up.

My rockwork will have a few tall spires of rock for SPS, but most of the real estate will be lower on the sand bend and shorter rockwork. That should give a bigger fish swimming space in the middle to the upper part of the tank.

Thoughts?

Sorry yes I mistyped. 100G should be fine for a Foxface if not otherwise too crowded. You're planned setup sounds good to me! If you're going to get a wrasse, I'd highly recommend a yellow coris----super pretty and great at pest control. If you get a foxface though, that might be too much yellow. Melanarus wrasse would be an excellent substitute---very similar characteristics to a yellow coris---although I've read occasionally that others have had aggressive ones. I've had three over the years, but all of mine have been super chill.

 

[i cant think]

I recommend against any Zebrasoma, stick to the smallest of Ctenochaetus. My Ctenochaetus is VERY hyperactive in a 4’ tank (Not too hyper to the point of stressing out). A Zebrasoma is so much worse than a Ctenochaetus for swimming. Also aggression needs to be taken in, Zebrasomas are nasty with aggression whereas Ctenochaetus aren’t too bad. I speak from experience, I have had a Zebrasoma in a 3’ tank and I regretted it instantly, it was a mass murderer at only 2 inch. If you MUST have a tang, stick to Ctenochaetus and if you do, stick to the smallest (C. flavicauda, C. tominiensis, C. binotatus).

 

[damsels are not mean]

A dwarf angel will graze and will look and do better in such a setup than any tang, IMO. If you want reef safety there's algae blennies and if that don't do it for you I'd go with the smaller ctenochaetus tangs.

 

[i cant think]

A dwarf angel will graze and will look and do better in such a setup than any tang, IMO. If you want reef safety there's algae blennies and if that don't do it for you I'd go with the smaller ctenochaetus tangs.

I’ve actually found many blennies (Salarias and Escenius being big ones) to nip at SPS polyps - My current E. lineatus has eaten what looks like every polyp on my RD Joker Staghorn.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I’ve actually found many blennies (Salarias and Escenius being big ones) to nip at SPS polyps - My current E. lineatus has eaten what looks like every polyp on my RD Joker Staghorn.

I didn't know the salarias were nippers. I have seen a lot about the bicolor and tailspot ones especially. And Pictus apparently love LPS.

 

[i cant think]

I didn't know the salarias were nippers. I have seen a lot about the bicolor and tailspot ones especially. And Pictus apparently love LPS.

Man, Pictus even like LPS? That would’ve been my second choice of blenny - Guess once my guy passes I’ll go for a twin spot blenny.

 

[Atrumblood]

A dwarf angel will graze and will look and do better in such a setup than any tang, IMO. If you want reef safety there's algae blennies and if that don't do it for you I'd go with the smaller ctenochaetus tangs.

I already have a sailfin blenny, but he is useless at algae control. It actually prefers meat to greens these days. Odd fish..

 

[Atrumblood]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I at least know now that I have more options than I had previously thought.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I already have a sailfin blenny, but he is useless at algae control. It actually prefers meat to greens these days. Odd fish..

I'm not sure how good fish are at algae control on their own. There was some study I saw that showed most algae control on the reefs was done by "small" eaters which meant mostly small inverts while "large" algae eaters like tangs and parrotfish were just icing on top. I think you need a base of snails, urchins, etc. to control algae in any meaningful way and the fish are just there because you like them. The amount of tangs needed to keep the rocks spotless is not practical in a fish tank.

 

[Atrumblood]

I'm not sure how good fish are at algae control on their own. There was some study I saw that showed most algae control on the reefs was done by "small" eaters which meant mostly small inverts while "large" algae eaters like tangs and parrotfish were just icing on top. I think you need a base of snails, urchins, etc. to control algae in any meaningful way and the fish are just there because you like them. The amount of tangs needed to keep the rocks spotless is not practical in a fish tank.

I totally agree. My tank does house at least 15 snails(Nassarius, Cerith, Trochus, and a Turbo), 5 small hermits, and 1 tuxedo urchin. I wanted to get a tang or some other algae grazing fish that could help out.