Reef safe tang list help?

[Christoporia]

I am upgrading to a 180g tank and would love a few tangs. Can someone suggest a list of tangs that is:
A. Reef safe
B. Less likely to develop ich
I am open to other colorful fish also if they are reef safe. Any suggestions would help.

 

[pcon]

No fish is totally reef safe, benthic feeders, like tangs, are always liable, to some degree, to eat corals. In general Tangs are considered Reef Safe, though I like most everyone I know, have seen and heard of all sorts of tangs going rogue.
QT your fish, and use a properly sized and specified UV sterilizer if you are concerned about ich. There is really no such thing as an ich resistant tang.

 

[nereefpat]

A. All tang species should be considered reef-safe.

B. Tangs, because of the small scales and little slime coat, are very susceptible to ich and, worse yet, velvet. I would recommend tank transfer method or copper in qt for any tang, or really any fish being added to a system with a tang.

While all are susceptible to ich, those in the genus Acanthurus seem to be the most infamous...But it doesn't really matter if you are QTing.

Other popular reef safe fish to look into:
Anthias
Damsels
Flasher and fairy wrasses
Dartfish
Gobies
Blennies
Cardinals

Hope that helps.

 

[Christoporia]

A. All tang species should be considered reef-safe.

B. Tangs, because of the small scales and little slime coat, are very susceptible to ich and, worse yet, velvet. I would recommend tank transfer method or copper in qt for any tang, or really any fish being added to a system with a tang.

While all are susceptible to ich, those in the genus Acanthurus seem to be the most infamous...But it doesn't really matter if you are QTing.

Other popular reef safe fish to look into:
Anthias
Damsels
Flasher and fairy wrasses
Dartfish
Gobies
Blennies
Cardinals

Hope that helps.

I currently have a 90g set up with the following fish stock: square spot anthia, maroon clown, domino damsel, 4 talbot damsel, 2 sapphire damsel, lawnmower blenny, geometric hawkfish, firefish, Royal gramma, coral beauty, flame hawkfish, chalk bass, dwarf cherub angel, yellow tail damsel, so my fish list is long and full for the 90. I just want to add 3 or 4 larger colorful fish once the 180 is up and transferred over. Most of the damsels will transfer into my frag tank also.

 

[Aardvark1134]

Many tangs may eat corals when they get older. Most people seem to think they won't because so many people can't keep a tang alive long enough for it to get near full size. Tangs aren't as likely to eat corals as angels but when they get large they may...especially the Blue tang Dory!

 

[TNreeferBX]

if your main concern is ich, tangs are not the fish you want. if you want some really tough fish that have a lot of color you can try adding a few more dwarf angels when you transition the coral beauty. in a 180 they should have plenty of room to mark territory and the coral beauty shouldn't have an issue as long as you add him at the same time. fox faces are also big, nice fish that are often "safe" for a reef that are definitely hardier than tangs

 

[Brittany Marie]

I’ve read that tangs are also susceptible to lateral line disease. My yellow tang has never had any problems with health or being a nuisance on the reef. Honestly I take “not reef safe” with a grain of salt. I’ve had a Bursa trigger 3 months now, and he hasn’t touched any corals. He’ll pick off baby snails and pods but other than that he’s a model fish citizen. Sometimes it depends of the individual fish

 

[Jesterrace]

I’ve read that tangs are also susceptible to lateral line disease. My yellow tang has never had any problems with health or being a nuisance on the reef. Honestly I take “not reef safe” with a grain of salt. I’ve had a Bursa trigger 3 months now, and he hasn’t touched any corals. He’ll pick off baby snails and pods but other than that he’s a model fish citizen. Sometimes it depends of the individual fish

I agree. When it comes to temperament, reef safe or not and even minimum tank size (to an extent of course) I would say that much like the Pirate's Code that these are more about Guidelines and Odds than actual rules. Probably the Tang I hear the most complaints about with it going rogue on Coral is actually the Blue Hippo Tang. My Yellow Tang never touched my coral when I had it, but he was an aggressive butthead so I had to get rid of him. My Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel and Foxface are techically "With Caution" around corals but neither one has taken a serious interest in any of my corals.

 

[Christoporia]

I agree. When it comes to temperament, reef safe or not and even minimum tank size (to an extent of course) I would say that much like the Pirate's Code that these are more about Guidelines and Odds than actual rules. Probably the Tang I hear the most complaints about with it going rogue on Coral is actually the Blue Hippo Tang. My Yellow Tang never touched my coral when I had it, but he was an aggressive butthead so I had to get rid of him. My Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel and Foxface are techically "With Caution" around corals but neither one has taken a serious interest in any of my corals.

My coral beauty has nipped near the coral just getting at minor algae but never seen it nip the flesh.

 

[Jesterrace]

My coral beauty has nipped near the coral just getting at minor algae but never seen it nip the flesh.

I think mine has gotten the occasional exploratory type little chunk from my Corals but he has clearly spit it back out (doesn't like it). When mine does nip it's around the stony base, which like yours is probably him getting some algae.