Tang Count

[Ty.S44]

I'd like a tang count on my tank. I've got a 190(ish) gallon aquarium with dimensions 49"x30"x30". It's currently stocked with a 3" damselfish and a 2" rabbitfish. I understand the 4' max swim distance isn't outstanding in the eyes of the tang police, so I'm not expecting too high of an estimate. The damsel is a bit of a bully but hasn't hurt anything, so I'm not worried there. The rabbitfish may cause some trouble though as far as competition for grazing territory goes, but I'm unsure. At the moment, my extremely unprofessional opinion tells me I could probably do two and maybe three if I chose the right species. How many tangs would you guys think could live comfortably coexist?

Bonus points shall be rewarded if you can tell me the largest tang available to me that wouldn't look cramped in my aquarium. I'm curious, and I have a thing for size, lol.

 

[Suohhen]

Length isn't too big of a concern for a tank your size as you can arrange the rocks to let them swim in a circuit. Regarding how many can comfortably coexist there is the safe range of 3 or 4 and then there are people who go with 12 or 15 with the idea that no one will step out of line. I personally like to stay on the very safe side when it comes to tangs but one thing that helps is to balance with other large active swimming fish. Genecanthus angels are my favorite but there are also a number of good butterflyfish, other Angels, Rabbitfish and the like.

 

[blaxsun]

I have a 160-gallon and I have 4x medium size tangs (sailfin, half black mimic, white bristletooth and powder brown), 1x medium parrotfish, 1x medium rabbitfish (foxface), 2x medium angelfish (emperor, lamarck's) and 3x large wrasses (melanarus, christmas and green) so you should be fine with 3-4 tangs easily.

 

[i cant think]

3-4 tangs is max but I’d personally go for 3 and you wouldn’t really be able to have many (if any) of the Acanthurus, Paracanthurus, Prionurus, Naso species as they all live in surge zones naturally and do need 6’ length unless you want to risk stunting their growth and stressing them out.

 

[nereefpat]

I would do some combo of your rabbit (foxface?), 1 non-sailfin Zebrasoma, and 1 Ctenochaetus.

Something like rabbit, truncated, purple.
Or rabbit, tomini, yellow
Etc.

 

[stovenut]

You can have 4 tangs easy. I agree with @Suohhen That the 6' length matters less if you aquascape in such a way that your tangs and rabbit and any large angels can swim in a circuit. Having your rockwork in the middle and allowing them to swim an oval or better yet...a figure 8 pattern will make them happier. Go find your 4 favorite tangs first. Hopefully it's not a Caribbean Blue or a Unicorn. But you can definitely choose any zebrasoma, bristletooth, and some acanthuras (Convict or Powder Blue/Brown) You can also have a Blue Hippo. Try to avoid mixing the same genus in that sized tank. Go for 4!

 

[Ty.S44]

I would do some combo of your rabbit (foxface?), 1 non-sailfin Zebrasoma, and 1 Ctenochaetus.

Something like rabbit, truncated, purple.
Or rabbit, tomini, yellow
Etc.

It's actually an orange line rabbitfish, or so my LFS says. I can only find information on orange spot rabbitfish, but I'm assuming they're the same thing since mine looks similar to one.

 

[apb03]

I have a similar-sized tank and I have 4 tangs plus a rabbitfish. No Acanthurus though. I don't want any part of that.

 

[nereefpat]

It's actually an orange line rabbitfish, or so my LFS says. I can only find information on orange spot rabbitfish, but I'm assuming they're the same thing since mine looks similar to one.

There's at least 3 with similar common names. Siganus guttatus, lineatus, and punctatus.

 

[Ty.S44]

Length isn't too big of a concern for a tank your size as you can arrange the rocks to let them swim in a circuit. Regarding how many can comfortably coexist there is the safe range of 3 or 4 and then there are people who go with 12 or 15 with the idea that no one will step out of line. I personally like to stay on the very safe side when it comes to tangs but one thing that helps is to balance with other large active swimming fish. Genecanthus angels are my favorite but there are also a number of good butterflyfish, other Angels, Rabbitfish and the like.

You can have 4 tangs easy. I agree with @Suohhen That the 6' length matters less if you aquascape in such a way that your tangs and rabbit and any large angels can swim in a circuit. Having your rockwork in the middle and allowing them to swim an oval or better yet...a figure 8 pattern will make them happier. Go find your 4 favorite tangs first. Hopefully it's not a Caribbean Blue or a Unicorn. But you can definitely choose any zebrasoma, bristletooth, and some acanthuras (Convict or Powder Blue/Brown) You can also have a Blue Hippo. Try to avoid mixing the same genus in that sized tank. Go for 4!

Thank y'all for the info. Would a few pictures of the aquascape help you guys' opinion?

 

[Ty.S44]

I have a similar-sized tank and I have 4 tangs plus a rabbitfish. No Acanthurus though. I don't want any part of that.

Which four? And why no Acanthurus?

 

[Ty.S44]

3-4 tangs is max but I’d personally go for 3 and you wouldn’t really be able to have many (if any) of the Acanthurus, Paracanthurus, Prionurus, Naso species as they all live in surge zones naturally and do need 6’ length unless you want to risk stunting their growth and stressing them out.

What about a smaller member of Acanthurus such as the convict? Still no?

Was also heavily considering upping the size of my tank sometime around two years when I move out of my apartment. (Don't worry, it's a ground floor lol) Would you think that's soon enough to keep a juvenile of the Acanthurus, Paracanthurus, Prionurus, or Naso species?

 

[apb03]

Which four? And why no Acanthurus?

I have a Yellow Tang, Gem Tang, White Tail Bristletooth, and a Blue Hippo Tang.

Before I added the Gem tang, the other 3 got along without any intervention on my part and they were all added individually. To get the Gem in there, I took the Yellow out and placed him in my QT tank once the Gem was cleared. After 48 hours they were fine with each other and went into the DT together. Never fought once.

I would have loved to get an Achilles or a Powder Blue/Brown tang, but I know they can be massive bullies and are more open swimmers so I felt it wasn't worth the hassle.

The Blue Hippo bothers no one and nobody bothers him.

 

[ninjamyst]

I have 200g display and have 2 full size yellow tangs, 1 full size of purple tang, 1 medium hippo tang, and 1 tomini tang. I have reached my max. I got lucky that I got the yellow and purple tangs as a trio from established tank breakdown so they been coexisting for years already. If you add tangs, add them all at once if possible. I got lucky that my hippo and tomini got along with the newcomers. I also have about 25 other fish in my display. 10 damsels, bunch of wrasses, dottyback, cardinals, blennies, and more. Everyone gets along cuz I feed a lot. A lot a lot....

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'd like a tang count on my tank. I've got a 190(ish) gallon aquarium with dimensions 49"x30"x30". It's currently stocked with a 3" damselfish and a 2" rabbitfish. I understand the 4' max swim distance isn't outstanding in the eyes of the tang police, so I'm not expecting too high of an estimate. The damsel is a bit of a bully but hasn't hurt anything, so I'm not worried there. The rabbitfish may cause some trouble though as far as competition for grazing territory goes, but I'm unsure. At the moment, my extremely unprofessional opinion tells me I could probably do two and maybe three if I chose the right species. How many tangs would you guys think could live comfortably coexist?

Bonus points shall be rewarded if you can tell me the largest tang available to me that wouldn't look cramped in my aquarium. I'm curious, and I have a thing for size, lol.

6 with largest such as gem, purple or chocolate (yellow mimic)
You dont want sailfin, Naso, clown as examples which will attain an easy 8" or more.

 

[DaneGer21]

I have a 60x36x24 with 3 - 4” tangs. Yellow, purple, and a lavender. Also have 5 other fish, nothing crazy

 

[Ty.S44]

I have a 60x36x24 with 3 - 4” tangs. Yellow, purple, and a lavender. Also have 5 other fish, nothing crazy

The lavender is Acanthurus right? No trouble with it? I keep hearing people say not to mess with Acanthurus, but I'm not exactly sure what they mean.

By the way, lightly stocked tanks are very underrated in my opinion. I bet your tank is really peaceful not to mention easy on the filtration side lol.

 

[Ty.S44]

I have 200g display and have 2 full size yellow tangs, 1 full size of purple tang, 1 medium hippo tang, and 1 tomini tang. I have reached my max. I got lucky that I got the yellow and purple tangs as a trio from established tank breakdown so they been coexisting for years already. If you add tangs, add them all at once if possible. I got lucky that my hippo and tomini got along with the newcomers. I also have about 25 other fish in my display. 10 damsels, bunch of wrasses, dottyback, cardinals, blennies, and more. Everyone gets along cuz I feed a lot. A lot a lot....

How old is your hippo? I'm considering a few fish that will likely outgrow my current tank, because I'm fairly certain I'll upgrade the size. The only issue is it'll probably be at around that two year mark when I do upgrade, so I'm unsure if that'll be soon enough to go ahead and give it the green light.

 

[ninjamyst]

How old is your hippo? I'm considering a few fish that will likely outgrow my current tank, because I'm fairly certain I'll upgrade the size. The only issue is it'll probably be at around that two year mark when I do upgrade, so I'm unsure if that'll be soon enough to go ahead and give it the green light.

About a year....more than doubled in size

 

[Ty.S44]

About a year....more than doubled in size

Oh wow lol. How big was it when you first got it, and how big is it now?