Badspstank
Active Member
Each person decides what they want in their tank JMO
Tang police please educate me.
- Thread starter Salty_Box_Reef
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mnat
Valuable Member
Now that I am in front of my computer and not on a phone I will elaborate on what I posted about earlier. Tangs seem to be a lighting rod for fish discussion and I think there are several reasons discussions like this come up quite often.
1. Tangs are readily available in just about every LFS and they are relatively cheap (most species). On top of that, they are awesome looking fish. A blue hippo tang might just be the best shade of blue in the ocean. They also are incredibly active and are always visible (when healthy) which also makes them attractive to buyers.
2. They are small as juveniles which just makes it so easy for people to think they will do well in small tanks. I have seen blue hippo and yellow tangs that are under 2 inches which just leads people to believe that they will do fine in a smaller tank.
3. In the short term, they can be relatively hardy and easy to feed. I think a lot of people have short term success (under a year) with a fish and then of course think they are in the clear. I had a guy on a local board claiming he kept 3 yellow tangs in a 40 breeder for like 2 months so there is no reason they should not do well in a small tank. Obviously the logic is flawed there but I think a lot of people fall into that logic trap.
4. The "I will upgrade later" mentality that most people seem to follow. Some people actually do but it seems that most do not (purely anecdotal on my part).
Things to know about tangs before you purchase one:
1. They are very active swimmers hence the long aquarium. Granted my diving/snorkel experience is very little, but when you do see them in the wild you realize they love to swim. They are all over the place swimming, swimming, picking at algae, swimming. That is why length is the most important part of the tank for tangs. When you see general guide lines for tangs now, it is not about gallons, but length (or at least is should be). The obvious caveat that I stated above was a circular tank which means they can essentially swim forever. If you look at builds were people are keeping sharks and other monster fish, you will see that the vast majority of those tanks are round so the fish can always be moving (yes I know there are other factors but this is an important one).
2. Tangs have a very specialized diet, they are herbivores. A small tang can clear a tank of algae pretty quickly which means you have to supplement with nori sheets or something similiar. This is another reason why people throw tangs into tangs that are not the appropriate size, they are good algae control. Without the algae, the fish can develop HLLE and might just waste away and die. Tangs can and will eat other foods, but the algae is very important to their health and well being.
3. Tangs are ick magnets. They will be the first in your tank to come down with ick and and very susceptible to the disease. If you have it in your tank or do not quarantine, your tank will come down with it which can be devastating. It is not uncommon for someone to get a tang, get an ick outbreak and then have all their fish die. I don't think a lot of people are aware of this.
3b. HLLE is also rampant in tangs which can be caused by poor nutrition, current in the tank, and some research is starting to show that activated carbon and cause and irritate HLLE.
4. Tangs are aggressive. There are some species that are outright nasty and bullies and will hunt down and kill fish in your tank. This problem is exacerbated if you put them in too small of a tank. This also ties into the above point, a stressed fish is more likely to develop disease and a tang in a small tank can easily get stressed.
4b. Fun Fact: The reason they are called tangs is because of the two "tangs" they have on the base of their tale. These are actually little mini "claws" they can use to attack and kill other fish.
5. Tangs are voracious eaters and as you can imagine, they are voracious poopers. They can easily throw your parameters off in a small tank with the excess feeding and pooping they require. In a bigger tank with more live rock and more water volume, this is not an issue. Obviously it can be handled with water changes, but for some people who are new to the hobby they might not understand this point yet.
While I think it is rude to be dismissive and nasty to people who are asking a question, we must educate each other to make the wisest possible choice with fish we are putting in our tanks. If you ask me should a blue hippo tang be in a 40g breeder, I will flat out tell you no. Unfortunately I think we are going to run into a ton of this in a bout a year or so when Nemo 2 comes out because Dory is going to be the main character and you know what that means.
1. Tangs are readily available in just about every LFS and they are relatively cheap (most species). On top of that, they are awesome looking fish. A blue hippo tang might just be the best shade of blue in the ocean. They also are incredibly active and are always visible (when healthy) which also makes them attractive to buyers.
2. They are small as juveniles which just makes it so easy for people to think they will do well in small tanks. I have seen blue hippo and yellow tangs that are under 2 inches which just leads people to believe that they will do fine in a smaller tank.
3. In the short term, they can be relatively hardy and easy to feed. I think a lot of people have short term success (under a year) with a fish and then of course think they are in the clear. I had a guy on a local board claiming he kept 3 yellow tangs in a 40 breeder for like 2 months so there is no reason they should not do well in a small tank. Obviously the logic is flawed there but I think a lot of people fall into that logic trap.
4. The "I will upgrade later" mentality that most people seem to follow. Some people actually do but it seems that most do not (purely anecdotal on my part).
Things to know about tangs before you purchase one:
1. They are very active swimmers hence the long aquarium. Granted my diving/snorkel experience is very little, but when you do see them in the wild you realize they love to swim. They are all over the place swimming, swimming, picking at algae, swimming. That is why length is the most important part of the tank for tangs. When you see general guide lines for tangs now, it is not about gallons, but length (or at least is should be). The obvious caveat that I stated above was a circular tank which means they can essentially swim forever. If you look at builds were people are keeping sharks and other monster fish, you will see that the vast majority of those tanks are round so the fish can always be moving (yes I know there are other factors but this is an important one).
2. Tangs have a very specialized diet, they are herbivores. A small tang can clear a tank of algae pretty quickly which means you have to supplement with nori sheets or something similiar. This is another reason why people throw tangs into tangs that are not the appropriate size, they are good algae control. Without the algae, the fish can develop HLLE and might just waste away and die. Tangs can and will eat other foods, but the algae is very important to their health and well being.
3. Tangs are ick magnets. They will be the first in your tank to come down with ick and and very susceptible to the disease. If you have it in your tank or do not quarantine, your tank will come down with it which can be devastating. It is not uncommon for someone to get a tang, get an ick outbreak and then have all their fish die. I don't think a lot of people are aware of this.
3b. HLLE is also rampant in tangs which can be caused by poor nutrition, current in the tank, and some research is starting to show that activated carbon and cause and irritate HLLE.
4. Tangs are aggressive. There are some species that are outright nasty and bullies and will hunt down and kill fish in your tank. This problem is exacerbated if you put them in too small of a tank. This also ties into the above point, a stressed fish is more likely to develop disease and a tang in a small tank can easily get stressed.
4b. Fun Fact: The reason they are called tangs is because of the two "tangs" they have on the base of their tale. These are actually little mini "claws" they can use to attack and kill other fish.
5. Tangs are voracious eaters and as you can imagine, they are voracious poopers. They can easily throw your parameters off in a small tank with the excess feeding and pooping they require. In a bigger tank with more live rock and more water volume, this is not an issue. Obviously it can be handled with water changes, but for some people who are new to the hobby they might not understand this point yet.
While I think it is rude to be dismissive and nasty to people who are asking a question, we must educate each other to make the wisest possible choice with fish we are putting in our tanks. If you ask me should a blue hippo tang be in a 40g breeder, I will flat out tell you no. Unfortunately I think we are going to run into a ton of this in a bout a year or so when Nemo 2 comes out because Dory is going to be the main character and you know what that means.
Badspstank
Active Member
Good point. I guess I should not mention what tangs I have
Badspstank
Active Member
lol
