Tang police please educate me.
- Thread starter Salty_Box_Reef
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He's kidding. Seeing where he can get with that one.
Squishie89
Glub Glub
I think the problem is that stores sell tiny 1-2" tangs (yellow and blue/hippo). Other than the large angels and other paticular fish (puffers, batfish, boxfish, triggers) none get that large. So selling a tiny fish that grows large and needs a large tank is the problem.
Raymondzmarshall
Active Member
There internal organs will keep growing
While there outside will not grow .... It's the stress process
While there outside will not grow .... It's the stress process
808jaymakoa
Active Member
I bought 2 juvenile tangs when I got my 55 gallon about a year ago. One blue hippo and one yellow. My lfs never said that it would be an issue. I later became a member and started researching salt water aquaria like a responsible reef keeper. I never had any stress issues with them because of their size and never gave them away because I knew at that point I was addicted to this hobby and was already planning my next upgraded build. 3 months ago I bought and upgraded my tank to a 48" by 24" wide and although my yellow tang I had died after copper treatment before the transfer (before putting in new tank all fish went into copper for two weeks in 46 gallon). The point I'm getting at is that the bigger volume of water and width and different methods of scraping for more swimming area, I've noticed a tremendous difference in my blue hippo. And it's probably still two small for him when he is fully grown. He's 3 inched now.
OP
OP
Salty_Box_Reef
Active Member
Just got a 60x18x24 and will me doing my rock work very similar to this. Although I do plan to keep it a tad lower to keep some open swimming space towards the top of the tank. I figure this should give me a couple years with the hippo, and if I haven't gone bigger by then, well then someone will get a big blue tang for free.
DSP
Valuable Member
I love how everyone ignores the trolls here! Haha that's awesome.i know there's a lot of sites with members that just look for trolls so they can egg them on and get into some arguements but not here! That's why I love this site and quit all the rest,So many great people here and so much knowledge it's really like a big family,Sucks hearing trolls talk down on it just to get attention but o well that's what happens when you have a forum as large as this one there will always be a few trolls here and there but the mature members of reef2reef don't pay any attention instead they stay focused on the topic and helping others.thats why this site is the best hands down.Now here's my opinion on the tangs,They are one of the most active reef fish in the wild always swimming so a tank with atleast 4 feet of swimming space is needed for a juvi tang imo.Adult tangs I would say atleast a 180 and that's without many other fish in the tank and without much rock.theres so many other active fish to choose from for people with smaller tanks if you really decide you want a tang just be responsible and treat the fish how it should be treated.
.AcroKiller.
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Just got a 60x18x24 and will me doing my rock work very similar to this. Although I do plan to keep it a tad lower to keep some open swimming space towards the top of the tank. I figure this should give me a couple years with the hippo, and if I haven't gone bigger by then, well then someone will get a big blue tang for free.
That will be a great scape
OP
OP
Salty_Box_Reef
Active Member
I don't plan on having a lot of fish really, and think a 5 foot long with a bit of open space would be sufficient for a while for a blue tang... Which is the only tang I plan to have in the tank.
.AcroKiller.
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You shouldn't have a problem
Nice Set Up!!Just got a 60x18x24 and will me doing my rock work very similar to this. Although I do plan to keep it a tad lower to keep some open swimming space towards the top of the tank. I figure this should give me a couple years with the hippo, and if I haven't gone bigger by then, well then someone will get a big blue tang for free.
GHill762
Valuable Member
can you provide any proof to this outlandish claim?
a healthy fish will not "grow only to its aquarium size", and a stressed fish can have growth stunted (unhealthy), I'd agree with that. but making claims that their organs are going to continue to grow - outgrowing the tang's body - seriously? I'd like to see some evidence.
also, tangs in captivity (from what I understand) will never grow as large as their wild counterparts..
WesF
Well-Known Member
This is a common thought but I believe it's closely related to the fact that so many tangs are kept in undersized tanks. If an animal cannot grow to its full potential in captivity that should be an indicator that something is not right.
You can see many "fully grown" tangs in large public aquariums. Maybe it's because the average hobbyist tank is not large enough.
GHill762
Valuable Member
if I'm not mistaken, that applies to a wide range of fish, not just tangs.. regardless of tank size.. and I don't know necessarily about the size they reach in public aquaria, but my understanding was that it was in captivity in general, not just in home tanks.
Fish are one of the few animals on the planet that never stop growing, the older the fish the bigger it will be. I am willing to bet that for people whose fish seem to stop growing, they haven't increased the amount they feed as the fish is growing. The amount of energy going into the fish has to be in surplus in order to support growth. If you don't feed enough to support growth, then growth will be stunted...and I assume the health of the fish is compromised as well. Basically, as the fish gets bigger it needs a greater caloric intake to sustain its size and support growth which I assume it does not get in an undersized tank meaning it isn't the tank size that keeps the tang from growing but rather inadequate care from the aquarist trying not to overfeed their system.
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1.0reef
Well-Known Member
I'm totally tang police, you do realize I can say things nicely right?
Also tang police can be a bit offensive at times.... JMO
