Tang question

[stephaniej]

I currently have a 180gallon, but wanted to Get a 4'x4'x28" tank. Do you think my large hippo will have enough swimming room in a 4x4?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I currently have a 180gallon, but wanted to Get a 4'x4'x28" tank. Do you think my large hippo will have enough swimming room in a 4x4?

You will get different answers from different people, but the bottom line is that hepatus can get up to 1' in size and do require length to swim.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Oh no. That’s too small. That’s less than 200 gallons! Did someone say tang police?

 

[Jon Fishman]

I wouldn’t do it, but it would probably be fine for a couple years at least.

 

[Marco S]

The minimum requirement for that fish is exactly what you have it in. I would not recommend going smaller.

To put it in perspective...the minimum requirement for running Windows 10 is 1GB RAM and a 16GB HDD for 32-bit and 2GB RAM and a 20GB HDD for 64-bit, but running it at those low specs would be a very poor experience. Your Tang is running at the minimum requirements right now. Anything lower would be a horrible experience for Windows and your Tang!

 

[Paul B]

You will get different answers from different people,

This is certainly true. My different answer is yes you can put it in that tank. I don't care about the tang police because I have kept hippo tangs in a 40 gallon tank for almost ten years. I have seen them about 8" long but in captivity they don't get that size in a small tank. Sorry tang police. The one I kept in a 40 gallon tank stayed about 4".

Is that healthy? Probably not, but your question was if it has enough swimming room, not weather you should put it in that tank or will the sky fall, or will Taylor Swift find true love.

I have also kept them i a 100 gallon tank for 10 years and now mine is in a 125 gallon tank.
Many fish will continue to grow in a smaller tank, a hippo tang will not. I didn't find that on Google, that is from keeping quite a few of them over 45 years.

But as was said, you will get many answers, I predict about 27 answers and 22 of those will disagree with me.

 

[Marco S]

Is that healthy? Probably not, but your question was if it has enough swimming room, not weather you should put it in that tank or will the sky fall if you do.

If it's probably not healthy...then why do it? Just because you can do something, does not make it alright to do it.

 

[Jon Fishman]

If it's probably not healthy...then why do it? Just because you can do something, does not make it alright to do it.

That opens it up to whether any fish should be kept in aquariums.

How about foxes? Aside from the fact that they scent-mark like crazy and it smells guttural...... foxes kept in captivity have a longer life expectancy than those in the wild........but is it still better for the fox?

 

[Marco S]

That opens it up to whether any fish should be kept in aquariums.

How about foxes? Aside from the fact that they scent-mark like crazy and it smells guttural...... foxes kept in captivity have a longer life expectancy than those in the wild........but is it still better for the fox?

It all depends on how many people actually care about the animal in question. Apparently people cared so much about calf's that I cannot find Veal in my grocery stores anymore, but no one seems to care enough about fish so it is what it is.

Personally I think it is cruel to take an animal from the ocean and put it in a glass box of any size, but the benefit of having a reef in my house outweighs the cruelty in it. But we should at least give them the biggest enclosures we can afford at the time and avoid putting larger fish in smaller enclosures. That's just my two cents though.

 

[stephaniej]

The 4x4 is actually a 240 gallon, I could be wrong on the depth. I do know that my hippo does constantly swim the length of the tank so maybe I should just go with an 8'. =)

 

[Auquanut]

I currently have a 180gallon, but wanted to Get a 4'x4'x28" tank. Do you think my large hippo will have enough swimming room in a 4x4?

Just one question from kind of a different angle. What do you think? It's kind of hard for any of us to say what's right or wrong in a given situation. You know your fishes habits and personality better than anyone. Some people crate their dogs when they leave the house. It's not for me to say if it's right or wrong. Until we learn to speak tang, all we can do is what we feel is right. TRULY not trying to stir the pot. Just throwing it out there.

 

[stephaniej]

Truly am not sure, that is why I was asking. I personally think they would adapt as they have learned to adapt to living in these glass cages, but I was hoping to get someone that actually has a 4x4 cube with tangs. ;Sour I will stick with my tank for now.

 

[Auquanut]

I personally think they would adapt as they have learned to adapt to living in these glass cages, but I was hoping to get someone that actually has a 4x4 cube with tangs. ;Sour I will stick with my tank for now.

And that's your answer. for what it's worth, my Hippo is about 9". Seems to enjoy life in the 6' 125, but getting too big for her favorite hiding places. I've thought about re-homing, but can't bring myself to do it. The grand kids would disown me anyway.

 

[nereefpat]

Tough one, in my opinion. 4 x 4 x 28" is a good sized tank...about 280 gallons.

If you set the rockwork in the center, there would be a lot of swimming room around the perimeter. Or setting up two islands, leaving the diagonal dimension open, might be a good option. The hypotenuse of a 4x4 square is over 5.6 feet, whatever that's worth.

Regal tangs just get so darn big.

 

[Paul B]

If it's probably not healthy...then why do it? Just because you can do something, does not make it alright to do it.

The reason I said "probably" is because I really don't know. But if it lived for 10 years in my 40 gallon tank kind of "assumes" it isn't unhealthy as most people can't keep them 10 weeks without having to post on the disease forum about some silly spots.