Tangs for a 90g

Tyler Bullock · Sep 25, 2018

I am starting up a 90 gallon tank come this December. Once I do, I'll post it up here so you call can see. I am looking at tangs. My main question is what tangs are well suited for a 90 gallon tank. Also how many can I have? I have already told my daughter I would get her a blue hippo. Let me know your thoughts on what I should put in this tank or should not!!

James M · Sep 25, 2018

Unfortunately you can’t house a hippo in a 90 gallon
IMO a 90 gallon will be suitable for a kole,tomini, and bristle tooth

Jeff Hall · Sep 25, 2018

If you are going to do a Hippo tang then make sure it's a juvenile as a full grown adult would be crowded in a 90gal.

MSB123 · Sep 25, 2018

Jeff Hall said:
If you are going to do a Hippo tang then make sure it's a juvenile as a full grown adult would be crowded in a 90gal.

I never ever agree to this reasoning. You should never buy a fish “just for a time” I ssuspect that many reefers agree with me.
#reefsquad
Maybe we could find some better options that look like tangs, for the daughters sake, mor find some appropriate tangs/fish for this tank!

nereefpat · Sep 25, 2018

I would not recommend a blue hippo for a 90 gallon. Most folks will recommend somewhere in the 180-240 range for a minimum tank size. They get about a foot long, and behave strangely and develop health problems in small tanks. https://www.fishbase.de/summary/6017. A yellow tail damsel can be a 'poor man's' substitute, especially for a child.

For a 90 gallon, look into two genera:

Zebrasoma - including the yellow, purple, black, gem, but NOT either of the sailfins (they get too large).
Ctenochaetus (bristletooth tangs) - including kole, truncated, tomini, and others. Any in this genus will work except chevron; they get too large.

I would suggest to only get one tang, since they can be aggressive, especially in smaller tanks.

Amoo · Sep 25, 2018

first before being able to answer the question, I'd prefer to know the dimensions of the tank in question.

Bob Loblaw · Sep 25, 2018

I'd stick to Ctenochaetus sp for a 90.

Tyler Bullock · Sep 25, 2018

Amoo said:
first before being able to answer the question, I'd prefer to know the dimensions of the tank in question.

Its a 4 foot tank, Standard Marineland.

Amoo · Sep 25, 2018

With those dimensions I would agree with sticking to the Ctenochaetus.

Edit: I do think you could get away with some of the smaller Zebrasoma, but they tend to do better in 48x24 instead of 48x18.

mta_morrow · Sep 25, 2018

Amoo said:
With those dimensions I would agree with sticking to the Ctenochaetus

^^^^^^^Agreed

Jeff Hall · Sep 25, 2018

Sorry the Tang Police have spoken.

OhDumb · Sep 25, 2018

I loved my Yellow Eyed Kole Tang in my old 90g. Serious grazer, great personality and I think they are really nice looking with their pin striped zoot suit.

Jesterrace · Sep 25, 2018

Tyler Bullock said:
I am starting up a 90 gallon tank come this December. Once I do, I'll post it up here so you call can see. I am looking at tangs. My main question is what tangs are well suited for a 90 gallon tank. Also how many can I have? I have already told my daughter I would get her a blue hippo. Let me know your thoughts on what I should put in this tank or should not!!

In a 90 gallon only the small bristletooth varieties are really well suited (most Yellow Tangs will outgrow it as well). The Blue Hippo is out as they need a minimum of a 6 foot long tank. Keep in mind they get a foot in length and get about 6-7 inches in height. Here are the tangs that will work in a 90 gallon:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/categor...15+43&r=3127&s=ts&start=1&page_num=1&count=24

If you are patient for availability and have the budget, this guy would work and is pretty stunning:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+43+3130&pcatid=3130

For the record I had a Yellow Tang that was between 4-5 inches when I added it to my 90 gallon tank (the exact same tank as yours as a matter of fact) and at first it was great, and then after a month it turned into a complete butthead bullying his tank mates and even took a chunk out of my coral beauty dwarf angel's lower fin and begin hitting it with it's tail scalpel and causing visible damage to the CB. They were in the same holding tank for weeks at my LFS and added at the same time too. I gave it the boot and replaced it with a One Spot Foxface and have been happier since.

Jesterrace · Sep 25, 2018

MSB123 said:
I never ever agree to this reasoning. You should never buy a fish “just for a time” I ssuspect that many reefers agree with me.
#reefsquad
Maybe we could find some better options that look like tangs, for the daughters sake, mor find some appropriate tangs/fish for this tank!

Absolutely. People make it sound like it's some easy and seamless transition to simply catch and remove a fish once it "gets too big." Anyone who has trapped and removed aquarium fish knows that the process is not an exact science and there are no guarantees. Furthermore there is no guarantee that if you simply dump it off at your LFS that they are going to be able to find a suitable home for your poor fish. It's much better to simply recognize what your tank is capable of handling and what it isn't and go with fish that are suited to be housed for life in your tank.

Amoo · Sep 25, 2018

The point @Jesterrace made is one that I feel often gets over looked when people complain about the Tang Police. Part of the recommendation comes from there being adequate swimming space for the fish. The other part of it though comes from the behavior changes we see time and time again when people attempt to keep many different kinds of fish in too small of a container.

Yes you will always have outliers who have gotten X fish to work in X tank with no issues. There is a reason those are the outliers and not the norm.

As an example, I have young adult PBT and YT in a 60 gallon. They're both close to about 5.6-6". Wait what, 60 gallons? Yes it's a 48Lx24Wx12H. I also have a 100G 48x24x20 that will be delivered this week. I had tangible plans for a legitimate upgrade and was putting money aside. Not just, "oh I'll upgrade eventually". I actually downgraded before I upgraded again. My Foxface that I moved over when I broke down the 125G was simply too large for a 4ft tank and it was obvious. I unfortunately had to give him to somebody with a larger tank.

Tyler Bullock · Sep 26, 2018

I do like the kole, chevron, and white tail........man the last two are quite pricey.

Jesterrace · Sep 26, 2018

Tyler Bullock said:
I do like the kole, chevron, and white tail........man the last two are quite pricey.

If you are dead set on a tang, I would go with the Kole from your list. It's probably the best "Bang for Buck" Tang you can get for a 90 gallon tank. If you want something Yellow and with that slender profile, I would recommend looking into the One Spot Foxface. It actually has more color than the Yellow Tang and offers some cool things that the Yellow Tang doesn't (ie changing colors). It's also better behaved with it's tank mates than a Tang is. Or maybe get a Kole and a Foxface. The Chevron will get too big for your tank and as mentioned the really cool colors fade to dull and drab as it gets older. Kind of a rip off considering the cost of the fish. The White Tail is arguably the most stunning of the Tangs that will work long term in your tank, but IMHO $200 is too much to spend on a single fish (particularly one that is as prone to ich and velvet as Tangs are).