Whats this obsession with Tangs

[Waters]

They have the beauty/shape of angels without the tendency to eat coral.....on top of that, they are constantly on the move and can eat a lot of algae

 

[Haydn]

How can you say no to this guy?

This proves my point- Naso vlamingii has the potential to get to 24" that is a 1/3 of the length of my tank and 2/3 the width, I consider I have a large tank and I'm not sure I could maintain it (I would never be able to keep the phosphate/nitrate down). Yet the poster, and I would suggest, many other members are happy to ignore this.

 

[Auquanut]

Maybe all of the posts in THIS thread indicate that people find the advantages of owning tangs outweigh their perceived shortcomings, and it's not an obsession after all. I also own a foxface.

 

[Haydn]

They have the beauty/shape of angels without the tendency to eat coral.....on top of that, they are constantly on the move and can eat a lot of algae

This proves my point- the poster immediately highlights a potential issue with angelfish, then details the positives of tangs yet fails to point out that by eating a lot of algae they poo a lot which adds to the fertilizer load in the tank which is fuel for the algae to grow.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

This proves my point- Naso vlamingii has the potential to get to 24" that is a 1/3 of the length of my tank and 2/3 the width, I consider I have a large tank and I'm not sure I could maintain it (I would never be able to keep the phosphate/nitrate down). Yet the poster, and I would suggest, many other members are happy to ignore this.

Few questions about your post.

Not sure how i prove your point? You asked why we like tangs and I simply showed I like mine.

What is the reason you couldn’t maintain a tank parameter wise. If you cannot maintain a tank with a tang how are you maintaining a tank with any fish? Tang poop different than angels?

You mentioned aggression, and new tank mates. I have added numerous tank mates since having him. He has not been aggressive at all. If anything he minds his own business, as does my yellow and purple . Maybe we should develop personality test for fish.

You mentioned disease. When there is a fish resistant to all disease I will buy it. In the meantime knowing how to handle diseases in any fish is good to know. All 3 of my tangs got hit with ich last month. I did absolutely nothing other than my usual routine. They are all fine.

What exactly am I ignoring, and what make you an expert on what I am ignoring? I would suggest before you try and use someone else post to prove your point you know more about the post than a simple pic you see.

Fact. The pic is my Vlamingi. His name is Piggy. He is over 10 years old. He lives with my yellow and purple who are also over 8. My firefish is also about 9. Piggy loves frozen clams and black worms. All 3 tangs we there before I add 2 anthia, 5 chromis (people say they can survive together) , wrasse, and filefish I just dumped in last month.

Pics take just now, no one fighting, no disease, no bullying. They are more relaxed then I am reading an offensive post, which I will no longer follow.

(Pic not so good, to lazy to get off the couch

 

[Reefer1978]

I feel that all of the above posts support my assertion that we are obsessed with tangs, the posters above are happy to overlook their failing. A couple of posters have jumped in with the 'angels will eat your corals', yet no one has refuted my claim that many are or become aggressive, how many posts on R2R have we seen recommending a mirror, how many post have you seen asking how to negate that aggression, how many posts about yellow tangs turning on one individual after they have been living together for ages.

Tangs generally get big and being herbivorous have inefficient digestive systems and therefore as they get large produce a copious amount of waste for their size, which our system has to deal with.

Again how many posts on here ask about 'spots' on their tang, how many post about them being 'ick magnets'. All the posters above are happy to ignore that to own one.

I am not a tang hater, I have owned a number over the years but I believe we are obsessed with them as a group and are prepared to ignore their shortcomings to own one. 8 out of 20 posters on the front page can't be wrong.

I don't think I tried to prove or disprove your point, I took your original post as a question "Why we like em" and tried to provide an answer. I don't think we are obsessed with them, but yes we do like em. Personally I don't see an issue with every single right-sized reef having 1 Acanthurus and 1 Zebrasoma in it. They won't fight and will get along. And if a reefer wants to have a challenge they can go with multiples and deal with competition. Isn't this the whole point of the hobby? Build, experiment, adjust? If all of us just wanted a pretty picture, a top of the line 65" LCD TV with a streaming box behind it playing an ocean screen saver would be a much more economical and less stressful way to go.

 

[TheGreatWave]

You mentioned disease. When there is a fish resistant to all disease I will buy it. In the meantime knowing how to handle diseases in any fish is good to know. All 3 of my tangs got hit with ich last month. I did absolutely nothing other than my usual routine. They are all fine.

What exactly am I ignoring, and what make you an expert on what I am ignoring? I would suggest before you try and use someone else post to prove your point you know more about the post than a simple pic you see.

Based on your post and pictures you are ignoring ich.

Would it be reasonable to say that if your fish were healthy, not riding the raged edge of ich all the time, that they might be more aggressive?

Do you know if your fish are male or female? I've had species tanks in the past and noticed there can be a dramatic difference in the behavior of a male vs female fish, or even one male vs three others of the same age. Just another variable to consider.

 

[Haydn]

Few questions about your post.

Not sure how i prove your point? You asked why we like tangs and I simply showed I like mine.

What is the reason you couldn’t maintain a tank parameter wise. If you cannot maintain a tank with a tang how are you maintaining a tank with any fish? Tang poop different than angels?

You mentioned aggression, and new tank mates. I have added numerous tank mates since having him. He has not been aggressive at all. If anything he minds his own business, as does my yellow and purple . Maybe we should develop personality test for fish.

You mentioned disease. When there is a fish resistant to all disease I will buy it. In the meantime knowing how to handle diseases in any fish is good to know. All 3 of my tangs got hit with ich last month. I did absolutely nothing other than my usual routine. They are all fine.

What exactly am I ignoring, and what make you an expert on what I am ignoring? I would suggest before you try and use someone else post to prove your point you know more about the post than a simple pic you see.

Fact. The pic is my Vlamingi. His name is Piggy. He is over 10 years old. He lives with my yellow and purple who are also over 8. My firefish is also about 9. Piggy loves frozen clams and black worms. All 3 tangs we there before I add 2 anthia, 5 chromis (people say they can survive together) , wrasse, and filefish I just dumped in last month.

Pics take just now, no one fighting, no disease, no bullying. They are more relaxed then I am reading an offensive post, which I will no longer follow.

(Pic not so good, to lazy to get off the couch

No I did not ask why people like tangs, my post was 'Whats this obsession with tangs' I then pointed out in my first post that 8 out of 20 threads (almost half) at the time I looked in 'Fish Discussions' were tang related, no other fish group had anything near that amount. I then went on to suggest they may be aggressive, grow large and anecdotally (threads on here and other sites) suffer more from 'white spot' than other fish groups, but members are prepared to ignore those 'issues'? to maintain them.

You posted up the picture of your tang on this thread- I then used your picture (one you posted voluntarily) to prove my point that although I assume, you knew this fish has the potential to get large you still gave it a home. I didn't make any comments about disease, aggression or the ethics of keeping it (although I apologise if you got that impression) of your fish. My point, which is to 'prove' obsession, is that this fish does get large yet you were prepared to ignore that because you like the fish. I am sure your fish is healthy and you maintain it's environment as pristine as possible.

 

[Reefer1978]

obsession - noun - the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

So unless we are all non-stop thinking about our tangs, we are not obsessed.

Haydn, are you obsessed with us not being obsessed with our tangs?

 

[Haydn]

obsession - noun - the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

So unless we are all non-stop thinking about our tangs, we are not obsessed.

Haydn, are you obsessed with us not being obsessed with our tangs?

8 out of 20 threads in fish discussions about tangs when I looked, a page and a half of members defending tangs. Posts about 'can I put a tang in my tank', posts asking 'how many tangs', posts asking how long a regal will take to grow, posts about 'how many yellow tangs I can get in my tank', posts about tang compatibility. Show me the same amount of threads about angelfish or wrasse or any other group of fish for that matter.

Yes we are all obsessed about tangs- I will suggest they are the most discussed fish on any forum.

 

[Reefer1978]

8 out of 20 threads in fish discussions about tangs when I looked, a page and a half of members defending tangs. Posts about 'can I put a tang in my tank', posts asking 'how many tangs', posts asking how long a regal will take to grow, posts about 'how many yellow tangs I can get in my tank', posts about tang compatibility. Show me the same amount of threads about angelfish or wrasse or any other group of fish for that matter.

Yes we are all obsessed about tangs- I will suggest they are the most discussed fish on any forum.

We are all allowed to have our opinions and I respect yours. I am only questioning the word "obsession" and the analytics that went into 8/20.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

seem to be disease prone

I didn't make any comments about disease,

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Why do so many new reefkeepers want one

No I did not ask why people like tangs

 

[Mastiffsrule]

you knew this fish has the potential to get large you still gave it a home

Can’t remember when we met. Toner convention in buffalo maybe?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

My point, which is to 'prove' obsession, is that this fish does get large yet you were prepared to ignore that because you like the fish.

How do you prove something with no actual science? Again, when did we meet?

 

[Auquanut]

Okay. Just a little perspective here. People tend to prefer certain things over others as a whole. Tangs over filefish, burgers over hotdogs, hamsters over ferrets. It doesn't make it an obsession, just a general preference. If tangs weren't the most talked about fish, something else would be. Still wouldn't be an obsession. By the way, I always get the pickles off of my wife's burger. BONUS! I'm not obsessed with pickles am I?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I am sure your fish is healthy and you maintain it's environment as pristine as possible.

Can’t remember last time I posted my tank parameters

I don’t intend to come off as a jerk or mean. I fell taking a position as an absolute, especially with no proof to support it and then trash someone else’s posts is not what I have come to know this site is about. Especially when all I said was I like my fish

 

[Haydn]

My apologies Mastiffsrule it was never my intention to cause any offence.

I will also offer my apologies to any members of R2R I may have inadvertently upset by posting about tangs, I will now withdraw from the thread.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

@Haydn

Thank you. I as well apologize. I usually don’t get so uppity( is that a word?) I went into protection mode for my pigggy

Hope I did not discourage any future posts or comments by you.

I am one of those hey let’s all get along type and I like everyone .

 

[Auquanut]

Thank you. I as well apologize. I usually don’t get so uppity( is that a word?) I went into protection mode for my pigggy

Hope I did not discourage any future posts or comments by you.

I am one of those hey let’s all get along type and I like everyone .

Ditto.