Which Tang(s) are best?

[Stege_saurus]

So this is my Top 5 list for Tangs I would like/love to own for my reef aquarium.

Yellow Tang
Tomini Tang
Yellow Eye Tang
Blue Tang
Naso Tang


Which of these would be best for my reef, and how many should I have in my reef?

Setup:
120g (6ft long) Tank
3 Soft Corals
1 SPS Coral
2 Clownfish
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Sleeper Goby
3 Small Damsels
1 Firefish
1 Splendid Dottyback
1 Peppermint shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
1 Pencil Urchin
1 CC Star

This is obviously towards the end of the list, but I always like to have information on hand and ready to go when I eventually decide to purchase said Tang(s).

 

[xxkenny90xx]

If you like yellow tangs they are about the easiest and hardiest imo

 

[OrionN]

I would avoid Blue and Naso in your tank. IMO, they will get too big for your tank. The other three are fine and should be the limit for your tank.

 

[Stege_saurus]

Would it be possible to do one of each as long as I acclimate them at the same time?(Tomini, Yellow, Yellow Eye)

 

[nereefpat]

Agree with Minh. First 3 are great, but either Atlantic or regal blue and any Naso gets too big.

 

[OrionN]

You can put one in at a time, with the Yellow in last. The Yellow IME, the the most aggressive of the three. If you get them small, they should be fine in your tank, especially if there are plenty of places to hide.
Add all three at the same time should be fine too.

 

[Stege_saurus]

You can put one in at a time, with the Yellow in last. The Yellow IME, the the most aggressive of the three. If you get them small, they should be fine in your tank, especially if there are plenty of places to hide.
Add all three at the same time should be fine too.

Awesome, thanks for the info! Also, one more quick question, is it good or bad to have multiple wrasses? (Reef safe ones) I've never had a wrasse before so they are rather unfamiliar to me...

 

[OrionN]

Are you going to have a sand bed in the tank?
If you have sand, I would put in a few Leopard wrasse, which ever species you like. I like Negrosensis Leopard. You also may like and Melanurus wrasse (should go in near the end). You probably like a few Fairy wrasses and Flasher wrasses. Lid is a must and wrasses are short live. 5 years or so max. Not like angels and tangs which can live for decades in our tank.

 

[Stege_saurus]

Are you going to have a sand bed in the tank?
If you have sand, I would put in a few Leopard wrasse, which ever species you like. I like Negrosensis Leopard. You also may like and Melanurus wrasse (should go in near the end). You probably like a few Fairy wrasses and Flasher wrasses. Lid is a must and wrasses are short live. 5 years or so max. Not like angels and tangs which can live for decades in our tank.

I do have a sandbed, and what I listed earlier is my current livestock list (with lots of snails and crabs). Also, what angels are best kept in a reef? I've had no luck with Flames and Coral Beauties, they never live past 48 hours no matter how I quarantine them...ugh!

 

[4FordFamily]

I would avoid Blue and Naso in your tank. IMO, they will get too big for your tank. The other three are fine and should be the limit for your tank.

Agree. A kole tang can be aggressive, the tomini should be larger to start to increase likelihood that they get along, IMO.

 

[OrionN]

You may want to get @Humblefish to fully QT a few angels for you. Fatten them up and ship to you ready to drop into your DT. Dwarf Angels should be easy and hardy. If you cannot keep Flame or Coral Beauty alive, I hate to be one of your fish

 

[revanite07]

in your size tank you can easily do 3. I've found fish do better if you add them all at the same time and as smaller individuals. yellow tang blue tang and tomini or yellow eye tang should all work since they are different of different genus and have different mouths and colors,

 

[Stege_saurus]

You may want to get @Humblefish to fully QT a few angels for you. Fatten them up and ship to you ready to drop into your DT. Dwarf Angels should be easy and hardy. If you cannot keep Flame or Coral Beauty alive, I hate to be one of your fish

Those angels were the only thing I struggled with. The coral beauty was recent and died in my quarantine unexpectedly. I always check my DT and QT (if anything is being quarantined) when I get up in the morning (or if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep), before I leave for work in the morning, and when I get home from work, after I shower, and before I go to bed (and other times whenever I feel like watching). O left for work one day and the coral beauty was doing fine, came home and he was dead. No signs of illness or bacterial infection. He was sharing the quarantine with a Firefish. The Firefish continued his quarantine and observation and is doing great and thriving in my DT.

The Flame Angel was a rookie mistake a long time ago. (I added too many fish at one time)

 

[OrionN]

Those angels were the only thing I struggled with. The coral beauty was recent and died in my quarantine unexpectedly. I always check my DT and QT (if anything is being quarantined) when I get up in the morning (or if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep), before I leave for work in the morning, and when I get home from work, after I shower, and before I go to bed (and other times whenever I feel like watching). O left for work one day and the coral beauty was doing fine, came home and he was dead. No signs of illness or bacterial infection. He was sharing the quarantine with a Firefish. The Firefish continued his quarantine and observation and is doing great and thriving in my DT.

The Flame Angel was a rookie mistake a long time ago. (I added too many fish at one time)

I that is the case, I would put a harem of three Flame angels (or any other dwarf angels you like), a few flasher wrasses, a few fairy wrasses, Leopard wrasse or two. Your tank will be the envy of many reefers. A few of my fishes pictured below. Good luck with your tank and fishes.
Flame Angel

Eightline Flasher

Naoko Fairy

Juvenile China Wrasse

Redhead Solon Fairy

Exquisite Fairy

Not quite fully developed Melanurus Wrasse

Juvenile Black Leopard

maybe a pair of Yellow chest Regal angels

 

[Stege_saurus]

Awesome! I love the suggestions! I'll probably have to order those online since my closest LFS is an hour away and doesn't have a very large selection of SW/Reef inhabitants (or risk Petco...). Would it be best to try and get them as juveniles, or will adults be okay?

 

[OrionN]

BTW tight fitting lid is a must. Wrasses are great jumpers so unless you have a tight fitting lid they will find a crack and jump out. Cover the overflow too unless you like to keep fishing them out of the overflow or sump.

 

[Stege_saurus]

Overflow is good to go, however, I need to either get or make a new lid. I don't want to do a screen top because there's a light fixture directly above my tank, but for the life of me I can't find a glass lid with hinges that will fit. Any suggestions? Anything is helpful because currently I made a makeshift lid using plexiglass with hinges and panes of glass for support. They are not very tight fitting...

 

[OrionN]

Screen top right above the water is fine. Mine only about 2 inches above be the water. Minimal to none shading of the light

 

[OrionN]

Best to get them as juveniles if you can. I like my fish grow in my tank. If I have a choice I pick juveniles

 

[Stege_saurus]

Screen top right above the water is fine. Mine only about 2 inches above be the water. Minimal training none shading of the light

Looks great! I may have to try that this weekend...only one other problem...I need to figure out something for my lights. They currently rest in a weird place...I think it all looks rather ugly right now.