Why I find Tangs to be boring.

[Magellan]

I wonder what goes on in the mind of a six line wrasse?

As the proud owner of one of those murder monsters, I’ll take a stab...

Man this conch shell is cozy. This cocoon is nice and warm, no one can find me in here! Oh the lights came on. Another day, trapped in this box. Let me just...ahhh...bust loose! There we go! Hopefully my own personal detritus will get stuck to a coral and irritate it all day. That would be great. Time to hunt! Oh look, the damsel. Maybe she dies today. Maybe tomorrow. I’ll swim at her really fast, it worked with the blenny. I’ll just chase and chase, that would be fun. Dang it, the damsel is faster than me. Maybe tomorrow damsel. For now I’m hungry...I’ll check out every square inch of the tank, surely there will be some tiny critter I haven’t already eaten. feed me, oh strange large creature that has trapped me in this box! Oh look, a hydroid. Snacks

 

[User1]

It is a personal preference sort of thing. All fish have personality some just display it differently. Tangs are no different. On a few occasions I've been on some wreck dives in Hawaii at around 90 to 110 feet and saw individual Yellow Eye / Kole Tangs swimming around. Very personable in my opinion. Also saw some yellow tangs deeper even at around 115 feet diving a older WWII F-4U Cosair. Even more interesting on that dive was the rather large brain corals growing on it at that depth.

They have their place but no, not for everyone. More or less a good utility fish if one so desires.

 

[Paul B]

Ha you look like this dude that sold me bad concert tickets about 10 years ago! If it was you I’ll take that refund in corals please

That was probably over 10 years ago, so maybe it was me.

Saf1. I did those dives, maybe Imet those tangs you saw.

 

[Ike]

Tangs aren't a schooling fish. They sometimes form shoals, but many are solitary or can be found in pairs or small groups. I find them to be very interesting and active fish that have a variety of personality types. To me, many of them are like overly active puppy dogs with a constant desire to chew, errr graze...

My instagram handle is tea.n.tangs so I'm obviously a little biased. To each their own!

 

[lilgrounchuck]

Why I find Tangs Boring.

Many fish such as copperband butterflies, puffers some wrasses etc. have a definite personality and if you look close you can see it in their actions and eyes. Yes their eyes have expressions, not like Angelina Jolie but it's there. ;Smuggrin

Tangs, being schooling fish have no such personality and I find them very dull. I know it's just me but I will explain.
If you do much SCUBA diving you will notice this and if you could read a fishes mind, you would get this from a typical tang on a reef in a school.

Lets say Charlie Tang is swimming off Costa Rica on a Tuesday in October. He is swimming 2" from another tang in a school of a thousand tangs all of the same species.

These are Charlie's thoughts:

Oh No, Bob is leading us again. Why is it always Bob? I mean, l could lead, I am as strong as Bob and if I had a mirror, and thumbs I may find I am better looking,

I know what he is going to do. Yep here we go, heading down for seaweed.

Of course he picked this rock! I hate the seaweed here, it's very gamey and I don't like the way that moray eel always smiles at me.

OK, I will try it......Wait a minute, leaving already...I didn't even get one bite and we are leaving!
Sure. Bob makes the rules.

I am getting closer to the front, soon I will be the leader, I know I can do it.
Wow, look at Shela in front of me. Let me swim alongside her.

Hi Shela, Want to grab a bite? If Bob ever finds something us to eat I mean.

Oh, your not Shela! Sorry. Oh your not even a girl!
Sorry.
No I don't mean to be rude but I don't swim like that.

I wish I had a neck, so I could see who this is next to me. Getting a little to close if you know what I mean.

OK we are turning to the left, oh wait, Now we are going right, now left. I am getting dizzy.

Oh, I see it is time to poop. YUCK.. It would be nice if we would all poop on a turn so I didn't always get it in the face. I mean, Like Really! ;Meh

Wait! I can see the front, Bob is getting tired. I think I can.....Dam Harry got the lead. I hate harry.

I wish someone would collect Harry, then quarantine him in Prizapro.

He's also an Independent and I hear he is a Snowflake. OK, left again, now right, up, now down.

Thank God we are going down. That looks like a nice algae covered rock. Oh Wow!

Down, Down, Harry is doing good.
I like Harry.

Where is Harry? Why are we leaving so fast....And why does that Moray eel have a bigger smile now!

Thats a typical morning for a tang, on a Tuesday.

I did love watching the giant schools of convicts in Hawaii though. Much cooler than yay seeing one or two in a tank. The only ones that I didn’t ever see school like that on the reefs there were kala (unicorns). If they did school, they must have known I was coming out to do some spear fishing because those mugs would be solo bolo all the time.

 

[User1]

Saf1. I did those dives, maybe Imet those tangs you saw.

Very well could be Hawaii is ok for diving as you know but there are a few bits of it that are fun. Few caves with Moorish Idol's and Milletseed Butterflies. I have a Lavender and a Scopas tang. While the Lavender has a nice color and facial pattern and both are nice enough to watch I only own them for utility / algae management.

I'm waiting for the tank to mature a bit more because I want to add a pipe fish and a possum wrasse I'll probably have a lot more smaller fish in the end.

 

[Punchanello]

Honestly, I'm fascinated by even the most 'boring' fish.

 

[ReeferSteve]

Most overrated fish in the hobby. I said what I said

 

[Punchanello]

Honestly, I'm fascinated by even the most 'boring' fish.

Just to add to this, the tangs we tend to keep are beautifully coloured, they are active and they do a great job keeping algae in check. I suppose if I wanted to talk to one it wouldn't be much of a conversation, but all in all, I enjoy their contribution.

 

[KrisReef]

If you send your tangs to school they can learn a lot.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

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[H3rm1tCr@b]

Inside the mind of a clownfish:
I love my anemone! It’s so safe and fun... I’m going to get that piece of food there. Mmm nice. Now, smack into the anemone as hard as I can! That’s better. Ooh the claw! Food bringer! It must perish! I shall exact my dominance and never allow it within six inches of my stinging cushion! Bite bite bite bite smack bite. Haha sucker it’s bleeding. Hey! That firefish is near my nem! Noooo. AaAaAAAAaaH! Die! Aw dang it it got away. I’ll get it later. Hmmm where’s my mate? Oh there he is! Hi honey! Bite bite flutter. My nem. No touchey. Hehehe. I hope the claw returns again soon. I’m still hungry.

 

[Paul B]

Tangs aren't a schooling fish. They sometimes form shoals, but many are solitary or can be found in pairs or small groups.

This is partially true, I have seen quite a few yellow tangs along, but I have also seen thousands, maybe millions of schooling tangs. They can cover a reef. So we are both right, kind of in a sort of kind of way.

Hawaii is ok for diving as you know but there are a few bits of it that are fun.

The first time I dove in Hawaii was in 1973. I loved it and there were fish including sharks all over the place.
I dove there 2 years ago on the outer Islands like Molokai, and Lanai where I thought it would be really nice and I was so disappointed. Very few corals, almost no fish except moorish Idols, no sharks, no manta rays. There were also crown of stars all over the place eating the few corals left.

It was like an urchin farm because there was algae covering everything.

Punchanello, My first dive was in Australia in 1970

 

[Atti2de]

Not all tangs are boring

 

[4FordFamily]

Says the guy who can’t keep them!

Just kidding buddy, came by to troll you a bit. I hope you’ve been well!

 

[Squidward]

I love tangs just not yellow tangs. I enjoy seeing my Achilles rule the tank. He won't bother the bigger blonde naso though.

 

[WallyB]

Great Story "in the mind of a tang"

But I disagree. Not all Tangs are boring.

My yellow tang amongst other species of fish (in my office DT) is personable, in the sense that he looks at me and give response that I am noticed. (Not just at feeding time) I have that tang in my office wall so we see each other all the time for hours. I enjoy him a lot.

But that's not my point.

I was at LFS and wanted anothe Yellow tang for my other tank. There were about 30-40tangs to choose from so I asked that store put in some nori, to see the best eater. That's the one I got.

Now a couple months later I kind regret getting him.
He is certainly a eater but goes totally spastic at feeding time. Even scares the other fish just by his random darting around that is beyond bezerk. So that's not boring but negative.

The good news is he loves algae and after a decade of fighting turf alage this new tang has an appetite for the stuff and it's getting thin and will soon be gone. No other fish (including Alage blenny would touch the Turf)

 

[Reefhack]

I can’t believe I spent five minutes on this thread.

 

[fishguy242]

Why I find Tangs Boring.

Many fish such as copperband butterflies, puffers some wrasses etc. have a definite personality and if you look close you can see it in their actions and eyes. Yes their eyes have expressions, not like Angelina Jolie but it's there. ;Smuggrin

Tangs, being schooling fish have no such personality and I find them very dull. I know it's just me but I will explain.
If you do much SCUBA diving you will notice this and if you could read a fishes mind, you would get this from a typical tang on a reef in a school.

Lets say Charlie Tang is swimming off Costa Rica on a Tuesday in October. He is swimming 2" from another tang in a school of a thousand tangs all of the same species.

These are Charlie's thoughts:

Oh No, Bob is leading us again. Why is it always Bob? I mean, l could lead, I am as strong as Bob and if I had a mirror, and thumbs I may find I am better looking,

I know what he is going to do. Yep here we go, heading down for seaweed.

Of course he picked this rock! I hate the seaweed here, it's very gamey and I don't like the way that moray eel always smiles at me.

OK, I will try it......Wait a minute, leaving already...I didn't even get one bite and we are leaving!
Sure. Bob makes the rules.

I am getting closer to the front, soon I will be the leader, I know I can do it.
Wow, look at Shela in front of me. Let me swim alongside her.

Hi Shela, Want to grab a bite? If Bob ever finds something us to eat I mean.

Oh, your not Shela! Sorry. Oh your not even a girl!
Sorry.
No I don't mean to be rude but I don't swim like that.

I wish I had a neck, so I could see who this is next to me. Getting a little to close if you know what I mean.

OK we are turning to the left, oh wait, Now we are going right, now left. I am getting dizzy.

Oh, I see it is time to poop. YUCK.. It would be nice if we would all poop on a turn so I didn't always get it in the face. I mean, Like Really! ;Meh

Wait! I can see the front, Bob is getting tired. I think I can.....Dam Harry got the lead. I hate harry.

I wish someone would collect Harry, then quarantine him in Prizapro.

He's also an Independent and I hear he is a Snowflake. OK, left again, now right, up, now down.

Thank God we are going down. That looks like a nice algae covered rock. Oh Wow!

Down, Down, Harry is doing good.
I like Harry.

Where is Harry? Why are we leaving so fast....And why does that Moray eel have a bigger smile now!

Thats a typical morning for a tang, on a Tuesday.

that could be a stand up skit love it,lol

 

[fishguy242]

and threads like this are why we love this place...............