Would I and how many tangs could I safely keep

[garryclarkfl]

I have a 48"x36"x30" tank with 4 tangs presently, 7" naso tang w streamers, adult chevron 4" which is the oldest in my tank, and the latest additions were 4.5" desjarni sailfin and 2" purple tang which gratefully meshed well with the other tangs. My first tang was a powder blue, big mistake putting him in the tank first, killed a couple other tangs cost me a fortune. Definitely would have put him in the tank last and if at all.

 

[Epicreefster]

I would agree with 4FordFamily's recommendation of zebramosa and bristletoth, or ctenochaetus genus, tangs. I would however recommend multiple bristletooth tangs and only one or two zebramosa species. Zebramosa are more aggressive IMO, like a terrier in personality, especially the purple and yellow which are most common. The bristletoth are more like a clumsy Great Dane and not horribly aggressive. Also they eat more algae than the zebramosas, their jaw articulates specifically for scraping algae off rock. Of course you could probably get by with either all of one or the other, it's personal preference.

 

[coralbeauties]

I have 4 tangs in my 180 gallon 6 ft tank. Yellow, powder blue, purple, and a Desjardini. I also have a moorish idol. The purple seems to be the bully of the bunch, mostly towards the idol. I wouldnt say they are all buddies but the worst issues are some tail bumping to assert who is boss.
Jeff

 

[Triggreef]

Thank you guys. I appreciate the info. I knew the 4' would limit me, I was hoping the more open space, more of a box, and elevated water movement would make up for it. I had always wanted an Achilles tang or a powder blue.

I think those would be fine even together. My tank is very similar in size and I've had many tangs. As many as 6 at a time in that tank. Some of your decision has to do with your total plan for the tank, not just whether or not there's space.

When i had 6 i had a Caribbean blue, powder blue, kole, yellow, desj sailfin, and scopus. I also had a lot of other fish and heavy bioload, makes it tough to keep up with not impossible just tough. Got rid of them all so i could add a copperband which none of them wanted.

Them i went with an awesome 4some, powder blue, chevron, purple, and convict. Great for a while but man the bio load is just tough to keep up with. No aggression issues but at large sizes too much for me to keep up with.

Now i decided to only keep the purple and convict in this tank. I have about 18 other fish with them so I'm sure if it were only the tangs it wouldn't be that hard to keep up with. But with all the others i decided to only keep 2 tangs.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Even though the tank length is only 48", the greater than normal front to back depth gives greater swimming room than many 6' tanks, so that will give you more options and ultimately more total than would otherwise be doable for a 4' tank.

Another thing that helps you is the high flow. Acanthurus tangs LOVE high flow and will occupy themselves in the current. This also gives them the swimming 'exercise' of a larger tank. It also significantly reduces their aggression.

Depending on the species picked, anywhere between 3-8 tangs can be doable.

 

[KDawg0623]

This is wonderful. I truly appreciate all of the scientific information mixed in with the personal experiences.

I am not foolish enough to believe that everyone else's experiences will be mine, but it does help a great deal and from the members that know the geneses and behavior. I am very blessed to have found this forum before any others to become s member of. Thank you all very much for the info and can't wait to learn more. It has helped me to widdle down the list

 

[lewis.maryann08]

I had a vlamingi for 3 years in a 5', 100g tank. He didn't out grow it at all. Also have kole and fox face in the same tank. Kept a 90g for 4 years with bariene tang, hippo tang, yellow tang. Biggest one was the bariene at 5". They all played nicely. It does help to know somebody with a huge tank should you need to part with any of the tangs. I was able to re-home them with no issues.

I have a Desjardini sailfin I am trying to sell he is ruff on my little fish so I have him in a 20 gallon QT he is 3 to 4 inches..

 

[tonkaoz]

I just bought a 8x3x2 tank almost 400 gallons and i plan on putting in at least 3 powder blues 3 purples and 3 blonde naso's. I plan on putting them in all at once so no one has a territory. I also plan on getting the smallest ones i can . Hopefully i will have no issues . I have a 220 now with powber blue , purple, yellow , a white cheek ,and a tomini . No issues the all get along with no fighting.

 

[tonkaoz]

Heres a pic from my tablet

 

[4FordFamily]

I just bought a 8x3x2 tank almost 400 gallons and i plan on putting in at least 3 powder blues 3 purples and 3 blonde naso's. I plan on putting them in all at once so no one has a territory. I also plan on getting the smallest ones i can . Hopefully i will have no issues . I have a 220 now with powber blue , purple, yellow , a white cheek ,and a tomini . No issues the all get along with no fighting.

You may want to rethink the powder blues that may work but it may end very very badly as well. I'm guessing that won't last 6 months. 4-5 perhaps.

Make sure you qt and treat properly

 

[tonkaoz]

You may want to rethink the powder that may work but it may end very very badly as well. I'm guessing that won't last 6 months. 4-5 perhaps.

Make sure you qt and treat properly

So you think i should get 4-5 powder blues plus the rest or just the powder blues? Im guess 4 powder blues or more will school

 

[4FordFamily]

So you think i should get 4-5 powder blues plus the rest or just the powder blues? Im guess 4 powder blues or more will school

I might just re-evaluate the 3 PBT. IMO they're the most aggressive tang by a large margin. Be prepared to remove the very docile or very aggressive.

In a 400 gal you can fit a good number of tangs

 

[FLAdaboy]

Browns are more aggressive than blues IMO

 

[4FordFamily]

Browns are more aggressive than blues IMO

IME they're less aggressive than Achilles and pbt but more than goldrim. Mine is very docile

 

[tonkaoz]

My blue definitely runs the tank but has not been aggressive in a couple years

 

[eatbreakfast]

So you think i should get 4-5 powder blues plus the rest or just the powder blues? Im guess 4 powder blues or more will school

When getting more than two powder blues, two will pr up and kill the others. In the wild they may travel in large groups, but ultimately are pairforming. Even though your tank is quite large, it is still not large enough for more powder blues than two. Plenty of room for quite a few other types of tangs though.

 

[ebushrow]

I have a 80 gallon 48x24x18 with two triggers, 2 naso one with streamers about 7", a kole tang, blue hippo, redline wrasse, falco hawkfish, 5 chromis, 2 clarki clown, 1 snowflake, a sixline wrasse. I might be forgetting a few, lol. Everyone is fat and happy. People will say this tank is too small for this or that fish but hey its your tank and do what makes you happy because its going to be you that is the one sitting there watching the tank not them. And if they do get way to big its good excuse to get a biggee tank . I think your tank size is perfect btw.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should....I can keep a 4 foot long shark in a 4 foot long tank as long as it can turn around in circles...doesn't mean I should or that it would thrive....fish that swim tens of miles in a day that you limit to 4 feet may be surviving...but are they really living? Or enjoying life? Or just sustaining life?

 

[Aznxgqboyx]

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should....I can keep a 4 foot long shark in a 4 foot long tank as long as it can turn around in circles...doesn't mean I should or that it would thrive....fish that swim tens of miles in a day that you limit to 4 feet may be surviving...but are they really living? Or enjoying life? Or just sustaining life?

A shark is different from a tang. You can say that and i can say this, a family of 5 living in a small apartment, are they really living? Or enjoying life? Or just sustaining? Its the same concept. Prison cells keep sometimes 4-6 people in a room the size of a bathroom. Is that right? No. Is it right that the fish dont have a big enough space to swim in because there is a magic size that is required for them? Yes and no. Each to his own. Same can be said about people with dogs, dogs need alot of attention yet people leave them at home all day while their at work, some even left in cages that are smaller then our tanks. Is that right? No but people still do it and will continue to do it.