I am going to be setting up a 135 gallon tank(72"l,18"h,24"w),I want to keep tang(s).First off can I keep tangs of the same genus or will they fight to death.I would like to keep three tangs in this tank sice I have read that two tangs will constantly fight together.I was thinking about keeping a yellow tang,a purple tang,and a sailfin or hippo tang together.Before anyone tells me I should buy a bigger tank,I am going to be a collge students and do not have money fora 300g,500g,or 1000g tank.I have enough money for thisn135 and I ahve enough room for it.It isn't just the money I would not have room for a 300 or larger beacuse that is 8 feet long.So any suggestions comments are appreciated.I will go with everyone's advice.Even if you guys say only keep one tang,can you tell me what the best one is to own.By the way,in the future a few years I will be buyinga large tank(300 gallons or more) and therefore thats where the tang will go if he gets to big or needs more swimming room.My lfs also has a 300g display tank and takes back large tangs and puts them in there until someone who has a large tank above three hudred gallons is interseted in buying these tangs.A few months ago,he had a 9 in yellow tang in the 300g tank.
Another tang question!!!
- Thread starter Miklos
- Start date
Wreck scuba is lucky. Most are not.
One is probably the best choice but if you need two here are a couple of recommendations.
If you choose a purple, the most aggressive put her in last.
With the rest of them it is your choice. In additon, consider a kole tang and then you can have two peacefully.
You know to choose only plump tangs that are eating aggressively. If they are thin or the LFS says they are not eating because they just ate, PASS on the fish. There will always be another.
Feed garlic extract as an ich preventative.
Do not add any fish for at least 3 months after your tank cycles and only one fish per month, one at a time.
One is probably the best choice but if you need two here are a couple of recommendations.
If you choose a purple, the most aggressive put her in last.
With the rest of them it is your choice. In additon, consider a kole tang and then you can have two peacefully.
You know to choose only plump tangs that are eating aggressively. If they are thin or the LFS says they are not eating because they just ate, PASS on the fish. There will always be another.
Feed garlic extract as an ich preventative.
Do not add any fish for at least 3 months after your tank cycles and only one fish per month, one at a time.
I really like Naso's (maybe a blonde or vlamingii)
They do grow to a large size but if you get em' small now by the time they are too big for your 135g you should be ready for the "upgrade"
I heard that the powder blue's are very prown to ich.
I think that a purple and blonde naso would be nice
They do grow to a large size but if you get em' small now by the time they are too big for your 135g you should be ready for the "upgrade"
I heard that the powder blue's are very prown to ich.
I think that a purple and blonde naso would be nice
You could probably get away with putting a couple tangs in a tank your size, but I personally would not do it. If I were to keep multiple tangs I would go with no less than three, and ALL would be of a different genus to minimize aggression. A 135 is not the ideal tank size for a setup like that. This is of course a very conservative view, as I am sure some people will jump up and down and say that you can do this in a 40g. tank. I would just get one tang that you really like and save the multiple tang thing for later.
no problem. you can keep all three in the tank with ease. either put them all in at the same time or like someone mentioned, put the Purple in last because they are tough as nails. I have a Sailfin, Yellow, Chevron, Achilles, Powder Brown, and Powder Blue in a 240 and while there are scenes of jousting, the pecking order has been pretty much established. The Achilles is my favorite because he's just beautiful. Buy from an LFS or online e-tailer you trust. The three fish you mentioned are pretty hardy. However, the hippo tangs are a bit tough in my opinion. They seem to attract ich more often than not and are picky eaters. Feed em nori, spirulina, and some formula one and you're all set. good luck...
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IMO this is somewhat misleading. Yellow and purple are a bad combination, albeit a somewhat popular combination. Just because a lot of people do it doesn't mean that they will be successful in the long term. I have a yellow and hippo in my 180m and they seem to do well. The yellow and the sailfin might work, but a bigger tank would be better. Having lots of liverock is a plus as it gives them hiding places. My hippo was placed in after the yellow and the yellow, which was substantially larger bullied the hippo around for a couple of weeks, but now they eat together peacefully.
Ernie
IMO this is somewhat misleading. Yellow and purple are a bad combination, albeit a somewhat popular combination. Just because a lot of people do it doesn't mean that they will be successful in the long term. I have a yellow and hippo in my 180m and they seem to do well. The yellow and the sailfin might work, but a bigger tank would be better. Having lots of liverock is a plus as it gives them hiding places. My hippo was placed in after the yellow and the yellow, which was substantially larger bullied the hippo around for a couple of weeks, but now they eat together peacefully.
Ernie
I would also like to add on to Ernie's post.
DVtang, having a 240 is certainly different from a 135 tank. I think you should consider various environmental consideration of the original poster's tank before you go ahead and give out the boldacious recommendation as such. There are various combination that you could easily try to achieve whereas you could not even think about in the 135.
DV, I believe your tank and tangs stocking level is already considered overcrowding. Even 7 tang in 300 would be considering excessive, let alone the 240 you have. Given their occasional joust, it's obvious they are in the state of stress. While we robbed these animal from the vast open sea, we should be offering them the best possible care possible. Overcrowding your animal is nothing to be proud of. If I were a tang and have choices, I would not want to be in your tank.
DVtang, having a 240 is certainly different from a 135 tank. I think you should consider various environmental consideration of the original poster's tank before you go ahead and give out the boldacious recommendation as such. There are various combination that you could easily try to achieve whereas you could not even think about in the 135.
DV, I believe your tank and tangs stocking level is already considered overcrowding. Even 7 tang in 300 would be considering excessive, let alone the 240 you have. Given their occasional joust, it's obvious they are in the state of stress. While we robbed these animal from the vast open sea, we should be offering them the best possible care possible. Overcrowding your animal is nothing to be proud of. If I were a tang and have choices, I would not want to be in your tank.
The reason I originally stated I wanted three is because I read less than three tangs will most likely fight.I realize now that three tangs of the same genus are more likely to fight than two tangs of different genus'.Now I was reading the web and a few books and all of the sites and books have different suggestions on tank size ,how many tangs and how large will the tangs grow.I really do not want to overstock this tank and also do not want an overly aggressive fish which I heard Zebrasomas Xanthuriums can be.So what is the one best tang(pretty,does not grow to large to fast,not easily prone to ick,and easy to feed a balanced diet)?I have made the decision to now only buy one tang.Thanks in advance.
Nick
Nick
If you decide on one it is your choice.
The following are not suitable either because they grow too large or they very difficult or impossible to keep
Achilles
Clown
Powder Blue
Goldrim ( the whitecheek is OK)
Vlamingi
Orange Shoulder
These two are very aggressive
Sohol
Purple
I cannot comment on these as I have no experiecne
Black
Chevron
What's left
Atlantic blue
Yellow
Kole
Whitecheek or Powder Brown (Japonica)
The one that meets your criteria is the Kole.
In addition to regular food it need film algae which it gets off smooth rocks and the glass. So, leave some glass with algae for her and put in a pile of smooth stones as well.
Treat with garlic extract as an ich preventative.
Choose a nice plump aggressively eating tang with clear eyes and no spots.
Your decision to choose one tang is a good one.
Good luck
The following are not suitable either because they grow too large or they very difficult or impossible to keep
Achilles
Clown
Powder Blue
Goldrim ( the whitecheek is OK)
Vlamingi
Orange Shoulder
These two are very aggressive
Sohol
Purple
I cannot comment on these as I have no experiecne
Black
Chevron
What's left
Atlantic blue
Yellow
Kole
Whitecheek or Powder Brown (Japonica)
The one that meets your criteria is the Kole.
In addition to regular food it need film algae which it gets off smooth rocks and the glass. So, leave some glass with algae for her and put in a pile of smooth stones as well.
Treat with garlic extract as an ich preventative.
Choose a nice plump aggressively eating tang with clear eyes and no spots.
Your decision to choose one tang is a good one.
Good luck
- Location
- Virginia
I (knock on wood) have 2 yellow tangs and 2 hippo tangs in my 125 and have had the yellows together for years and years and years and years without problems. I think that the general rule of 3 is that one cannot fight itself, 2 will fight each other, and 3 will fight each other to the point that no one will get damaged enough to suffer, and the more from there the better. It's kind of like playing ******* the card game, if you're it and there's only 2 of you, you're in trouble. If there's three of you, you stand a better chance of not being it, and the more people there are, the less likely you are to end up a puddle under your chair as everyone else bombards you with drinking orders.
That said, however, many people say that aggression between many is no different than aggression between a few. I don't think the rule of 3 really applies to similarly shaped tangs that have different appearances. For example, I think if you had a yellow, a sailfin, and a purple, one of them would probably get ganged up on first, and then they'd go after each other.
Bottom line, sometimes you get lucky, more often you don't, and you'll end up killing your tangs by stacking them up in a system. If you are going to get more than one, I'd suggest (as the people before me did) getting different shaped tangs, such as maybe a yellow, a kole, and a hippo. Or, get more than 3 of the same (maybe 4 yellows, or 4 purples) and do it that way. That said, in your tank, I think you'd be asking for trouble by putting 4 together as they would outgrow it eventually, and you'd be back to square 1.
See, that's how a lawyer gives an answer, you still don't have one!
That said, however, many people say that aggression between many is no different than aggression between a few. I don't think the rule of 3 really applies to similarly shaped tangs that have different appearances. For example, I think if you had a yellow, a sailfin, and a purple, one of them would probably get ganged up on first, and then they'd go after each other.
Bottom line, sometimes you get lucky, more often you don't, and you'll end up killing your tangs by stacking them up in a system. If you are going to get more than one, I'd suggest (as the people before me did) getting different shaped tangs, such as maybe a yellow, a kole, and a hippo. Or, get more than 3 of the same (maybe 4 yellows, or 4 purples) and do it that way. That said, in your tank, I think you'd be asking for trouble by putting 4 together as they would outgrow it eventually, and you'd be back to square 1.
See, that's how a lawyer gives an answer, you still don't have one!
Hippo,
Didn't mean to be so boldacious with my opinion. I merely felt that if done properly, the stocking of three tangs wouldn't cause too much fighting. I definitely understand that there are many who feel my tank is overcrowded. I try to do my best to care for them with a varied diet and a mud/caulerpa sump as I have learned from this board immensely. All my tangs are under 3 inches except for my Sailfin which is 4 inches. I constantly monitor them everyday and I'm always thinking that the Sailfin will be the first to go to a bigger tank due to his growth. I appreciate the feedback... And to Miklos, it would be tough to choose just one with my love for tangs, but try a Purple or a Chevron; they've got great coloration and are extremely hardy...
Didn't mean to be so boldacious with my opinion. I merely felt that if done properly, the stocking of three tangs wouldn't cause too much fighting. I definitely understand that there are many who feel my tank is overcrowded. I try to do my best to care for them with a varied diet and a mud/caulerpa sump as I have learned from this board immensely. All my tangs are under 3 inches except for my Sailfin which is 4 inches. I constantly monitor them everyday and I'm always thinking that the Sailfin will be the first to go to a bigger tank due to his growth. I appreciate the feedback... And to Miklos, it would be tough to choose just one with my love for tangs, but try a Purple or a Chevron; they've got great coloration and are extremely hardy...
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