Fish Stocking Question

[Blueasher]

I'm in the process of setting up an Oceanic 30 gal. cube tank. My local fish store (which is a pretty good store and well known within the area) responded with a yes to my question about placing a yellow tang in this tank with two other fish; a couple of clowns most likely.

My question is, do you guys think that a yellow tang would be okay in this tank? What about a hippo tang? I realize that tangs need a lot of swimming room but how important is it to tangs when they are still small? Could I put two tangs together and just get one other fish? I would like people's honest opinions and not just what everyone thinks is the "right" thing to do.

 

[Mikef1]

personally I wouldnt put any tangs in a 30gal tank and especially not together. I know I probably just started an argument on what size tanks tangs need.

 

[reefsnreptiles1]

A 30 gallon tank is too small for any tang let alone 2 tangs.

Having managed a saltwater specialty store before, I would seriously question any advice given to you by a store that tells you they would be ok in that tank.

 

[psiico]

On the local forum I frequent the accepted wisdom is that tangs need a 6 foot tank in order to have enough room to swim without being stressed. Makes sense to me.

 

[MarkO1]

I've got a Purple Tang in my 90 and even though he's only about 5" long, I think he'd be happier in a bigger tank. There are a lot of other fish you may want to consider for that tank instead of tangs, which in my opinion, do a lot of swimming.
_________________
Mercedes CLK Class

 

[Blueasher]

I am disappointed to hear that a tang is not suitable for a 30g however, taking all this into consideration has made me reconsider my desire to have a tang and therefore, I have decided to explore other options. Thus far, I haven’t been able to come up with anything I truly like and was hoping someone would be able to suggest some options. If anyone has any advice as to which (colorful) fish are appropriate to stock with a percula clown in a 30g, I could really use some recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Oh my.
Compared to some of my previous tanks 30gls is huge.
There are a wide variety of fish that would make a marvelous display in your tank. Just a few suggestions would be fish of the genus Apogon ( cardinals),
Basslets, Gobies and various fish of the genus Chromis. Without knowing what you plan with this tank ( reef or FO ) it's hard to say.
By the way like others have stated, I'd seriously question the wisdom of whom you were talking to at your LFS.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[J.Howard]

Well, I guess I'm breaking the rules. I have a nice yellow tang in my 20 about 2.5 in. He's been with me for over a year. Very healthy , great color. He pals around w/ my coral beauty angel as they nibble on rocks and stuff. He has even grown a little. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[J.Howard]

BTW I may just be lucky. You may want to follow the advice of the majority.

 

[Blueasher]

I know it has been a while but I wanted to let everyone who did respond to my previous forum know that I did decide to get the yellow tang.

He has been in the tank for several months now and is doing very well and is very happy. He swims around with his fins open constantly and eats more than any of the other fish in the tank.

Thankfully it is working out well and hopefully things will continue to go well when he grows larger.

 

[danmhippo]

We do wish you are considering to move up to bigger tanks (eg. 100G) in the near future.

 

[Blueasher]

He still is very small and I bought him that way intentionally.

When I will move up is all contingent on whether or not the room is necessary. The tank is still only about 6 months old and nothing seems to need more room yet.

 

[J.Howard]

Wow, blast from the past thread! Good for you Blueasher! I have since moved my tang to my 200. NOT because of tang police pressure, but I felt the tank was stable enough to warrant the move. If a fish is doing well in a smaller tank, and the fish is small, then I see no problem with that. Sure, the fish may grow some, but only in relation to the tank size. I know those of you on the tang police force have your hearts in the right place, but please don't try and buffalo people into thinking that they must get a bigger tank, or trade the fish, right away or it will surely die. I had mine in my 20 for almost 2 years before the move, so don't worry Blue. If you follow good practices and provide the tang with the proper diet, it should do well. BTW, just to stir the pot, I've seen some sick looking tangs in huge tanks that obviously aren't getting the right food. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Sigh...the problem is most folks who have a 20 gallon tank with a tang in it don't have a 200 gallon at their disposal to use. The fish usually ends up dying prematurely.

 

[SnowManSnow]

You can always expose them to extensive gamma rays to stunt their growth


hehe kidding of ocurse

 

[Anonymous]

You can always expose them to extensive gamma rays to stunt their growth


hehe kidding of ocurse

It's true that this does not work, but if you can get them smoking at a young age...

Maybe a pack of smokes in his Christmas stocking :wink:

 

[J.Howard]

Sigh...the problem is most folks who have a 20 gallon tank with a tang in it don't have a 200 gallon at their disposal to use. The fish usually ends up dying prematurely.

Agreed Matt, but there are those of us who have a long term plan in place when the tang is put into a small tank. And thats the whole point. Call it splitting hairs, but flaming people who put one in a small tank, w/out asking what they plan to do down the road, and then calling them irresponsible isn't conducive to intelligent discussion. BTW, not pointing a finger at you Matt, just those who jump down our throats at the mere mention of having any tang in less than a 6 foot tank.

 

[Blueasher]

There is in fact, in my case a long term plan. I do have access to larger tanks which I can move the tang to in the event he gets too large for the 30g. But, he isn't too large for the tank and like I had mentioned before, is still doing very well.

 

[Anonymous]

Remember to feed him his greens!

 

[Tackett]

I had a yellow tang in a 30 gallon for a year, and he was in no danger of outgrowing it anytime soon. And yes, MAKE SURE you feed him alot of greens, often.