purple or powder blue tang?

[ti6al4v_15]

Which one would you put in a 90 gallon reef? Just starting out but would like some advice. Also what other fish could I add? I would like to know my options.

thanks,
Lane

 

[da colts1]

the purple tang is a much hardier tang, and not as succeptable to ich or velvet. we have had 1 in the lfs i work at for 10 years and he is still going strong, powder blues are beautiful fish but no where near as hardy as a purple, you may end up getting 3 or 4 blues before finding 1 that will do well. the pueple is the way to go.

 

[jandree22]

i agree. in its own ways, the powder blue is stunning, but you're getting a more beautiful fish with the purple IMO. plus they wont get as big as a powder.

Get the PURPLE!!!

 

[SpicyBalls]

purple tang all the way...!
_________________
chocolate chunk photos

 

[Anonymous]

Here's one of those "should be left in the ocean" fish. :?
Powder blue tangs are one of those fish that shouldn't be collected, period. Their survival rate in captivity is abysmal. You'll spend forever and a day finding a good one at a store, and that's if you know how to spot a good one. Then you'll have to go through several of these at least in order to find one that acclimates, and that's only if your tank conditions are optimal. There are some success stories, but not enough to warrant it's further collection and importation. There are too many fish that adapt well to captivity to keep killing this one.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

Purple - and buy a small one. After that, no other tangs in that tank. Buy the Reef Fish pocket guide by Scott Michael.

 

[Anonymous]

I hate the type of post I'm about to make, because it's such an atypical example. Therefore, a disclaimer--this is by no means the usual story for a PBT.

A customer of mine has had a PBT in her 125 or so tank for 2 years now. It's a 3' cube, and is housed with a bird wrasse and dogface puffer. All these fish were added before I got her as a customer. The odd thing is that she's never fed it nori, or any other type of algae. Just frozen Marine Cuisine cubes. There's no LR in the tank either. The strange thing is this fish looks great. No HLLE, no sunken belly, great colors...definitely a rarity with this fish. It's incredibly territorial as well.

 

[Unarce]

Here's one of those "should be left in the ocean" fish. :?

Unfortunately true, because of a number of conrtributing factors. Primarily, collecting practices, nutrition, and territory size. I believe PBT's are collected mostly from the Indian Ocean and more often then not, cyanide-caught. Purple Tangs are usually collected from the Red Sea, where cyanide is absolutely prohibited. They also require a larger territory in the wild compared to the Purple Tang because of their vigorous grazing habits, so a minimum of 100g and excellent quality live rock is required to keep one happy for a long time and provide enough filamentous algae.

Still, there are going to be exceptions, like Matt's. I'd probably always go with the Purple Tang instead.

 

[Anonymous]

I hate the type of post I'm about to make, because it's such an atypical example. Therefore, a disclaimer--this is by no means the usual story for a PBT.

A customer of mine has had a PBT in her 125 or so tank for 2 years now. It's a 3' cube, and is housed with a bird wrasse and dogface puffer. All these fish were added before I got her as a customer. The odd thing is that she's never fed it nori, or any other type of algae. Just frozen Marine Cuisine cubes. There's no LR in the tank either. The strange thing is this fish looks great. No HLLE, no sunken belly, great colors...definitely a rarity with this fish. It's incredibly territorial as well.

While I'm in total agreement with most other statements, I think that the PBluT can be a good fish for those with experience. Unfortunately, they're all too often purchased by those who practice poor husbandry, or are just too inexperienced on the whole. Same with Achilles, in my honest opinion.

On to adding my opinion, yes, I agree that the Purple would be a far better choice in this situation, also in part because of adult size.

 

[Anonymous]

While I'm in total agreement with most other statements, I think that the PBluT can be a good fish for those with experience. Unfortunately, they're all too often purchased by those who practice poor husbandry, or are just too inexperienced on the whole. Same with Achilles, in my honest opinion.

I have trouble calling it a "good fish" when there are so many other species out there that truly fit the description realative to this one.
The problem is that they are a surge dwelling species with a huge territory and do not adapt well to captivity, regardless of the experience level of the keeper. Even for someone with much experience, it is likely to take multiple purchases to find an individual that will adapt to living in a glass box regardless of who purchased it. Even those individuals that appear realatively healthy at the store most often succumb after a few days or weeks in a tank. Thus my statement that they should not be collected.
They don't ship well which just exacerbates the situation. By the time they make it to the store, they have nothing left and their immune response is shot. They are also notorious for coming down with infections long after they have been established in a tank.
Matt has provided one of those success stories I spoke of, on the other hand how many have died for every one that lives? Hundreds upon HUNDREDS. I cannot possibly count how many I've seen alone. Thus I have trouble reconciling the collection of this species, or calling it a good aquarium fish regardless of any qualifiers.


Cheers
Jim

 

[Anonymous]

I don't disagree entirely, Jim, only to a small degree. In all other respects, I stand corrected.

 

[NYSharkLady]

I also agree with the purple! I've got one in my 90 reef and he/she is very active and even schools with my angel! Their best buddies! It was a toss up between a purple and a hippo and the guy at the LFS said purple all the way! I really wanted a hippo, but I'm SOO happy that I went with the purple! She's small and very healthy!

Go for the purple!!

 

[JohnD]

Purples are elegant. I've had one for years.

When I first started with salt water, my LFS recommended that I add a PBT to the tank just after it cycled. The poor thing lasted maybe one month.

 

[tygger]

How big do the pbt and purple tang get? I thought the purple gets a little be larger?