How big is too big for a 180g?

[Silencer]

I've been trying to decide on a showcase fish for my 180g and always seem to run into the same problem. All the fish I'm looking at get fairly large and I honestly can't decide where to draw the line when it comes to size limits. I want to do what's right for the fish but I also think that I'm being overly cautious because a lot of people recommend equally large fish. Here is my rockwork so that you can get an idea of swimming space. It will be an SPS tank so once I get more frags and they grow out everything will get a little taller. The aquascaping isn't quite done yet but I'm not planning any major changes so that shouldn't have much impact on things.



I would love to have something like a Clown Tang or Emperor Angel but both get to about 15" which seems way too huge. However a lot of people recommend things like a Naso or Sailfin tang and those get even larger! Even something like a Hippo Tang gets to 1ft and I don't think anyone would try to dissuade me from getting one of those because of it's size. I've been looking more and more at the female Swallowtail Angel as it should be reef safe and only gets to about 7" but if possible I would really like something that is more colorful and interesting looking.

As far as compatibility and other stocking goes... The tank will primarily be an SPS tank with some zoanthids. I will not have any softies and PROBABLY won't have any LPS except for a single frogspawn. I have not decided if I want any anemones or clams yet. I currently have 1 Firefish, 1 Fire Shirmp, 6 Green Chromis and 2 Banggai Cardinals. In the near future I am definitely going to be adding around 7 Lyretail Anthias to the tank. I would also like to get both a Green and Target mandarin but don't feel that the tank is mature enough yet. Once all the little fish are settled in and a little bit bigger I will likely be adding a small(ish) Zebra Moray as well. This will be the true showcase creature of the tank but since it will likely spend most of it's time in the cave I have created for it I would like to do something special in the fish department as well which is of course where I'm getting myself confused.

What do you guys think? What size fish is too big for my tank? Where should I draw the line?

 

[Len]

For a 180, I'd stick with fish that don't get larger then a foot. While smaller specimens can do well for many years (stuff like Naso tangs, etc.), I prefer to have smaller fish because they exhibit more natural behaviors then a large fish stuck in a 6' tank.

 

[Silencer]

Thanks for the reply. I kinda have the same though. I mean I'm sure an Emperor Angel or Clown Tang would be ok for a while, maybe even a few years, but eventually it's just gonna get too big I think and then what? What do I do with a 12" Tang or Angel?

Does anyone else have any comments?

 

[Mike612]

Well right away I have to say that the Emperor Angel will probably eat up your coral so it shouldn't be put into the future reef. The Clown Tang is very hard to care for and once it is established it could be very aggressive and territorial so in my opinion, it shouldn't be added either. The female swallowtail angel would be great in a reef. They're pretty easy to care for and really the only hard thing will be finding one. They're a bit uncommon. If you want a nice tang for a centerpiece fish as I call them, look into maybe a blonde Naso Tang. Those are stunning animals and will live for a long time in captivity so long as you provide them with plenty of algae and other vegetable matter like nori. Do not feed any tang brocolli and lettuce like other people do. I've read that those vegetables have acids in them that could be harmful to fish. The nori can be acquired at any store in a seafood section. The Naso Tang is easy to care for and is also available most of the time.

 

[Anonymous]

I do not really have any more suggestions than the others above, but I must say I think that aquascaping is awesome!

 

[Silencer]

This is where the whole size issue comes into play. If a Naso Tang that grows to 18" is ok than wouldn't a Clown Tang or Emperor Angel that grows to 'just' 15" be ok too? Obviously there are a few other issues with my preferred choices but those can be compensated for. For example let's say that my tank was sps only and didn't have any lps/zoos, would the angel be ok then? I don't mind making compromises if it means I can properly keep one of these creatures but I'm worried that the size alone is what disqualifies me from being able to properly care for them.

 

[Mike612]

The sizes are fine. The issues are that the Emperor Angel will eat most of the coral in your tank whether it's sps, lps, or soft and the Clown Tang is very difficult to take care of because it often refuses food and is more suscpetible to ich than other tangs. Also, if you are lucky enough to get a healthy Clown Tang, it will become very aggressive in your tank and will harass all of your more passive fish like the firefish and cardinals. It really isn't worth it. A fish like the Naso Tang is pretty peaceful and is easy to care for. If you want another suggestion, the Sailfin Tang is also very pretty and both the pacific and red sea versions are easy to care for and attractive. Other tangs you could keep in a tank that size include the Hippo Tang and the Atlantic Blue Tang. That's about it. Those fish get large but would be able to live in a tank that size and they will make nice centerpiece fish. Most angels in general are risky, the full size like the Emperor more than the dwarfs, so in general it's not a good idea.

Look at this site. It will tell you which coral the angelfish will eat (except the Emperor because they stopped selling it (I'm guessing the Emperor Angels people were buying from them kept on dying)).

http://www.vividaquariums.com/10BrowseCat.asp?Category=Fish

 

[fyrefysh]

I don't know, but if I had a 180, I would opt for some smaller schools of fish rather than showcase one or two large fish. I think that to house a large 15" fish, I would have to give it the freedom of say a 540 gallon aquarium (this is just my opinion) to roam in. I would opt for maybe some smaller showpeices like say a marine beta or a harlequin tusk or maybe even a scott's fairy wrasse. But with a 180, you could probably have both a marine beta, harlequin tusk, a small school of anthias and a small school of flasher wrasses or similar. Just a thought.

 

[Mike612]

Bad ideas there. The Harlequin Tusk isn't reef safe at all as it will eat invertebrates and some fish. The Marine Betta will also eat some invertebrates and fish. Go for a pretty and easy to care for tang.