Tang questions

[Minh Nguyen]

My display tank (last tank) was about 450 g in volume and I had 5 tangs in it (plus a Majestic Angle). I like getting them small and one of the tangs was bigger than 2 inches total in lenght when they go into the tank.
The mimic tank was first. I would not recommend this tang for captive reef. He was very well from the size of 1.5 inches to about 8 inches over 3 years. When the adult color and his tail streamers begin to developed, he start to forever pace the tank and did not look happy. Maybe you guys think that I am full of BS, but I can tell that he is not happy from his swimming, pacing behavior. I think adult mimic tang are open water tang and not happy with the confind of the reef. I never seen such pacing. It go on all day and night. I was to the point of capture him and bring him to the Texas State Aqurium here in Corpus Christi.
The Yellow and Purple tangs went in early also and I had no problem. Each were only about 1.5 inches.
The Powder blue was next. He was the boss ob the tank within 2 weeks over bigger Yellow, Purple and much bigger Mimic tang. Soon thereafter, I added the A. japonicus. The PBT keep the A. japonicus in the rock works for weeks if not 1-2 months. I have to have a special feeding stick for the A. japonicus into the rock work or else he would have starved.
I keep all my fish in the refugium (125 g partitioned tank) until they got use to eatting and comfortable in the aquarium before releasing them into the main tank. This was what save the A. japonicus.

Anybody else here have experience with the Mimic tang when they show adult coloration and fins?

 

[Unarce]

Thanks Karl, in your opinion and experience, are the Ctenochaetus easier to maintain than the A. japonicus? Seeing as this will be my first tang, I don't want to go with one that won't have a good chance of surviving under my care.

Bristletooth tangs are generally hardy, and probably the best grazers you can buy. The thing you have to watch out for is the mouth. Their mouth can be easily damaged during shipping. Ordering them online is a risky. Just pay extra attention to the mouth and their ability to feed when observing specimens at the LFS.

 

[Anonymous]

A. japonicus will be much harder to maintain and much more aggressive than either of those Ctenochaetus spp.

FWIW, Ctenochaetus spp. and Siganus spp. should get along just fine. Both are excellent grazers. Any of the commonly available Siganus spp. (magnificus, uspi, bicolor, vulpinnis, unimaculatus) would do well in that tank.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

A. japonicus will be much harder to maintain and much more aggressive than either of those Ctenochaetus spp.
....

I have no experience with Ctenochaetus spp. or Siganus spp.
However, A. japonicus is not that hard to keep. I have no problem with him and I think and intermediate reefer should have no problem with him. A thriving reef tank should have stable enough condition for these species if there is no other stresser like another tang in a 100 g tank.
Minh

 

[Anonymous]

A. japonicus will be much harder to maintain and much more aggressive than either of those Ctenochaetus spp.
....

I have no experience with Ctenochaetus spp. or Siganus spp.
However, A. japonicus is not that hard to keep. I have no problem with him and I think and intermediate reefer should have no problem with him. A thriving reef tank should have stable enough condition for these species if there is no other stresser like another tang in a 100 g tank.
Minh

Hi Minh!

With all due respect, I think your skills as an aquarist are far above average. Acanthurus species are, in general, much harder to maintain than either of the genera I listed. Harder to get eating, more prone to diseases, need higher water quality, etc. Siganus spp. in particular are extremely hardy.

 

[Meloco14]

Thanks for the advice Karl, Matt, and Minh. I am not going to add the tang for at least another month so I have some time to consider everything. My current thought is to stick to only one tang, and the top candidates are still the japonicus, tomini, and hawaii. I will consider a rabbitfish instead of a second tang. My only other fleeting thought at the moment would be a sailfin tang. If the sailfin was the only large fish in this tank would it do well? Or do they get too large for a tank this size?

 

[Minh Nguyen]

When I was a newbie at reefkeeing, I had a Yellow, Purple and Sailfin tangs in my 100 g tank. They were disease free, fat, but I would never see all three without a torn fin or punture wound. At lease one would have battle wound at any one time. They grew up togather in my 100 g tank.
I think if you have a Sailfin tang in a 100 g, he would do fine but never grow any where near his potential size. While this is OK with me, is it OK with you?

Regarding your other top choices, the common name for C. hawaiiensis is Black Surgeonfish. It is a very colorful fish as a baby, you need to see picture of it as an adult fish befor you put down a relatively large amount of money for him. While not nessesary a ugly fish, an adult C. hawaiiensis is certaily not colorfull.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice Karl, Matt, and Minh. I am not going to add the tang for at least another month so I have some time to consider everything. My current thought is to stick to only one tang, and the top candidates are still the japonicus, tomini, and hawaii. I will consider a rabbitfish instead of a second tang. My only other fleeting thought at the moment would be a sailfin tang. If the sailfin was the only large fish in this tank would it do well? Or do they get too large for a tank this size?

IMO they get too large. I don't know how happy you'd be with a chevron. They do get a bit big as the genus goes, and they lose their vivid colors as adults. The tominis don't. Basically this whole time I've been trying to convince you to get a tomini.

 

[Meloco14]

When I was a newbie at reefkeeing, I had a Yellow, Purple and Sailfin tangs in my 100 g tank. They were disease free, fat, but I would never see all three without a torn fin or punture wound. At lease one would have battle wound at any one time. They grew up togather in my 100 g tank.
I think if you have a Sailfin tang in a 100 g, he would do fine but never grow any where near his potential size. While this is OK with me, is it OK with you?

Regarding your other top choices, the common name for C. hawaiiensis is Black Surgeonfish. It is a very colorful fish as a baby, you need to see picture of it as an adult fish befor you put down a relatively large amount of money for him. While not nessesary a ugly fish, an adult C. hawaiiensis is certaily not colorfull.

Good point about the sailfin, Minh. I generally like to keep fish in as good of an environment as I can realistically provide, so maybe I will pass on this species. That being said, this 100 gallon tank is only a temporary step toward an eventual 150 or 180. If I were to purchase a small sailfin, like around 2", how long would it take him to reach, say, 5"? Realistically it will probably be a year or two before I can upgrade to a larger tank. If tangs are slow growers this may work out. But if not, I can always wait and get a sailfin once I have a larger tank. But damn i'm impatient :twisted: . Also, I did see that the chevron tangs lose their bright coloring when they grew, and I dont know if I've seen a picture with their adult colors. I have seen a picture where they are a dark, burnt red-orange color with kind of squiggly lines. Is this their adult color or do they get even darker than that?

 

[Meloco14]

IMO they get too large. I don't know how happy you'd be with a chevron. They do get a bit big as the genus goes, and they lose their vivid colors as adults. The tominis don't. Basically this whole time I've been trying to convince you to get a tomini.

:lol: Well you're in luck, I think the tomini is on the top of my list at the moment. I really like the juvenile coloration of the chevron, but the fact that they lose their brilliance along with the higher price tag was always a turn off.

 

[Unarce]

I normally push the tomini when it comes to bristletooths, like Matt. But, when I started to think of what I'd love to see in my tank, 3 baby chevrons came to mind immediately. They're are very plain looking as adults, like Minh said, but I wouldn't mind enjoying the next 7 years watching those colorful babies grow.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

go to fishbase.org and look up the species. i am typing with one hand while holding my 3 m old son with the other.

 

[Anonymous]

An adult C. hawaiiensis.

There is another Ctenochaetus species that I have seen for sale, although very rarely. It is the 'blue eyed kole' bristletooth, C. binotatus. Not as attractive but it would make an unusual addition to a tank.

Photo copyright Henry C Schultz III

 

[Minh Nguyen]

from fishbase.org

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[Anonymous]

from fishbase.org

I think that's actually a really great picture. So much for saying it loses its appeal.

It'd be less expensive than buying a black tang. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Nice free advertising for RC. Very clever of them.

Louey

 

[WRASSER]

wouldn't a medium yellow eye kole tang and a baby hippo or even a baby sailfin (not red sea) work in a 100g.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Here is my A. japonicus. This picture of mine does not do him justice. These guys got a bad rap but are very beautiful and relatively easy to care for. My tiny A. japonicus survived being harassed by a PBT for months and thrive. It is true that he was in a large tank, but he was chased into the rock for months before the PBT let him be.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

wouldn't a medium yellow eye kole tang and a baby hippo or even a baby sailfin (not red sea) work in a 100g.

Fish grow fast when condition is good. In about 2 years
My yellow tang goes from 1.25 inches to more than 4 inches. Same for Purple tang. PBT 2 inches to 5 inches. Mimic 2 to 8 inches. A. japonicus from 2 to 6 inches. All numbers are total length including the tail approximations only. I did not take them out to measure them. They were in a 450 g tank with all the food they can eat.

 

[WRASSER]

YES, didn't they have a little more room to strech out, In the 100 I believe it will take a little longer, No?