Add a Hippo Tang???

[Reefing Newbie]

In a 4ft tank your tang's growth rate will be extremely slow. Naturally there wil be the normal stunted growth in aquariums but if you follow the guidelines stated on RC for them then they will grow very fast and wont take years to grow to one foot long. Long term in a 120 with three tangs, you will be asking for trouble. You put more stress than needed when you catch the fish and sell it for a new one. It is much better for your tank to leave it alone without changing the livestock out every year.

 

[dzfish17]

With alot of food and a large enough tank a hippo tang can grow very quickly. My hippo has grown at least 1" in the last 3 mo. that Ive had him. It cracks me up to see these stubborn and ignorant aquarists who think they know everything.

 

[Reefing Newbie]

Dave, he may have grown 6", just wearing colors that make him look smaller lol.

 

[Daniel Reef]

with alot of food and a large enough tank a hippo tang can grow very quickly. My hippo has grown at least 1" in the last 3 mo. That ive had him. It cracks me up to see these stubborn and ignorant aquarists who think they know everything.

+1.

 

[PeterCollins]

They can and do get to a decent size, however I have one my in 125g and for the time being at least he is fine, if he gets to big I will just take him to the LFS and get something else.

Sadly if people were really that bothered about the quality of life for these animals they wouldnt be buying them from a pet store for their own amusement.

Just the way it is, we are all forfilling our own desires by keeping these things indoors, 4ft / 5 ft / 8ft makes not alot of difference compared to miles of ocean.

You think they eat flake on the reef?

Only thing I would add is that there is definitely two ways of keeping marine tanks, American guys (dont take offence) do tend to have sparsely populated aquariums of biblical proportions.

Yet I know 3 people who have 4 or 5ft tanks that are several years old with no problems that would be considered criminal in the states.

Its just a matter of perspective as to what is desirable.

 

[milspec]

:deadhorse:
It's not the people in the states.
It's the wannabe marine biologist on Reef Central....

Just a bunch of regurgitated disinformation.
Don't make waves.

 

[dzfish17]

:deadhorse:
It's not the people in the states.
It's the wannabe marine biologist on Reef Central....

Just a bunch of regurgitated disinformation.
Don't make waves.

Harry S Truman once said... "The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all". :headwallblue:

 

[Reefing Newbie]

The goal people should have when purchasing fish is to be able to keep the fish in THE tank that they are putting them in for the fish's entire life span be it 4yrs or 30 yrs you should plan on that fish fitting and thriving in that particular sized tank for its entire life. That is the way I look at it. I would love to get a blue hippo tang, but because they get too big for a 125 I will not get one no matter how much I want it. I also will only be keeping two tangs in my 125, not three. If I want to get three tangs then I will wait until I have at least a 180 gallon tank. JMO on this subject. You need to replicate the ocean as much as you can for the fish you have, not exactly like it but the best of your ability.

 

[Daniel Reef]

They can and do get to a decent size, however I have one my in 125g and for the time being at least he is fine, if he gets to big I will just take him to the LFS and get something else.

Sadly if people were really that bothered about the quality of life for these animals they wouldnt be buying them from a pet store for their own amusement.

Just the way it is, we are all forfilling our own desires by keeping these things indoors, 4ft / 5 ft / 8ft makes not alot of difference compared to miles of ocean.

You think they eat flake on the reef?

Only thing I would add is that there is definitely two ways of keeping marine tanks, American guys (dont take offence) do tend to have sparsely populated aquariums of biblical proportions.

Yet I know 3 people who have 4 or 5ft tanks that are several years old with no problems that would be considered criminal in the states.

Its just a matter of perspective as to what is desirable.

Would you be so kind to post British or other European websites where the recommendation for housing a Hippo tang are different than those of American websites (e.g., LA recommends 180g). It would be interesting to know if American websites are conservative and are recommending bigger tanks as compared to British/European websites or if it's a situation where British/European websites recommend the same thing but they are just being ignored by British/European reefers like your post suggests. TIA

 

[Daniel Reef]

:deadhorse:
It's not the people in the states.
It's the wannabe marine biologist on Reef Central....

Just a bunch of regurgitated disinformation.
Don't make waves.

I'm confused by this response. Your earlier post seemed to admit that your tangs get too big for your tank so you sell them for a higher price back to your LFS (or someone else). This seems to suggest that it is in fact true that tangs will outgrow smaller tanks; otherwise, why are you selling them back. Am I missing something?

 

[chrisv]

I just cant imagine anyone PLANNING to deal with removing a fish from an established reef aquarium. Catching a fish in a reef is a freaking nightmare, even if you use a trap. Ugh. talk about a great way to throw even the most balanced system out of whack....Why not just get fish that you can handle for their natural life, regardless of size? Forgetting about "the rules" they will be MUCH more enjoyable to watch and will behave much more naturally. A friend of mine has 4 tangs in an 8 ft tank and they are constantly flashing at one another and its obviously stressful. If there is no aggression at a young age as soon as they become teenage tangs you will have a bloody nightmare on your hands. keep one! one behaving naturally is better than 10 that seem freaked out and cramped!

 

[hybridazn]

If you were going to add the fish anyway, why did you even bother asking on here to only bash the ppl trying to give you advice?

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[PeterCollins]

Its more of a mentality thing.

Take Ultimate Reef for example. There are hundreds of tanks on there, mostly from the UK and a few from Euro and its mainly UK guys on there and no one batters an eyelid when you see a Regal Tang in a 4ft tank. Why? again comes down to mentality, I have a 4x2x2 bow fronted with a small regal in it. For the time being he is fine and no problems, I have 3 tangs in the tank at the moment, a yellow and a kole keep him company.

If i posted my stock list on here people would have a fit, literally. But I do not have any problems, readings are all fine, there is very little fighting other then some chasing away from hidy wholes which I doubt you can avoid. All my fish feed and are healthy, nothing more then I can ask for.

Same goes for alot of tanks I see in the UK where having a powder blue in a 4ft is considered normal and again no one would batter an eye lid. Lipsticks I see in 3-5ft tanks regularly as well.

My father in law has a Regal in a 5ft tank and has had it for 3+ years so far and its a very healthy fat fish, nothing wrong with it.

Somethings are just plain short sighted, like a sailfin in a 2 ft tank, but even then I would consider one in a 5ft tank if it was over 2ft tall. But then again across the pond the accepted school of thought with those "in the know" is that you are doing a misjustice if you keep one in under a 240g tank.

The impression I and others I know have is that it is just more acceptable this side of the pond to be more daring with stocking levels, that goes for both size and quantity of fish.

 

[PeterCollins]

other thing too remember is that Tangs of all kinds are poo machines so great filtering is needed to ensure good quality water

Pete

 

[Toddrtrex]

If you can't see the issues with keeping a fish that gets over a foot long in a 4/5 foot tank, there isn't much that can be done.

:deadhorse:
It's not the people in the states.
It's the wannabe marine biologist on Reef Central....

Just a bunch of regurgitated disinformation.
Don't make waves.

Might want to tone down the attitude a bit.

 

[Reefing Newbie]

Think of tangs as dogs. You have different varieties each with different sizes and energy levels like tangs. Well lets just say you keep something like a lab or vizula(both fairly big dogs that are extremely active) in an apartement and you don't walk them. What do you think is going to happen? Is your dog going to be mentally stable, not at all. It doesn't get the exercise it needs in the apartement because it isn't an open space where it can run full speed too and fro.

Now lets turn this dog into a blue hippo(one of if not the most nervous fish in the hobby) and stuff it in a cramped 4 ft tank. You obviously don't walk it cause it can't breath . The only place is has to exercise is in the tank. Do you think you would be able to get up to full speed and swim with three feet until you have to turn around and start over? With 8-10 feet until they turn around they have plenty of room to swim at full speed. Ideally you would place a tang in a cylindrical aquarium(don't have to turn around at all and can swim the outer perimeter of the tank until it runs out of energy). I am all for people who buy small tangs(for price reasons) and grow them up in a smaller tank for there larger DT that has larger, more mature, and more aggressive fish in it.

 

[lilalove]

I just cant imagine anyone PLANNING to deal with removing a fish from an established reef aquarium. Catching a fish in a reef is a freaking nightmare, even if you use a trap. Ugh. talk about a great way to throw even the most balanced system out of whack....Why not just get fish that you can handle for their natural life, regardless of size? Forgetting about "the rules" they will be MUCH more enjoyable to watch and will behave much more naturally. A friend of mine has 4 tangs in an 8 ft tank and they are constantly flashing at one another and its obviously stressful. If there is no aggression at a young age as soon as they become teenage tangs you will have a bloody nightmare on your hands. keep one! one behaving naturally is better than 10 that seem freaked out and cramped!

Exactly. I may be in the minority, but I don't consider my fish disposable either. They are pets, and I will care for them as long as they're alive. That's why I only purchase ones that will not outgrow my tank.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Exactly. I may be in the minority, but I don't consider my fish disposable either. They are pets, and I will care for them as long as they're alive. That's why I only purchase ones that will not outgrow my tank.

I wish that you weren't, but I do believe that you are in the minority, and that is too bad.

I will admit to selling fish here and there (( mainly clowns )) but, they have always been able to live out their full lives in my current tanks. I learned the hard way that that planned big tank doesn't always happen. It was painful to sell a blueface angel from a tiny baby, but I realized I had to sell it. It was at that point that I told myself I would do my best to change my ways.

 

[Reefing Newbie]

I think a reasonable respect for the fish we take in is needed before purchase. I am not at all saying that it isn't okay to keep marine aquaria. By respect I mean that we need to provide the best possible conditions for them: tank size, water quality, food, tank mates, etc...

 

[Daniel Reef]

Its more of a mentality thing.

Take Ultimate Reef for example. There are hundreds of tanks on there, mostly from the UK and a few from Euro and its mainly UK guys on there and no one batters an eyelid when you see a Regal Tang in a 4ft tank. Why? again comes down to mentality, I have a 4x2x2 bow fronted with a small regal in it. For the time being he is fine and no problems, I have 3 tangs in the tank at the moment, a yellow and a kole keep him company.

If i posted my stock list on here people would have a fit, literally. But I do not have any problems, readings are all fine, there is very little fighting other then some chasing away from hidy wholes which I doubt you can avoid. All my fish feed and are healthy, nothing more then I can ask for.

Same goes for alot of tanks I see in the UK where having a powder blue in a 4ft is considered normal and again no one would batter an eye lid. Lipsticks I see in 3-5ft tanks regularly as well.

My father in law has a Regal in a 5ft tank and has had it for 3+ years so far and its a very healthy fat fish, nothing wrong with it.

Somethings are just plain short sighted, like a sailfin in a 2 ft tank, but even then I would consider one in a 5ft tank if it was over 2ft tall. But then again across the pond the accepted school of thought with those "in the know" is that you are doing a misjustice if you keep one in under a 240g tank.

The impression I and others I know have is that it is just more acceptable this side of the pond to be more daring with stocking levels, that goes for both size and quantity of fish.

Thanks Peter for your response. Can I take from your response that indeed there are no British/European websites (and by that I mean reference websites) that recommend the minimum sizes different from those that are indicated in Live Aquaria and that your reference to Ultimate Reefs is for example purposes. In other words, there are people who put tangs in smaller tanks but they are not relying on recommended minimum tank sizes from authoritative reference sources. I was hoping to find authoritative sources in Europe that would allow an objective analysis to determine whether the recommendations of various sites in the States like Live Aquaria or Blue Zoo Aquatics are inaccurate. If you have such sources, please do post links to those because I would like to see them. Otherwise, it appears that you are just relying on people's experiences. There are plenty of people in the States who ignore the recommendations. IMHO, that alone is not sufficient. Personally, before I make a decision, I would like some authoritative support for the "misjustice" comments. TIA