Adding Naso Tang to established tank

[edsbeaker]

Hi,
I would love to add a naso tang to my tank. I'm wondering if this will be a problem since a naso is pretty docile and should possibly have been added before some of the current fish housed in my tank.

Coral Beauty Angel
Flame Angel
Red Sea Sailfin Tang 4"
Hippo Tang 4"

Any thoughts on aggression issues, or will I be OK?

 

[lhm nole]

Most Naso's are pretty good size and they can handle their own and I do not see a problem with the fish you currently have only issue I ever had with a naso was with a imperator angel

 

[BrianD]

I don't think a 180 is appropriate in size for naso spp. They get huge, and you already have a couple of the larger tangs in the tank.

 

[b2d2t]

well i personally think a 180 would be perfectly fine for a naso , that aquarium isnt even nearly stocked, i think it would do just fine

 

[lilalove]

I think a 180 is borderline for a Naso. I have a 4 incher in my 180 and it still seems small for this fish. However, you already have two potentially HUGE tangs in there. I would skip the Naso. The confined space takes its toll. I tried adding a copperband about the same size as my Naso and it beat the snot out of it until finally I removed the butterfly. Docile, sure. In a gigantic tank, though.

 

[BrianD]

well i personally think a 180 would be perfectly fine for a naso , that aquarium isnt even nearly stocked, i think it would do just fine

Have you kept a naso in a 180?

 

[edsbeaker]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'll skip the Naso, and add something that will stay smaller.

 

[justisathomesea]

A suggestion that was giving to me about adding fish into a tank with other tangs is to use a mirror. By putting a mirror in up against the glass for 3-4 days to give the fish time to get used to its new enviroment. And the tangs will just fight themselfs for a few days because of the mirror. The guy that told me said it has worked wonders for him.

 

[b2d2t]

yea i have BrianD and its working out fine , almost full grown and in the witha foxface and a hippo and absoulutly no problems at all.

 

[ntropics]

I think that if it were an 8 foot long tank, the Naso would be okay. But most 180's are six feet long. I got sent a naso by mistake from DD, and it's in my 180 eight footer. So far, seems happy but it's only about seven inches long right now. (Since I had no choice but to take him, because there is no way I would have been able to send him back quickly enough, and the LFS wouldn't take him, I kept it.)

 

[BrianD]

yea i have BrianD and its working out fine , almost full grown and in the witha foxface and a hippo and absoulutly no problems at all.

I'm not sure what you consider "full grown" (or what species you have), but many Naso spp. reach 14-18 inches, and, in my opinion, that is too big for a 180.

 

[evokevin]

how long does it take for them to reach that size? say you start with a 5in naso, in a 180gal 6ft tank... is it going to be 14inches in 1 year? 6 months? 4 years?

i'm in the same boat as the OP. i have a flame angel, regal tang, and sailfin tang in a 180. i also have a kole tang that i was considering replacing with a naso (kole tang is being very aggressive).

 

[BrianD]

evo, that is hard to answer. I have a hepatus tang that seems to have topped out at about 9 inches (over 10 years old), while a 2 year old sailfin in the tank that I added when it was quarter-sized is now bigger than the hepatus, and no signs of slowing down. I think the Naso spp. is also known for rapid growth.

 

[Untamed12]

It is my experience that N. literatus (or elegans) does not grow nearly as quickly as N. vlamingi or N. unicornis. Both vlamingi and unicornis could outgrow a 180gallon system in less than 1 year! Both those nasos will exceed 12" in under 2 years.

My experience with both N. literatus and N. elegans is that they grow relatively slowly once they hit maybe 7". I would estimate that it will take 3 years or more to pass 10" or 12".