i have an empty 125 gallon aqurium which i am hoping to have all the equipment for within 1 or 2 years. i want a blue tang for it. i have a 55 gallon tank set up and i was wondering if i purchused a tiny blue tang which is about an 1inch or less. would it out grow the 55 gallon within 2 years?
Blue tang
- Thread starter tymon
- Start date
Are you talking Atlantic blue or a hippo tang? If it's a hippo, they are very fast growers. Some have reported theirs quadrupled in size in a year's time. The 125 will still be too small for it in the long run. Their swimming habits require a very large, very long tank. RC recommends an 8', 240g tank.
No problem. Those tangs don't grow nearly as fast as the hippos do. Ideally though, you want to buy a fish that is appropriate for a tank you already have, not for a tank you plan to do 2 years down the road. You never know what life will throw at you. The 125 may never come to be.
Wow! You sure they didn't get liters and gallons confused? I have NEVER heard of a hippo needing a 240. Every site on the web that I've been to has said 100 gl, and that's not including the online fish stores who say 75 just so they can sell the fish. 240 is eight feet long. I don't know too many people who have 8 ft long tanks yet they sure sell a lot of hippo tangs. I'd say a 125 would be fine. The fish swim on a horizontal plane and whether the tank is six feet or eight feet it's still going to swim on that horizontal plane. **Unnecessary comment**
I had one in a 75 for a few months because one of the big retailers around her had baby ones for $19.99. How do you NOT buy a hippo tang for $19,99? Yet I knew I'd have to trade him in for store credit at another LFS when he got to the juvi stage. I actually made a profit on him.
I had one in a 75 for a few months because one of the big retailers around her had baby ones for $19.99. How do you NOT buy a hippo tang for $19,99? Yet I knew I'd have to trade him in for store credit at another LFS when he got to the juvi stage. I actually made a profit on him.
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lordofthereef
One reef to rule them all
Zeeter,
I have seen full grown hippo tangs at about a foot long. They won't all get this big, but it's tough to know exactly how big any one fish is going to get. In any case, a 120 would get pretty cramped for a 1' fish of nearly any variety. Live Aquaria (of any fish sales site these guys have the best tank size estimates IMO) recommends a 180 at the least. I would still go higher than that, myself (again, talking full grown fish here).
Better to error on the side of caution, IMO.
All this said, if you don't end up getting a bigger system, it's pretty easy to trade in a healthy fish to the LFS. I don't tend to get on the bandwagon of making sure you have a giant aquarium before you buy a smaller tang, unless you are the type of person that knows you would be unwilling to give up the fish even if it outgrew your setup.
I have seen full grown hippo tangs at about a foot long. They won't all get this big, but it's tough to know exactly how big any one fish is going to get. In any case, a 120 would get pretty cramped for a 1' fish of nearly any variety. Live Aquaria (of any fish sales site these guys have the best tank size estimates IMO) recommends a 180 at the least. I would still go higher than that, myself (again, talking full grown fish here).
Better to error on the side of caution, IMO.
All this said, if you don't end up getting a bigger system, it's pretty easy to trade in a healthy fish to the LFS. I don't tend to get on the bandwagon of making sure you have a giant aquarium before you buy a smaller tang, unless you are the type of person that knows you would be unwilling to give up the fish even if it outgrew your setup.
I dunno...I think sometimes people get a little out of hand with this stuff. One person says 75 then another person one-ups him and says 90 and then eventually you get to 240. I see the same thing with people talking about quarantining fish. One guy says two weeks then one guy says a month and another guy says 3 months and when you question them they say "ok - go ahead and put a sick fish into your reef tank that has $2000 worth of corals in it!" While I understand the logic in that, at some point the one-upping has to stop.
I seriously doubt that the extra 2 ft would make much of a difference. Besides, the 100, 125, 150, and 180 are all six feet long in their standard sizes. Glass Cages makes 180 - 8 tanks, but they're not the normal size.
I seriously doubt that the extra 2 ft would make much of a difference. Besides, the 100, 125, 150, and 180 are all six feet long in their standard sizes. Glass Cages makes 180 - 8 tanks, but they're not the normal size.
lordofthereef
One reef to rule them all
Playing devil's advocate here, but look at the other side of the coin. REMOVE 2ft from the original setup. Is it still ok? Numbers are only there because of people's personal experience. I find that a large tang in a cramped space will, at the very least, become much more aggressive than a tang with more swimming room. I will say that a 1ft fish in a 6ft tank looks enormous and gets from one end of the tank to the other in the matter of a second.
Just to add, I am not the "tang police". I am not even here to say what size is best for a fish of this size. just here to share my own (limited) experiences and recognize these numbers generally come from the experiences of others.
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Our recommendation is a minimum of a 240 gallon tank. These fish get large quickly and they are swimmers. Also, if in a tank which is insufficient they can get pretty mean. The reef central recommendation
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I saw the recommendation and I understand the reasoning behind it. I just have never met a person who had an 8' tank but know plenty of people who have hippo tangs. Plus as I noted this is the only site I've ever seen that recommended an 8' tank.
I only have a four foot tank so it's really a moot point. I'll just shut up.
I only have a four foot tank so it's really a moot point. I'll just shut up.
when i first got my hippo tang i think he was about an inch or so and the dude within a month or two grew to like 3 inches. i think out of all of my fishes he's the fastest grower.
to answer the original poster, yes, it will outgrow your 55g tank within two years that's if you are getting a hippo tang. for babies i normally do is put them in my small tanks so they can get food a little easier compared to my bigger ones. then once they get bigger is when i transfer them to my others.
to answer the original poster, yes, it will outgrow your 55g tank within two years that's if you are getting a hippo tang. for babies i normally do is put them in my small tanks so they can get food a little easier compared to my bigger ones. then once they get bigger is when i transfer them to my others.
Are you guys even reading this thread before answering? The OP is asking about an Atlantic blue tang, not a hippo tang. Just to add to the conversation, I agree with everyone on their points. A 240 gallons 8 feet long tang would be nice to have. Hippo tang do grow very fast. However, realistically, how many people actually have that large of a tank? I buy and trade livestocks with local reefers and sees plenty of reef tanks. Almost everyone has a hippo tang but does anyone have a 240 or larger? Rarely.
Thanks zhewitt....makes me feel a little better. And this really is the best sight that I've found. Most other sites have one or two people who bully everyone around. They've been reefing for 30 years and if you don't do it their way then you're stupid - despite the fact that there's been tons of advances in recent years.
I like this site...just need to know when to shut my trap for the greater good.
Megatrev62
New member
I think the atlantic blue would be fine. In the meantime every tank I know of has a hippo or a yellow together in 4 foot tanks.I've seen hippos in 75 gallon tanks that look like giants. The hippo tang imo is the most abused fish out there, and the stores keep them comming?Huge ,huge sellers. I bet alot are sold and put in 3 foot tanks and the stores are well aware of it too.
