blue tangs in very small tanks... what compells people to do so...

[gregmoeck]

btw, my tangs dont fight, they sleep in the same rock cave every night and I feed them a mix of frozen, flake and rods reef greens

 

[GregsReef28]

I feel it is odd that the original poster houses a pair of blue throat triggers, a harlequin tuskfish, and a butterfy amongst others in a 75. And no I dont have a tang in a small tank. I have a 14 biocube with a clown goby.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I've always kept small tanks. My 30g has been running for almost 8 years now and I would never even consider housing a tang, regardless of it's size, in my tank. Why? Because I know the proper environment for them is a large tank with plenty of swimming room, length of the tank included. Hippos reqiure huge amounts of space and a placing one, (or more) into a small tank is just bad husbandry plain and simple.

 

[Pallobi]

If you do the math, a 4'x2'1.5' is a 90G tank and most of the tang police would say that is OK to house a yellow tang. And you still did not tell me why is it cruel to swap out fish.

I think when you keep a fish tank, you are putting any fish you keep in an unnatural environment no matter how you look at it. My point is if keeping the tangs in a small tank will impede their growth then it is cruel but that is not the case. What about growing trees in small containers ..ie. bonsai? That is "art" ? I don't see people complaining about that, is it because trees does not have senses?

imo, it is ok for a yellow... however, my concern here is no other species other than blue tangs and blue tangs only... and a plant is a very bad comparison... plants do not move... blue tangs swim and NEED that swim area which covers a very large area in the wild...

 

[glenns]

I have had him for 6 months now and he and the yellow squabble once a day. No damage done, but I just am looking for something a little more colorful. He does do a great job at picking up all the food that falls to the sand bed and he goes to town on the live rock, but most if not all tangs will do this to the live rock. Although I've never really seen a tang do what he does to the sand bed.

Do not put a CBB in a tank which already has a Yellow Tang. I did that, and the tang constantly harassed him.

 

[Pallobi]

violation, starting Controversial thread

anyways, I have 2 blue hippos as everyone now knows... the first one I got real small, the 2nd came off of craigslist. Someone was tearing down a tank. Both grew up together and are fine and FAT. whats the big deal?

the deal as i am trying to convey is that the animals natural requirements are much much more than that of what alot of people are offering... jus cuz one may like the fish, does NOT mean it is ok for that person to have them in their much too small system... it will reach a point where the animal will suffer mentally and physically and it will happen even when one looks at the animals and says "he eats jus fine and is active" ... there is a reason why so many of us, speaking from experience, are sharing the info we share and saying what we are saying...

 

[GregsReef28]

And even with a planned upgrade( et al tank in your possession) what if something happens? what if you lose your job? get hurt?tank cracks? What im getting at is why can't people just get fish sized for their tank, not buy tanks sized for their fish they already purchased. It is like me coming home to my tiny one stall garage with a Surburban. Can't fit? ok I'll build a bigger garage. After the garage upgrade I come home with a Semi truck. Won't fit? looks like another garage upgrade. Just buy a big tank to begin with if you wanna house large growing fish. Don't buy the dam fish first. Not fair to them to be shuffled around etc...

 

[gregmoeck]

whats the difference between a yellow tang and a blue tang, they are both tangs right? If you think about it, keeping anything from the ocean at home is a bad idea.

 

[gregmoeck]

yeah, good point gregsreef

 

[gregmoeck]

but they are sooo cute when they are tiny

 

[Pallobi]

I feel it is odd that the original poster houses a pair of blue throat triggers, a harlequin tuskfish, and a butterfy amongst others in a 75. And no I dont have a tang in a small tank. I have a 14 biocube with a clown goby.

think its odd all you want, we are talking about a completely different species with completely different captive requirements... and again for those of you who do not read through the thread, i already have IN MY POSSESSION, their future 6' home... i am NOT one of those saying "i am planning to upgrade in the future... also, my fish are only juveniles... my tusk is 2.5" tops and grows no where near as fast as a blue tang... and my tank is NOT a 2 or 3' tank... read the thread, gather the info, then chime in please... thats the only way we will have an educated discussion on this information sharing forum

 

[DBarsotti]

why are there like 8 different threads about blue tangs right now ha

 

[Pallobi]

whats the difference between a yellow tang and a blue tang, they are both tangs right? If you think about it, keeping anything from the ocean at home is a bad idea.

the difference is, blues get much bigger, and much much more territorial on top of the fact that they are two completely different supspecies of fish...

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

whats the difference between a yellow tang and a blue tang, they are both tangs right? If you think about it, keeping anything from the ocean at home is a bad idea.

They are two different species of tang with two vastly different care requirements. Hippo tang - Paracanthurus Hepatus
Origin : Indo-Pacific. Yellow tang - Zebrasoma flavescens Origin : Hawaii

 

[twinypalm]

I feel it is odd that the original poster houses a pair of blue throat triggers, a harlequin tuskfish, and a butterfy amongst others in a 75. And no I dont have a tang in a small tank. I have a 14 biocube with a clown goby.

If you read the whole thread, people have pointed this out already and his answer is that he has a bigger tank in the wing already.

A lot of people crying out loud when they see other people keeping tangs in smaller tanks but they themselves keeping other large fish in comparable tanks.

 

[gregmoeck]

Dr. Mac's Comments: Blue Hippo Tangs do very well in reef aquariums but can grow quite large and should not be kept in tanks less than about 100 or more gallons. They will outgrow smaller tanks. They need lots of open swimming space and it would be cruel to house them in smaller tanks. As with all Tangs, they can be very sensitive to parasitic infestations and should be quarantined before adding to your main display tank.

Once acclimated to your tank they become beloved pets and should receive lots of dried algae to keep them plump and healthy. We sell packages of Dried Nori algae, I fold a sheet into a credit card size and attach to a rock with several rubberbands. The rock is then dropped into the tank daily and the Tangs and Angels will graze all day in a very natural manner. If you feed them Nori daily they will stay healthy with vivid coloration for years. I have kept these fish for up to 10 years in my personal tanks, they are one of my favorites!

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

why are there like 8 different threads about blue tangs right now ha

Because a member is bumping year old/months old threads.

 

[GregsReef28]

Check my post number 67

 

[Alunai]

Lets keep this civil, please!

violation, starting Controversial thread

anyways, I have 2 blue hippos as everyone now knows... the first one I got real small, the 2nd came off of craigslist. Someone was tearing down a tank. Both grew up together and are fine and FAT. whats the big deal?

excellent Alunai, I am the same way. I have 2 blue tangs in a 38. I will upgrade to a larger tank someday soon.

It's wonderful that they are nice and fat, and it's great that the two of them get along. You are lucky! I do think though, that the sooner you upgrade, the better and happier your little hippos will be.

I've always kept small tanks. My 30g has been running for almost 8 years now and I would never even consider housing a tang, regardless of it's size, in my tank. Why? Because I know the proper environment for them is a large tank with plenty of swimming room, length of the tank included. Hippos reqiure huge amounts of space and a placing one, (or more) into a small tank is just bad husbandry plain and simple.

I commend you highly for this. I agree, even if the fish is teeny tiny, I believe that they are naturally built to SWIM SWIM SWIM! Dory's "just keep swimming" jingle was quite true to her nature.

I feel it is odd that the original poster houses a pair of blue throat triggers, a harlequin tuskfish, and a butterfy amongst others in a 75. And no I dont have a tang in a small tank. I have a 14 biocube with a clown goby.

Thank you for keeping your comment civil. It was mentioned earlier by pallobi that these inhabitants are still small, and regardless of size, these particular fish species do not need the expansive swimming room that nearly all tangs do.

 

[sruiz]

[violation]