Buddy is buying a tang

A

AK707

New member
So my buddy has a 30g coral tank that is 36" x 15" x 13" i think and he wants a blue tang....i been trying to talk him out of it for 2 weeks now and he's been saying well I can get a baby and keep it for awhile blah blah blah...Well i was just at the LFS the other day and seen some tiny blue tangs, about an inch long. I know once he sees them he's gonna buy one. Im gonna at least convince him into letting me TTM it at my house as he don't QT ANYTHING...at least i know it will be ich free and were about to most likely find out if his tank already has ich because im sure that ich magnet will come down with ich if its already in his tank.
How fast do they grow and would a little baby really be that stressed in his tank?
i see tangs all the time at fish stores in little 10G tanks with 2-3 tangs in the same tank, they look fine..Bad idea on his part i know...
thoughts?
 
They look fine as long as it takes to sell them--a few weeks. It'll die. If it were a 50 it'd grow just large enough to kill a few tankmates, then die. These are not toys. I applaud your hope of helping him, but the only thing your effort will do is postpone the inevitable. These fish routinely make 20 to 40 meter dashes in the wild, just swimming because they can...up and down and along the reef. Penning such a creature in a 30 gallon---no.
 
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they grow quick 1/2 inch to 5 inches in a year easy. I've seen it no exaggeration. The guy that owns one of the LFS said he put his in a 220g and it was 8 inches in a year.
 
I'm guilty too of having an inch blue tang in my 24" tank.
As the guys have said above, chances are I will have to give her away when she gets bigger but that being said, maybe that one inch fish is better off in his tank vs LFS tank.

Same can go to people who purchase 'bigger' dogs that require running, (preferably hours) everyday but instead they are "walked" once/twice a day.

Sorry if I offend anyone, I know some will get annoyed by my statement.
 
Ztous said:
they grow quick 1/2 inch to 5 inches in a year easy. I've seen it no exaggeration. The guy that owns one of the LFS said he put his in a 220g and it was 8 inches in a year.
Click to expand...

I second this. Added one to my tank at 2" and in a year and a half time she's now 6". Try really really hard to talk your friend out of this as its a horrible mistake.
 
I am preparing to stock a tank in the not too distant future, so I want to be sure I understand what is being said here. Are we saying that tangs have no place in any home aquarium? Because even a 6 foot tank will not replicate the distances these "big open swimmers" require?

Are we talking about the blue tang this guy wants, or all tangs in general.

Personally I like tangs, but I like responsible husbandry even more. So...I'm setting up a 180 (72x24x24). What tangs, if any, are appropriate for this tank?
 
you can have pretty much any tang in the hobby in a 180g.
check out live aquaria they have good info on a lot of different fish.
 
heathlindner25 said:
A friend of mine has 2 vlamingi's in a 600 gallon....and it is to small for them.
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i have a little theory based on zero facts or personal experience lol, just what ive seen and read on forums. I think the minimum recommended gallons for tangs are on the low side which is why they usually seemed to get stressed and are ich magnets
 
some tangs can go in a 180, people never said they couldnt, just said a blue tang cant. i have one in a 57. started out as the size of a quarter. 12 months later its 5 inches and still fat an healthy. i also have it with a yellow tang, kole tang and 10 other fish, but i am in the process of cycling a 265 and i will admit the hippo hides most of the time i am by the tank. small tanks just dont do this fish justice. if you truly want to have a fish and keep it healthy long term, dont do it. if your looking to buy new blue tangs every 6 months go for it. but i believe if your going to keep tropical fish/saltwater fish you should have the fish best interest at heart. but its a free country your friend has the right to be as irresponsible as he wants to, good job trying to convince him not to
 
Elricsfate said:
I am preparing to stock a tank in the not too distant future, so I want to be sure I understand what is being said here. Are we saying that tangs have no place in any home aquarium? Because even a 6 foot tank will not replicate the distances these "big open swimmers" require?

Are we talking about the blue tang this guy wants, or all tangs in general.

Personally I like tangs, but I like responsible husbandry even more. So...I'm setting up a 180 (72x24x24). What tangs, if any, are appropriate for this tank?
Click to expand...

Here are some options, there's a lot of variation between species http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946007
 
boshk said:
I'm guilty too of having an inch blue tang in my 24" tank.
As the guys have said above, chances are I will have to give her away when she gets bigger but that being said, maybe that one inch fish is better off in his tank vs LFS tank.

Same can go to people who purchase 'bigger' dogs that require running, (preferably hours) everyday but instead they are "walked" once/twice a day.

Sorry if I offend anyone, I know some will get annoyed by my statement.
Click to expand...

There is a problem with this statement that a lot of people don't realize. Yes, it will be better off in the very short term in your tank than the LFS, and by that I mean maybe a couple of weeks. But if you had not bought the fish than there's a good chance someone with a tank that is actually suitable for them would have bought the later. So you moved the fish that requires a large tank (tang or whatever fish) to a slightly larger tank, but taken away the chance of them being put into another customer's larger tank.

LFSs keep the fish is small tanks for short periods of time in order to sell them, which is okay. They aren't intended to live in them for long though. Stores couldn't afford to have a bunch of 6' tanks for all of their larger fish.
 
CStrickland said:
Here are some options, there's a lot of variation between species http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946007
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot. That was immensely helpful information.

Obviously, as we all do, I have preferences for color, size, behavior, etc. But at the end of the day I want happy, healthy, long-lived fish. So I will either buy the fish that are suitable for my environment, or buy an environment suitable to the fish I like.

I just joined RC in the last month or so. I'm really glad I did!
 
sk8r said:
they look fine as long as it takes to sell them--a few weeks. It'll die. If it were a 50 it'd grow just large enough to kill a few tankmates, then die. These are not toys. Penning such a creature in a 30 gallon---no.
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this↑↑↑↑↑↑

Show this post to your friend.
 
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Elricsfate said:
Thanks a lot. That was immensely helpful information.

Obviously, as we all do, I have preferences for color, size, behavior, etc. But at the end of the day I want happy, healthy, long-lived fish. So I will either buy the fish that are suitable for my environment, or buy an environment suitable to the fish I like.
I just joined RC in the last month or so. I'm really glad I did!
Click to expand...

This, x 1,000,000,000,000

And welcome to RC! Keep up with thinking this way and you will enjoy what can be a very rewarding pursuit for many years.
 
Walk away.

My tangs in my 29g will be fine because ill be buying a 300g tank soon.

Hear this too often.... almost every 30 seconds
 
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