Clown Tang and tank size

[kaiserkid]

I am trying to determine whether or not a 160 gallon bowfront tank is large enough to keep a clown tang (not just alive, but happy and healthy). I have read a lot of posts about them here on RC and there seems to be a fairly large number of different opinions about them.

Some people say that you need a 6 foot tank (which I have) some say 8 foot. Some say 10 foot absolute min. Most of the online fish stores don't say anything about length (I think its assumed in the water volume) but instead give a min tank size by volume.

For Example:

Liveaquaria.com says 150 gallons
Saltwaterfish.com says 90 gallons
Bluezooaquatics.com says 100 gallons
Vividaquariums.com says 100 gallons
Reefhotspot.com says 125 gallons (also gave a min tank length of 6 foot)

So...out of 5 retailers they gave 4 different mins, and the forums offer a similar diversity of answers. I read a post a few minutes ago where someone was told that a 240 was too small (when the largest min from the vendors says 150).

So I was wondering...Are there any reefers out there who actually have clown tangs (which are happy and healthy)? How big is it? How long have you had it? What size tank they are being kept in? Are you keeping any other tangs with them?

I am really looking to hear from people who currently have clown tangs since there are a ton of opinions. (Unless you are a marine biologist then feel free to chime in with whatever opnion you wish to give) :idea:

Pics would be great!

 

[victor90]

I had a clown tang for 5 yrs it was around 3 inches to start in a 90 then to a 210 around 10 inches then.

 

[rachenbrazil]

over 200 would be better ... as minimum ... for long term...over 500 would be the best...

Grows fast , grows large... high oxigen levels required... large territory requested...

When in good shape... clown tang will request these from you...

 

[Wolverine]

A 160 is not large enough. I know they've been kept in smaller, but I personally wouldn't put one into a tank under 500g (actually, I wouldn't get one at all, knowing their survival record, but that's a different question).

 

[username in use]

You have to remember, when "minimum tank size" is stated, that kind of means, with no other fish and minimal rockwork (especially with a clown tang). Given the aggressive nature and high demand for space and oxygen, for every fish you add to the tank, you should think about adding their minimum tank size to your total volume. Also, clown tangs are mis-sold a lot of the time in regards to care requirements, as are most fish, so you can almost always assume that a given minimum tank size is really not enough if you plan on housing anything else at all in the future with whatever it is you are looking for. They can be kept successfully and have been in the past, but you need a large system with lots of room in all directions, not just left to right, but front to back as well, with plenty of rockwork to seperate the fish within the water column.

 

[tcmfish]

This is a ridiculous amount of clown/sohal tang threads lately. The same answer gets posted everytime.

240 min. I would say at least a 500 gallon tank. And those retailers have small sizes because they have to sell fish. If they say 100 gal. they will get a lot more customers than if they say 500.

 

[Wolverine]

This is a ridiculous amount of clown/sohal tang threads lately.

I've notice that too.

 

[username in use]

I know, its almost daily.

 

[silverfly]

He looks like a new guy here-only 25 posts. Must be confusing when lfs tell you one thing and reef central another. After hes been on here a while he'll get the idea. Isnt there a tang=tank size sticky?
For what its worth, i think some of them if not most of them are so picky or agressive that they're not worth bothering with. I have a yellow-hes fine, wouldnt mind a chevron one day, like powder blues but really dont need the bother!

Richie

 

[Ev's Reef]

I believe Snorvich said that a thousand gallon aquarium is nessary if you want to keep it long term.

 

[kilmca]

I've had one for almost 3 years now and it's about 7" long. It's in a 400 gallon tank with a Sailfin and a Blue Tang plus other fish but nothing large. I agree this fish needs to be in a very large tank(greater than 400g IMO) and that my tank may not be large enough long term. My tank dimensions are 120" long x 32" wide x 24" tall. The Clown Tangs aggression towards the Blue Tang is much worse than the Sailfin. The Sailfin fights back so the Clown Tang doesn't mess with the Sailfin very often. The Clown Tang has also become very aggressive towards me. Whenever I put my hand in the tank it will bite me but I guess that's better than getting a tail swipe.

SO my recommendation after keeping this fish "long term" is not to get one unless you are willing to have a very large tank with only a few fish. Everyone who sees my tank can't believe I only have 3 tangs in a 400 gallon tank but it's only because the Clown Tang will not allow me to have more. I believe the Blue Tang should be removed from the tank and I may attempt to do that because of the aggression towards it. Who knows, from what I've read I might have to remove the Sailfin Tang eventually.

 

[victor90]

Kilmca Beautiful specimen

 

[kaiserkid]

Kilmca - Thank you for your reponse. That is the kind of information that I am looking for. They are beautiful fish (your pic is awesome :eek1 but I don't want to get one if it would make it, or me, miserable.

tcmfish - There are a lot of posts about clown tangs lately, but the same answer is not being posted every time and that is the reason that I am confused on this topic. Even in this one thread I have gotten an answer of 240 gallon min - 500 gallons better from yourself, 200 gallon minimum from rachenbrazil, 1000 gallons from Ev's Reef, and 400 gallon min from kilmca.

Compared to a lot of people on here I am fairly new to RC, and I have only been messing with saltwater stuff for about 6 or 7 years, only got REALLY into it the past year when I set up my first reef. I read a whole lot more than I post. I check RC daily, this site is an awesome place to get good information. However there are a LOT of opinions in this hobby. From substrate types and depths to the number of hermit crabs to put in your tank to the best way to rid your tank of algae. This is the reason I wanted to hear from people who actually have clown tangs in their tank. I was looking to supplement the opinions on the site with personal experiences like Kilmca has had (aggression, stress, swimming room, etc).

Thank you for your responses, and I would love to hear from some more clown tang owners! :bounce2:

 

[Sardaukar]

Nice clown tang, although I can see your difficulty - 400 gallons is a lot of space to devote to a fish that is intolerant of tank mates and bites your hand

 

[tcmfish]

The reason for the large tank size is so that they don't terrorize the rest of the fish, besides being an active tang to begin with. The reason I said 240 min. is I believe the member danorth has a clown tang in his tank, but most of his fish are pretty aggessive and it is a fish only tank.

The larger the better with these fish. I haven't experienced the poor track record others have with this fish though, both the ones I kept were small and picked up locally after observing them pecking at the rocks, I fed lots of nori until they took other foods and they did great, however I didn't keep them long and passed one on to someone with a larger tank and the other back to the LFS because my tank was small at the time (75 gal.).

Good luck if you go with one, but the reason for the negativity with this fish is due to its aggressive nature and most people would prefer and assume others would also prefer a more diverse population of fish in their tanks, that just the clown tang or a few other fish. I bet you could keep a clown tang happy and healthy long term in a smaller tank, but you couldn't keep other fish happy and healthy.

Also if it ever gets aggessive to someone who maintains the tank, people have reported pretty bad experiences with their spines, more so than other tangs.

 

[kaiserkid]

Thank you for your response. I don't think that I will be getting one, I'll have to stick to admiring them from afar. :sad1: I think they are one of the most attractive tangs but I would rather have more diversity in my tank than a single beautiful fish that I would eventually have to get rid of.

 

[nikon187]

You could always upgrade now to a LARGE tank

 

[SMOOTHIE]

I've notice that too.

Noticed alot of them in stores at the moment too and cheap. Kinda scary

 

[kaiserkid]

Noticed alot of them in stores at the moment too and cheap. Kinda scary

Thats actually what started my "quest for knowledge" on them. One of my LFS has 2 of them approx 4 incles for $60. I didn't want to be one of those people who buys a fish because its pretty completely unaware of its needs and puts it in the wrong tank only to watch it terrorize everything right before it dies of stress. Trying to aviod the "Tang Police"

 

[kilmca]

It's unfortunate that they are so readily available plus they aren't that expensive and there survival rate is so bad. If I remember correctly I got mine for $28, I only remember that cause I thought it was so inexpensive and I had been looking for one for a while.

I'm glad you did your research before you made the purchase, too bad more people aren't like you. Maybe then more of these fish wouldn't be purchased and demand for them would go down.