Do I have too many fish?

[ctniners]

thatsv why i asked about a 125 gal if it is good enough, because i am getting ready to buy one tomorrow, right now i have a 75 gal with about 70 lbs of rock, and 2 inches or so of sand bed, when i move to the 125 i am not planning on adding any rock just maybe a 50 lb bag of sand....that sounds right?.....by the way like i said besides the tangs all i have is 2 two o.clowns, a six line wrasse and a cleaner shrimp

 

[goldenseal]

Oh come on dude, play the "compare it to a human living in a 10x10 room" card. Thatll teach 'em!

btw, the op didnt ask your oppinion obout his tangs. He asked about adding a blenny.

Humans live in 10 x 10 cells all the time.

and....I keep my horses in stalls, not roaming all 240 acres.

I do have a yellow tang in my 55, had him several years he or she, is a fat pig.
I would never add any more however.

 

[Alex T.]

Goldenseal, I understand your point, but that's not really a good analogy. Prisoners walk in the yard and cafeteria. Your horses run in the fields. Your fihes never leave your tank for a quick dip in the bay do they? Ex cons come out of these "cells" with all kinds of psychological problems and social re-adjustment issues. If we all lived permanently in prison cells, it wouldn't be much of a punishment now would it?

Truth is, large tanks are made for saltwater hobbyists. This is an expensive hobby with much to learn in chemistry, biology, yada, yada, yada. Many enter the hobby with a limited budget. So, they start a small tank and have a go at it. Most have issues keeping it stable and purchasing too much livestock, inappropriate livestock, overfeeding or all of the above. Soon enough, all livestock unfortunately finds its' way back to the sea through the porcelain goddess and the tank sits in the garage.

Someone close to me gave me a very good piece of advice when I got into this hobby. Think of the largest body of water you could want to have as a tank, then double it. For you veterans, think back to your first tank and the one you have now. Which one's more successful, stable and properly stocked?

 

[goldenseal]

I know Alex, My post was more tongue in cheek....my sarcasm doesnt always translate well via the interwebs..

actually I agree, I didnt think it was my place here to say much about it.

Once I learned about the blue Hippo and the powder blue...my favorite fish BTW, I decided to forgo purchasing one or the other since I didnt think they would be truly happy or perhaps content is a better word, in the environment I could provide.

Except for the yellow tang which Ive had for years, I decided to only have a few small fish. Perhaps the day will come when the yellow piglet will have to be rehomed, but he isnt all that big yet and frankly so fat he looks like a slab crappie ! LOL

 

[Alex T.]

Point taken. I'm a sarcastic SOB too. lol

 

[ktellerman]

i dont mean to sound rude, and i'm sorry if it came off that way, but imo, people should upgrade then get appropriate fish, not the other way around. I can't tell you how many times i've hears "oh, i'll upgrade", only to never see that upgrade happen.

Any site that says a 70 is a minimum tank size for a hippo is just flat out wrong. I can publish on my website that you can keep a dolphin in your bathtub, but that doesn't make it so...

+1

 

[wooden_reefer]

I dont mean to sound rude, and I'm sorry if it came off that way, but IMO, people should upgrade THEN get appropriate fish, not the other way around. I can't tell you how many times I've hears "oh, I'll upgrade", only to never see that upgrade happen.

Any site that says a 70 is a minimum tank size for a hippo is just flat out wrong. I can publish on my website that you can keep a dolphin in your bathtub, but that doesn't make it so...

IMO, the need to get a bigger tank must be stressed but the intension of getting a bigger tank should be accepted as sincere.

This is what I planned and did, at the right time.

 

[silverfly]

Thats right, otherwise you are just calling posters liars!
You tang police posters-are you thinking about tang welfare or fishkeeper welfare(the satisfaction of being able to keep a fish alive and well in a tank)?

If its just tang welfare then you're way off! Leave them in the ocean. Your large tank will mnot replicate this whatever you think.

I believe in having enough space for your fish but i dont believe in the "i am the saviour of our beloved tangs" attitude. This is about helping fellow reefers to make a decision that will help their tanks and prolong the life of an animal that does better in the sea.

We are creating an unatural habitat but as a human being i believe we have the right to. We have dominion over every living thing we can catch but we should try to be responsible ofcause. Glad to see this thread has become a little more sensible.

 

[lougotzz]

We are creating an unatural habitat but as a human being i believe we have the right to. We have dominion over every living thing we can catch but we should try to be responsible ofcause. Glad to see this thread has become a little more sensible.

What's unnatural about a reef tank? You got Live rock, live sand, salinity, water, ect ect. It's just a much smaller scale.

I also don't think caging an animal up is a right....

 

[silverfly]

What's unnatural about a reef tank?

Are you being serious?

 

[wooden_reefer]

Even a reef tank with many tiny livestock is not natural.

The bioload is generally much higher per gal of water in a tank than in the ocean.

Otherwise, why would you need to cycle?

The micrbial diversity is less also.

 

[lougotzz]

I guess that sounds funny, obviously a fish tank is not a natural formation, but what goes on inside after it has been set up, what's not natural about it? Like TBS for instance, all that is, is rock pulled from the ocean, never leaves water, and delivered right to your door to your tank. I don't get what goes on inside the glass box how it isn't natural. Am I missing something?

 

[wooden_reefer]

I guess that sounds funny, obviously a fish tank is not a natural formation, but what goes on inside after it has been set up, what's not natural about it?

If a tank is natural (nature), when you do WC, from where are you getting the new water and to where are you dumping the waste water? From outside nature, your side? Is your side nature?

The very fact that you have to do some WC means that the tank is not quite natural.

Some organics are not processed. P and NO3 may not be quite low enough.


You want to attain or approach nature for your DT, but you won't or has yet to get there.

 

[jim t]

See what you started Phurst!!! A site built to share opinions and knowledge
is complaining about you doing just that. If you don't want advise don't post.
Phurst is trying to help. You do not have to listen to anyone.Thats why it is advise.

 

[phurst]

LOL. I'm just sitting back watching the truly bizarre turn this thread has taken

 

[lougotzz]

LOL. I'm just sitting back watching the truly bizarre turn this thread has taken

I know this thread has gotten so off topic LOL.

Ok, it can't be 100% natural, but the tank does have natural occurances in it, i.e clown fish hosting in an anemone. It's not like a fish tank with a treasure chest in it. That's all I meant.

 

[BrooksReef]

Just throw a Naso and a Vlamingi in there while you're at it. You'll upgrade soon, so may as well. And, large Angels are so pretty. Put a Majestic, Blue-Ring and a Queenie in there... All of you bashing PHurst know good and well there is no way that noob should have those fish in a tank that small. Come on. And, that Live Aquaria "buy this fish from us no matter what size tank you have" link is useless.

I agree with the point you're trying to make, however, I believe going about saying it in a different way would be much more appropriate.

The fact that he is making a thread shows that he has some amount of concern for what he has in his tank. At this point, I think the Hippo Tang is fine in it's current environment. I'm not saying you should throw a 1" Tang into a 50g and let it grow to 8" and not remove it or upgrade, but I am saying that putting a Tang that is smaller into a 75g while it is SMALL, with the intentions to upgrade before it outgrows it's environment is OK.

If he says he is going to upgrade, I believe him. He has good intentions, hence the creation of this thread. He is getting advice, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the purpose of ReefCentral.

Giving advice and information on personal experience, and doing it respectfully is the only way this hobby will grow. There ARE different opinions on tank size for Tangs, and sharing information will help facts to form...

Anyways, a 125g should be a great size tank for your Hippo Tang. However, if it gets too big before you're able to upgrade, it would be greatly beneficial to give it to a friend with a larger tank that can keep it permanently or hold it until you're all settled in with your larger tank.

 

[Mattik]

Thank you Brooksreef

Thank you Brooksreef

..... however, I believe going about saying it in a different way would be much more appropriate.

.........

Giving advice and information on personal experience, and doing it respectfully is the only way this hobby will grow. There ARE different opinions on tank size for Tangs, and sharing information will help facts to form...

Thank you for a rational AND respectful response. There are others who have done the same in this thread, so thank you to all.

One thing I am finding painfully frustrating is not getting a straight, respectful response to my posts on reef central.

I wouldn't be posting if I didn't care, so the last thing I need is an "I'm better than you" response. I actually got a response earlier today, philisophizing about dogs and tails.....what the bloody h!## does that have to do with reef keeping?

It is people like Brooksreef that make this forum worth visiting.

And, I couldn't agree more. Do the best you can with what you have. Enjoy your fish/corals, but please be aware of when your fish outgrow your tank and take action to keep them healthy.

 

[Mattik]

I couldnt agree with you more. I have been using this site for a couple of years now, and, have come across many many threads regarding tang/tank sizes. Now, im not saying its great to keep a tang in a 40g breeder, i think there are a lot of people out there who try to lay down the tang law without opening their eyes. Its all good and well to say 'no, no, no, that yellow tang simply must be in a 90g+ tank'. But some times its not quiet as simple as that. You could have a 200g tank with 500lbs of LR in it, will the fish have any more swimming room than if it were in a 55? probably not. I also think that there are far to many hobby newcomers with very little experience who try to grill people about tangs, is this too get a +1 and feel like a pro? i really dont know sometimes! Then on the other end of the scale there are advanced aquarists who have probably been reefing for 10 years + who think that just because your experienced enough to control amazing parameters with a huge bio-load in a small tank, its okay to do so. What amazes me about this the most is, the 'self proclaimed tang police praise them for it'! A recent example of this could be October's TOTM. Here we have an unquestionably beautiful SPS tank, packed to the rafters with LR, which holds a total volume of 80g of water. Fish list consisting of: A hippo TANG, and powder blue TANG, a regal angel, 3 two spot basslets, 9 red fin anthias, 10 chromis, a fairy wrasse, along with a few goby's. Now in the TOTM threat for that month im pretty sure i saw one or two of them shaking his hand?? Now im not saying that its right or wrong, just trying to get a point across. Its not always black and white. While tank size is important (I cry inside when i see some of these youtube clips with multiple fish in smaller systems) many other factors are also involved.

Just my 2c.

:hammer: nailed it. getting a plus one does make you feel good.(I got my first +1 today)

+1 to robow, robs.mark and Brooksreef (sorry for the voices or reason that I have missed)

Now you can all preach the word of reason to the quire....and the MUST listen!!!

 

[Mikef973]

Right now your fine as long as you do your regular water changes and use high quality water purification yielding little to no nitrates/ammonia. Down the road when your tangs grow, just keep monitoring your levels and they will give you the answer to your question.