Does anyone own a Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus) ?

Jerm77

New member
Look to add this fish to a 100gal Reef tank currently stocked with cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, 2 ocellaris clowns, and a dragon goby. the tank is two months old and showing good to great parameters. I have good flow prvided by a mag 9 return pump and 2 tunze 6101's.

my questions are:

how hardy is this fish in your experience?

do they take to most prepared foods?

I understand they are semi aggressive and reef compatible with caution. what should I be careful about?

can they live peacefully with other tangs of different species?

do their colors vary from juvenile to adult?

are there any other special requirements?

would you recommend a different tang? and why?


thanks for reading.
 
Re: Does anyone own a Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus) ?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
Look to add this fish to a 100gal Reef tank currently stocked with cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, 2 ocellaris clowns, and a dragon goby. the tank is two months old and showing good to great parameters. I have good flow prvided by a mag 9 return pump and 2 tunze 6101's.
That's a lot of flow, and this tang would very much appreciate it.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
my questions are:

how hardy is this fish in your experience?
Not very.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
do they take to most prepared foods?
Yes.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
I understand they are semi aggressive and reef compatible with caution. what should I be careful about?
Hmmm... I've never heard of them eating corals or sessile invertebrates. If not properly fed or housed, they may pick or become destructive, but that is the case for most fish. I'm not sure what the mean by reef safe with caution...

They are said to be less aggressive than the powder blue, which can become an absolute terror, so I don't know. Mine was well behaved, but I never added any fish afterwards.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
can they live peacefully with other tangs of different species?
Yes, but standard tang rules for compatibility apply.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
do their colors vary from juvenile to adult?
No. Colors will vary based on mood and health, though.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
are there any other special requirements?
Quarantine is probably a must.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
would you recommend a different tang? and why?
Yes.

A 100gal is too small for long-term success with this fish. He would be fine for a while, but he would eventually need a new home. Tangs do grow, and they grow quickly.

They are remarkably beautiful fish, and I understand the allure, but I generally don't recommend the powder blue, powder brown, achilles, gold rim, or white cheek tangs to anyone unless they are specifically set up to meet their needs. There are other, hardier tangs with better reported temperaments.

Each fish is an individual, though.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170746#post14170746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
thanks for reading.
I hope this helps.

Matt:cool:
 
I'll add my personal experiences with this fish...

- It's a pretty small Acanthuras, so not the worst fit for a smaller tank.
- Does not play well with other Acanthuras tangs, but loses the battles with my achilles and Atlantic Blue.
- Like the powder blue and achilles - ich magnets. If you have ich in the tank, this fish will have a problem with it.
- Eats everything I feed....frozen foods, nori, and pellets.

I've had mine for over a year, but he is not healthy right now. It would seem that his endless battle with ich has him now fighting some sort of secondary viral/bacterial infection. While still behaving and eating normally, he looks terrible and time will tell if he makes it or not.

Now, he hasn't died yet....but if I lose him it will be the first fish I've lost in a very long time supporting the contention that this is a difficult fish to keep.
 
well not alot of info here from me since i have had mine a grand total of 24 days at this point... aprox 3" no ich(so far) and eats any and everything i feed him.....
 
This is a dated FWIW - I used to work with them a lot about 10yrs ago. At that time, they were mainly out of the Philippines and high cyanide risks. Does anyone know if that's still prevalent? Anyway, they ate great but were very prone to protozoan infestations. If we couldn't get on top of the infestation quickly, the fish went downhill in a hurry. Never figured out if that was due to potential cyaniding or just typical of powder browns. From the prior posts, sounds like it just may be a powder brown thing.
 
Had a 5 inch in a 210 mixed reef. No hitting of corals and did a good job grazing. How ever, lol had aptasia, introduced Copperband and he killed it. Tried a second time and used his own reflection to keep him busy for 2 days. Still didn't work. I pulled the tang and noticed a big change in the tank. You could tell that the bully had left the building. This all took place in one of the display tanks in the LFS where I work. He did end up with Ich twice but kept him eating and all went well. No one else in the tank caught it. Amazing colors normal Tang attitude.

Hope this helps

LOL 3rd post at my current speed I'll hit 100 posts around 2089
 
I think they are very hardy if you start with a healthy one. I think it would do well in a 100g with lots of flow. They do not get that large. Mine is not that aggressive. I have him in with a sail tang and they are fine together.
 
Thank you all for the posts and specific answers!

extremely helpful.


I think I will order one of these fish. don't think I've ever seen one in my LFS.

can anyone recommend a merchant?
 
Ive had real good experiences with liveaquaria. ive ordered 6 fish along with shrimp crabs and snails, and have had great luck with them. (no DOA's and all but 1 chromis lived, and they refunded the price of the chromis) and im waiting for my flame hawkfish to come in tomorrow
 
I think you should wait. Your tank is very new and they are sensitive fish as mentioned above. This is the fish to add last, not first to any tank. I do think a 100 gals is too small for a grown powder brown, but fish are individuals and it might do fine. It might just kill everything you add afterward, though if added first. Think QT because they are ich central. You will also have to QT everything else that goes in to save that tang from getting ich.

Lisa
 
I have one in a 110 long(5ft).

Mine has been very hardy.

It is with a purple tang and they show no issues with each other.

I did not QT but I would reccomend doing a QT

Mine eats anything and everything I put in the tank and grazes on algea all day.

I have had horrible luck Blue Hippo's ( 2 times).

He was my first fish so he has no aggresion issues at all

Any more Q's?

** I think mine is the exception to the rules on this fish, I got lucky**
 
thank you again everyone.

Even though I've got mixed reviews on this fish, I decided to get one.

My LFS had a great looking powder brown they had for about a week and a half. they said he was a healthy eater, and it looked healthy to me.

it is about 4" from head to tail.


unfortunately, I do not have a QT ready, and I know these fish are ich magnets.

if this fish grows as large as they are supposed to, I will have to find him a better home. I do have clams - and I have seen him check nip one. if this behavior continues, I will find him another home. so far he has not been aggressive towards my 2 small ocellaris'. but my bullet goby seems to have issues with him. I guess we'll see how this plays out.

as far as eating goes, he takes everything i've offered him. red seaweed, brine shrimp, pellets, and flake.

so far so good. we'll see how this plays out. I'll chronicle his progress on my tank build thread if you wish to follow.

thanks again everyone.

here are some pictures.

reeftankpicsday741.jpg


goby in process of trying to nip the powder brown
reeftankpicsday74.jpg
 
He is beautiful, good luck. My achilles nipped my clam first day also, but he didn't do it again after that.

Lisa
 
p-74253-powder-brown-tang.jpg

Acanthurus Japonicus -> OP has this one. Powder Brown or White Cheek

Gold-Rimmed%20Tang.jpg

Acanthurus Nigricans - This is the Gold Rimmed Tang
 
you have a great looking fish there jerm, i have had a powder brown for months and he has been such a great addition to my tank. he and my yellow eyed kole tang get along great. the only fish the powder brown has harrassed is my firefish.
 
This thread may be old however, I was currently in the market for this fish as others may be so decided to bump this.

Acanthurus Japonicus -> OP has this one. Powder Brown or White Cheek
The Powder Brown tang has white under his eye all the way down to his lips, the White Cheek only has a dash of white under the eye, this patch doesn't touch the lips of the fish.
 
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