Growth Rate of Tangs - Discussion/Comparison?

[forddna]

It seems like a common question - How long will it take a "this size, this tang" to outgrow my tank? Or to reach "this size?" So I was curious if there was a chart or any good links that actually discussed this? Or if we could start one?

Are there tangs that are slower growers than others and take longer to reach adult size?

Are there tangs who slow down a lot after a more moderate size (say 5-6") even if they still get very large?

Let's say this is a discussion for someone with a large but not large enough tank who really, truly will be upgrading within 2 years. :fish1:

 

[OrionN]

There are so many factors that there is no way we can answer this question. What species how well you feed them, the size of the tank ......
Generally it really is not a good idea to stock your tank with anything other than what you have right now. Upgrade often not going to come true.

 

[Joke]

+1 I agree! Things don't always go as expected and you will end up in a decision to keep your beloved tang or do whats best and re-home it.

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

 

[brad]

I have 3 yellow tangs well under 3 inches for 3 years, healthy and fat, hardly grew at all.

 

[Pericyte]

Avoid blonde naso tangs . I have a blonde naso who was 2.5 inches a year and a half ago and he is now 7-8 inches long + streamers. No joke, I am in the process of upgrading my system for him. He is also my fiancés favorite, so it gave me a good excuse to get a bigger tank.

Blue tangs grow fast, but not nearly as fast.
Same with powder blue
Yellow tang is my slowest grower.

 

[Paaty]

My hippo tang went from about 1.5 inches to over 10 inches in about 2 years. I find my slowest growing tang has been my yellow tang. He went from about 3 inches to about 5 inches in the same two years. I think it also has Lot to do with pecking order as my yellow is the least dominant tang i have and is often gets less food than the others.

 

[Andrew D]

Out of this Hobby, as far as keeping fish I am best at Tangs. I have had 10+ Tangs in a 29 Gallon, 15+ in a 80 Gallon Reef.

I hope you're kidding. 10+ tangs in a 29G, that's just cruel. Tangs need room to swim, and even if they seem to fit when they're small they'll develop a nasty temperment as they grow. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

[forddna]

My hippo tang went from about 1.5 inches to over 10 inches in about 2 years. I find my slowest growing tang has been my yellow tang. He went from about 3 inches to about 5 inches in the same two years. I think it also has Lot to do with pecking order as my yellow is the least dominant tang i have and is often gets less food than the others.

Wow, on the Hippo!! I'd agree on the Yellow Tang. I had one for a few years that I got at around 4" and it never seemed to grow. This was in a 220g so he wasn't cramped. I don't think my Purple grew much either. Maybe the Zebrasomas are slow growers.

 

[carrots]

My quickest growing tang was a Regal or Hippo Tang. When I got him he was the size of a quarter. At the same time I got a 2 inch Yellow Tang. They were in a 90 gallon for about two years and when I re-homed the Regal it was around 7 inches. It was the fastest growing fish I ever had. A four foot long tank was not slowing down it's growth and it started looking cruel keeping him caged in such a small tank. The tank raised Yellow Tang is now 4 years old and seems to have stopped growing at 4 inches.

 

[Joe0813]

Out of this Hobby, as far as keeping fish I am best at Tangs. I have had 10+ Tangs in a 29 Gallon, 15+ in a 80 Gallon Reef.
At Circle Pet, Long Beach we Specialized in Co-existing Tangs in Community Reef Settings!
Besides knowing your exact Tang's Demeanor, Besides Typical Tangs Aggressive/Passive Aggressive. Knowing the Order and Time each Tang was introduced matters greatly.

Back to Dwarfing, According to Filtration Size for your System and The Inch Fish Rule, Fish being well fed and water parameters within ideal ranges will naturally dwarf to any tank size within reason. There is no real time range, just keep in system until your water quality parameters exceed your Maintence Schedule. That's the only true rule, if a fish it too big for the system, that fishes biological functions exceeds your tanks Filtration limits.

wait is that a joke? or were they in the tanks to be sold?

 

[jmm]

Out of this Hobby, as far as keeping fish I am best at Tangs. I have had 10+ Tangs in a 29 Gallon, 15+ in a 80 Gallon Reef.
At Circle Pet, Long Beach we Specialized in Co-existing Tangs in Community Reef Settings!

Besides knowing your exact Tang's Demeanor, Besides Typical Tangs Aggressive/Passive Aggressive. Knowing the Order and Time each Tang was introduced matters greatly.

Back to Dwarfing, According to Filtration Size for your System and The Inch Fish Rule, Fish being well fed and water parameters within ideal ranges will naturally dwarf to any tank size within reason. There is no real time range, just keep in system until your water quality parameters exceed your Maintence Schedule. That's the only true rule, if a fish it too big for the system, that fishes biological functions exceeds your tanks Filtration limits.

That seems cruel to me.

 

[OrionN]

Out of this Hobby, as far as keeping fish I am best at Tangs. I have had 10+ Tangs in a 29 Gallon, 15+ in a 80 Gallon Reef.
At Circle Pet, Long Beach we Specialized in Co-existing Tangs in Community Reef Settings!

......

LFS talking.
10+ tangs in a 29 gal, some will live 2 weeks instead of 24 hrs. I guess that is what you count as success.
People follow your advises and you will sell a lot of tangs.
:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

SeyozTanks,
Your post is like a joke. Things like this is what give LFS black eyes.

 

[suta4242]

:debi: One of the few times I wish there was a like button ^^


:wave:

Angie

 

[BrianD]

Out of this Hobby, as far as keeping fish I am best at Tangs. I have had 10+ Tangs in a 29 Gallon, 15+ in a 80 Gallon Reef.
At Circle Pet, Long Beach we Specialized in Co-existing Tangs in Community Reef Settings!

Besides knowing your exact Tang's Demeanor, Besides Typical Tangs Aggressive/Passive Aggressive. Knowing the Order and Time each Tang was introduced matters greatly.

Back to Dwarfing, According to Filtration Size for your System and The Inch Fish Rule, Fish being well fed and water parameters within ideal ranges will naturally dwarf to any tank size within reason. There is no real time range, just keep in system until your water quality parameters exceed your Maintence Schedule. That's the only true rule, if a fish it too big for the system, that fishes biological functions exceeds your tanks Filtration limits.

I hope you found a new line of work.

 

[johnike]

I hope you found a new line of work.

I agree with Brian.
:wave::wave:

 

[Dugless]

Yellow or Scopas would be good candidates for smaller setups. But search out a smaller fish, 2-1/2" or less.

 

[A sea K]

Fastest growers for me were the Regal first then my Blonde Naso and the slowest was a Chocolate Mimic (A. pyroferus) I probably had the Mimic for at least 5 years and he never out grew his juvenile coloration.

 

[scooter31707]

Fastest growers for me were the Regal first then my Blonde Naso and the slowest was a Chocolate Mimic (A. pyroferus) I probably had the Mimic for at least 5 years and he never out grew his juvenile coloration.

I think it depends on the environment. Not saying yours was wrong or nothing. Before transferring to my 240, he was in 120 and he was the dominant fish in the tank. Got him around 2.5 inches and in about a year, he was around 4.5 and made a clear transition to his adults colors. So I really do think it's about what type of environment they are in that depends on their growth.

 

[ca1ore]

What seems generally true is that tangs don't get anywhere near their wild size in our tanks - or more specifically in my tanks. I do generally adhere to the tank size minimums articulated here on RC. Currently I have six in my 265:

1. Yellow tang bought along with a Craigslist sale. Spent 4 years in a 90 (1 with me; 3 with prior owner) and now almost another 4 years in my current 265. Was 4" when I got him and is maybe 5" now.
2. Hippo tank came with the same 90, with same duration as the yellow. Was 5" when I got him, is about 6 1/2" now.
3. Purple tang bought by me 4 years ago at about 3"; 5" now
4. Desjardini came from a fellow reefers tank 2 years ago at about 7", no observable growth since then.
5. Achilles tang both by me 4 years ago at about 4"; 5" now.
6. Chevron bought about 2 years ago as a juvenile about 2"; 5" now.

Tank is quite heavily stocked and somewhat overgrown with SPS.