I want a tang

D

Danzig

Member
I dont have my tank setup yet, but i have a 72 gallon bowfront. I have noticed alot of people with tanks about the same size with tangs, sometimes even more than one!! I intend to only buy 1 tang and i want advice. Is my tank to small? Is it do-able?

Anyways here are my preferences in order, 1 being the fish i want most.

1. Clown tang
2.Lieutenant tang
3. blue tang
 
1. Clown tangs are aggressive with other tangs and fish and need a bigger tank.

2. Lieutenant needs a MUCH bigger tank.

3. Blue tangs should have a bigger tank as well.

If you want a tang in that size tank go for a Bristletooth type or a Kole tang.
 
btkrausen said:
1. Clown tangs are aggressive with other tangs and fish and need a bigger tank.

2. Lieutenant needs a MUCH bigger tank.

3. Blue tangs should have a bigger tank as well.

If you want a tang in that size tank go for a Bristletooth type or a Kole tang.
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thank you for your input, would anyone else like to add to this?
 
Agree with above.

You could do a yellow tang imo. It will probably get aggressive in a 72 though. Should be the last fish introduced.
 
nonstopfishies said:
Agree with above.

You could do a yellow tang imo. It will probably get aggressive in a 72 though. Should be the last fish introduced.
Click to expand...

Ok well the only tang im really going to settle for were those 3, im going to get a tiny blue tang, 1/2'' to 3/4'' baby blue tang and have him for awhile then maybe sell him to my LFS or a friend when he outgrows my tank. Does anyone know the growth rates for these?
 
I wouldn't even go that route, an LFS cannot sell big fish. It is easy to sell a little fish because the uneducated will go in not knowing how big it will get. When purchasing fish, don't get fish that need a tank upgrade, sold to an LFS later, given to a friend or public aquarium. Only buy fish that can live their entire life within the tank you have set up. The three you listed originally are tangs that need large tanks, in fact my 125 will be barely big enough for a Lieutentant Tang(Tennenti tang). I was told a 6ft tank should work, and I am going to make sure there is decent room to turn around. Get any tang from the Ctenochaetus genus, or don't get a tang. Just not fair to the fish to be moved so much IMO, smooth upgrades being the exception here.
 
Danzig said:
Ok well the only tang im really going to settle for were those 3, im going to get a tiny blue tang, 1/2'' to 3/4'' baby blue tang and have him for awhile then maybe sell him to my LFS or a friend when he outgrows my tank. Does anyone know the growth rates for these?
Click to expand...

Depends on water quality, diet, and (cough cough)tank size not stunting growth among other things.
 
Reefing Newbie said:
I wouldn't even go that route, an LFS cannot sell big fish. It is easy to sell a little fish because the uneducated will go in not knowing how big it will get. When purchasing fish, don't get fish that need a tank upgrade, sold to an LFS later, given to a friend or public aquarium. Only buy fish that can live their entire life within the tank you have set up. The three you listed originally are tangs that need large tanks, in fact my 125 will be barely big enough for a Lieutentant Tang(Tennenti tang). I was told a 6ft tank should work, and I am going to make sure there is decent room to turn around. Get any tang from the Ctenochaetus genus, or don't get a tang. Just not fair to the fish to be moved so much IMO, smooth upgrades being the exception here.
Click to expand...

Well if im buying it at 1/2'' to 3/4'' i would sell it at 4'' i dont see how thats a problem for a fish store.. thats an average sized tang. As far as not being fair to the fish, plenty of people buy fish online every day where they are shipped cross country and thats not considered unfair to the fish? Not to mention the fact that the suppliers cary hundreds/ if not thousands of tang, most of which are territorial/aggressive. So do you think they have 1,000 tanks one for each aggressive tang? I dont think so, they probably cram 20 in a 125 gallon tank, where LFS' and people buy them. If anything im doing him a favor and giving him a nice home for a few years or months. I understand your argument, and i dont mean to ask a question and then dismiss all the advice given, your input is not falling on deaf ears, and it will be taken into consideration along with many other factors.
 
The point is that you are just giving that tang an extra unneccassary trip. Selling at 4" would mean you only keep it for 4-8months. Have you ever tried catching a fish in a tank full of rocks and corals? You are lucky if you can even think you are going to catch it without a long battle. Plus when you remove the fish you disturb the balance that is in place within the tank. Not sure if you plan to keep getting new ones as you sell the larger ones, but if you do then your tank will probably never really stabilize very well... I have heard of hippo tangs killing corals when in cramped conditions. They will take the frags and place them in completely shaded areas in your rock work. Then there may be another scenario where it goes rouge and kills the other fish in your tank. Too many stories of that happening, I am trying to prevent this from happening to you.
 
You want those Tangs you listed and you are rationalizing and justifying ways that will enable you to have one of them. It is not cruel to tell you that you should not purchase one of those fish for your size of tank. As hobbyist we must stop buying fish which we plan to sell back to the LFS when they outgrow our tanks or fish that we will place in a bigger tank that we plan to upgrade to but never do. I had to accept the limitations that my living space and budget impose upon me in this hobby.
 
Danzig said:
Well if im buying it at 1/2'' to 3/4'' i would sell it at 4'' i dont see how thats a problem for a fish store.. thats an average sized tang. As far as not being fair to the fish, plenty of people buy fish online every day where they are shipped cross country and thats not considered unfair to the fish? Not to mention the fact that the suppliers cary hundreds/ if not thousands of tang, most of which are territorial/aggressive. So do you think they have 1,000 tanks one for each aggressive tang? I dont think so, they probably cram 20 in a 125 gallon tank, where LFS' and people buy them. If anything im doing him a favor and giving him a nice home for a few years or months. I understand your argument, and i dont mean to ask a question and then dismiss all the advice given, your input is not falling on deaf ears, and it will be taken into consideration along with many other factors.
Click to expand...
You asked for advice and people gave it. I am not sure why you are arguing and trying to rationalize why or why not it is ok to keep a fish you want. In the end, you will do what you want and feel that it is ok. Just don't argue with the advice given, as you asked the community what was right for your tank.

Good luck with your fish choices. I would go with a kole or bristletooth if I were you. Yellow and blue tangs get big and the yellows get really nasty in even large tanks.
 
I'm going to be blunt. The fact that you even asked about a clown tang for a 4' tank means you did zero homework. And now you're going to ignore simple, common sense advice. There are times where growing out a fish is reasonable. I don't think this is one of those times. I hope all goes well.
 
You seem to have been Tang jumped.

I had a Blue Hippo given to me, and no I did not do any research. My tank was far too small for him, I ended up having to take out almost all the rock and coral to get him out. Huge mistake on my part Im not going to be negative to you bc people do much worse in this hobby. The most important thing is to just think it out and realize what you might have to go through when its time to get him out.

GL
 
SoCalDude said:
You asked for advice and people gave it. I am not sure why you are arguing and trying to rationalize why or why not it is ok to keep a fish you want. In the end, you will do what you want and feel that it is ok. Just don't argue with the advice given, as you asked the community what was right for your tank.

Good luck with your fish choices. I would go with a kole or bristletooth if I were you. Yellow and blue tangs get big and the yellows get really nasty in even large tanks.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. Wait long enough and someone will give a green light on the Clown tang idea too, maybe even a Sohal. BTW, I can never remember a post that said a hobbyist actually did "re-home'' a fish when it outgrew a tank.
 
Last edited:
small alien said:
I'm going to be blunt. The fact that you even asked about a clown tang for a 4' tank means you did zero homework. And now you're going to ignore simple, common sense advice. There are times where growing out a fish is reasonable. I don't think this is one of those times. I hope all goes well.
Click to expand...

Again, I couldn't agree more. One of these days i'm going to have one of my kids show me how to do re- multi-quote thing.
 
Hey go talk to one of those lfs that don't care about fish and they'll give you the green light on all those fish maybe all three together go with a kole and do some homework fist
 
alright guys your point has been made, and i appreciate those of you who weren't demeaning about it. Im here to learn..
 
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