Naso Tang

Red Scooter

New member
During the past 6 months, my 3 year old Naso Tang goes from a cool, calm and collected fish to a downright aggressive one. He repeatedly smacks his body against the glass without ceasing for 20 to 30 minutes. In the process, he splashes water all over the place (even with the oak canopy closed); water streams down the outside of the glass onto the floor and wall-messy, messy. I do not know what gets into him. For a while I thought he was seeing his reflection and so I attributed his behavior to these fits. So, I proceeded to turn off the VHO white actinics; leaving the VHO blue actinics but that only lasted for a few days. I also cover the glass with a towel but that has proven to be useless. He goes to another side of the tank and goes on with his antics in that end of the tank. So now I have run out of ideas short from turning all the lights off but at what cost to the rest of my reef and fish. It seems there is no way to calm him down. Does anyone have an idea what's causing him to stress out so bad? He's a handsome specimen but I may have to move him out of my 120 gal aquarium. Could it be that my tank size is too small for him? Thanks for your input.
 
i think he is castrophobic and feels monotonous, after living in a small glass tank. And he might missed home too.
 
My guess is he needs to swim/burn some energy.
I had a naso that would hit the water when it wanted to be fed, another possibility.
 
My Naso T. is about 7 in. long and close to 3 in. wide. His tail fin is developing streamers. I have tried to feed him during his episodes and it may detain him for a few minutes but he goes back to smacking his body against the glass. During his fits, the Naso T. does swim like a madman on roids for 10 seconds or so at a time. My fish stock is quite small which includes of course the Naso Tang plus a Maroon Clown, Coral Beauty, Pink Spotted Goby and a purple Blenny.

"Lendz," I'm curious as to what you attribute his behavior if it's not the tank size?

Thank you all for your responses.
~RS
 
According to a post by SAT on 12/30/2005 , SAT specified that Scott W. Michael recommends a Naso lituratus, Orangespine Unicornfish or Naso Tang, be housed in a minimum 135 gal (510l) size tank. These paremeters are stipulated in Michael’s (1999) Marine Fishes, 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, Microcosm Ltd. book. Based on Michael’s recommendations, my blond Naso T. has outgrown my tank. He has grown lots since I adopted him. It may be time to trade him. It’s not right to house him in such a small environment. I feel so awful, poor kid.
I’ve talked about trading him to a lfs. What’s a good price if I do decide to trade him? My blond Naso Tang is super healthy. He’s 3 years old, 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, and has vibrant, iridescent light blue, yellow, and orange colors.
 
Most of the time you can trade for a smaller fish at the lfs.
Best case would be to find a local reefer willing to buy directly from you, for the fishes sake.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9838852#post9838852 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davocean
A 7" blond naso usually goes for about $150 at LFS

Serious??? I paid $45 for mine. I wouldn't expect that much, especially in G'ville. Try to find a new home for him from a fellow reefer, he could very easily wind up in a tank smaller than yours if you trade him in at a LFS.
 
Red scooter,yes your tank size might be small for that naso. I have one on my 300gallon tank but he doesnt do that. But your tank is wide but short. Maybe it's just his behavior or maybe he's being a rebel. I saw a naso tang at an display tank of my LFS with 4ft long and 2ft wide too but he wasn't like that. Anyway,goodluck on your fish. Im sorry if I cant contribute anything.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9838397#post9838397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Red Scooter
According to a post by SAT on 12/30/2005 , SAT specified that Scott W. Michael recommends a Naso lituratus, Orangespine Unicornfish or Naso Tang, be housed in a minimum 135 gal (510l) size tank. These paremeters are stipulated in Michael’s (1999) Marine Fishes, 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, Microcosm Ltd. book. Based on Michael’s recommendations, my blond Naso T. has outgrown my tank. He has grown lots since I adopted him. It may be time to trade him. It’s not right to house him in such a small environment. I feel so awful, poor kid.
I’ve talked about trading him to a lfs. What’s a good price if I do decide to trade him? My blond Naso Tang is super healthy. He’s 3 years old, 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, and has vibrant, iriescent light blue, yellow, and orange colors.
the scott w. michael book i read said it was 180g for a naso. in my research a 4' tank is way to small for a naso or most tangs INHO. a naso can reach about 18" which is way too small for your tank. i have a 135g 6' long and wouldnt even consider puting one in my tank. good luck.
 
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