Naso vlamingii tank size

[8BALL_99]

After seeing an adult vlamingii at the LFS I'd really like to get one for our tank. I've did a search on them and see that several on here have them in 180s 210s ect. I know in the ocean they can reach 24". My question If I buy a Juvenile would it be ok in my 300 long term? The tank is 72"x36"x26" With 2 External overflows. I know some fish tend to grow according to the size tank they are in. IE Same fish will grow larger in a 700gal then it will in a 300. Would one of these fish be ok long term in a tank my size? Please don't flame me to death tang police. I'm more interested in hearing from people that have had these fish and either have had good luck with them long term or had issues with them outgrowing their tanks.

 

[rort]

If he is the only large... HUGE fish in your tank you could deff get away with it. I have seen show size ones in a 280g!

 

[8BALL_99]

Well I plan to add a few more fish. My 300 has only been running for about 5 months. It replaced a 190 so the rock sand ect is established. Pretty much everything I have is just stock from my 190. All I have right now is a pair of Perc clowns, Scribbled rabbit, Pinkspotted Watchman goby, Yellow Tang, a mandarin and One blue chromis. Needless to say with my current stock when you look at the tank it looks almost empty as far as fish go lol. All you really see is the yellow tang, Chromis and the Rabbit. I would like to add the vlamingii a midas Blenny and a Neon dotty back. I have considered adding a Pink Tail trigger or a blue jaw, But I'm not sure on that yet. I've always wanted a trigger but just was to afraid to try one in my reef tanks.

 

[rort]

I would go with a red tailed trigger(i think thats the name...?). They are beautiful and from what I have been total the only trigger that is pretty much reef safe.

I just was saying that let the big naso be the only very large tang for your tank. You could have tons more fish in a 300 but the bigger the get the more cramped it gets as im sure you know. but you have a lot of space to work with!

It should be fine!

 

[BangkokMatt]

imo a 300g isn't large enough long term for a vlamingi. I recently saw one in a 450g and it looked cramped.
They need a lot of turning space and, having a huge fish in an undersized tank never looks good (regardless of the detrimental impact it has on the fish)

 

[LisaD]

Why not consider a Naso tang (or pair) for your 300?

 

[BangkokMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14721384#post14721384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LisaD
Why not consider a Naso tang (or pair) for your 300?

A good alternative and would look striking!
Lisa - did your new tang start eating?

 

[megaspoot]

Just not enough room for a 2 foot fish heavy swimming fish IMO.

 

[LisaD]

Lisa - did your new tang start eating?

Matt,

It died within three days. I knew I shoudn't have bought it, gave in to the kid. It didn't look sick, just way too thin.

On the other hand, the spotted sharpnose puffer I got (C joculator) is one of the nicest I have ever seen, and it is doing fine.

 

[8BALL_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14721377#post14721377 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BangkokMatt
imo a 300g isn't large enough long term for a vlamingi. I recently saw one in a 450g and it looked cramped.
They need a lot of turning space and, having a huge fish in an undersized tank never looks good (regardless of the detrimental impact it has on the fish)

So these fish will grow to full size regardless what size tank they are brought up in? That was kind of my Question. I know a 24" long tang would probably be a bit much for a 6 foot long 3 foot wide tank. I just thought that maybe if I started with a very small one the tank size would dictate his growth some.

 

[8BALL_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14721384#post14721384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LisaD
Why not consider a Naso tang (or pair) for your 300?

I've just never had luck with them. I've tried a couple of blonde nasos over the years. They do great eat swimp around happy then they just die. One day they will eat and look great then I'll just find them dead the next day.. Thats happend to me twice several months apart if not a year or so. They live for a couple months or so then die. After that I just gave up them. I feed a mixture of food. Everything from Nori to mysis, brine, squid, ect ect.. Pretty much everything including some flake from time to time so I'm pretty sure that wasn't the issue. Besides that both times I had other tangs in the tank and they were doing fine.

 

[anbosu]

What about a dusummieri tang? Those are pretty unusual, get pretty big, and would be awesome in that size display.

 

[MattL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14722637#post14722637 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
So these fish will grow to full size regardless what size tank they are brought up in?

Yes. This is covered in the FAQ. He might not reach a full 24" in captivity, but he will get close, and tank size has nothing to do with it.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14722637#post14722637 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
...I know a 24" long tang would probably be a bit much for a 6 foot long 3 foot wide tank. I just thought that maybe if I started with a very small one the tank size would dictate his growth some.

Vlamingi tangs are a species best left in the ocean. They should not be collected, at least not in the numbers they are.

We had one come in to a LFS by accident. The wholesaler threw it in on an order. He was 12". The largest tank they had was a standard 150. Even as the oldest fish in there, it was a very sad sight. He could not reach full speed before he had to turn around. It took several weeks for a the LFS to find him an owner with a sufficiently large tank.

Except for the lipstick naso tang, leave all the other Naso genus tangs in the ocean where they belong.

Matt

 

[8BALL_99]

I did read the stickies above lol infact the sticky about fish to be avoided only mentioned a Clown tang. ( which I kept for a couple years in a 190) It also listed most Naso tangs should be left to larger tanks 200+ and noted that alot of them can even out grow a 135 gallon? The other thread sticky said can I keep a tang in a 30 gallon listed Naso unicornis as needing a 200 gallon tank lol You can see why one could get confused. No it didn't mention a Vlamingi tang but a Bluespine which gets just as big and has a much longer horn. I understand what you guys are saying though. And thats fine if they grow to full size requardless of tank size then I agree they are to big for a 300.

 

[snorvich]

Well, in my opinion you need a 10 foot long tank with 36 inches of depth and 30 inches of height. Not ideal, but doable.

 

[BangkokMatt]

Here are the faq's on tangs
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1593159

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14723565#post14723565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattL
Vlamingi tangs are a species best left in the ocean. They should not be collected, at least not in the numbers they are.

I agree. One of my LFS has an adult vlamingi and naso in there 700g show tank and honestly, they both look like they need more room. Best left in the ocean, definitely not for a 6 foot tank, I'd say 10ft minimum!

 

[JHemdal]

With FishBase, and using the "maximum size" in their database, it looks like you can safely use two thirds of that value for the maximum size for captive fishes, so for this species, about 16" - which is a bit larger than what I've seen them reach in my exhibits. Here is further information about the project I've working on looking into using FishBase to estimate captive sizes of fishes:

http://microcosmaqx.typepad.com/jay...-of-fish-in-captivity-an-estimation-tool.html


Jay

 

[LauraCline]

A place I used to go had one in an 8', 500+ gallon tank and he made the tank look small. He was about 2' and very thick, beautiful fish but just so giant.

 

[MattL]

Yeah, anyone who's seen these fish in person quickly realizes that they are only for the most gigantic of tanks, and even then, they can make them look small.

Matt