Please share your experiences with Mimic Lemonpeel Tangs!

[Zionas]

Do you think the adult fish are pretty? How hardy are they? Do they need big tanks like some of their Acanthurus cousins do? FishBase says 12" max size, other places say 10" but what would be the expected max size for most specimens?

 

[Member No. 1]

A. Very pretty, I have one.
B. Had him over 4 years now, purchased as a juvenile, then after 6-8 months he
changed to his adult coloration.
C. He's in a 120g 48"x24"x24" no issues. Seems happy. He's about 6" long now.
Hangs out with my Purple Tang.

 

[Anemone]

I've had one for three years. Seems hardy. At about 3", it still has mostly its juvenile coloration (dorsal and anal fins are starting to get a little darker). Doesn't get into it too much with my Hepatus or Purple tangs. Hepatus is chief of the tank - had it for over 8 years at about 5-6".

Kevin

 

[Zionas]

Nice! FishBase gives max size of 12”, Scott W Michael and Randall’s books give a max size of 10”. Do you think they’ll reach those sizes?

 

[Anemone]

Nice! FishBase gives max size of 12", Scott W Michael and Randall's books give a max size of 10". Do you think they'll reach those sizes?

Maybe, eventually. I've seen Yellow Tangs the size of dinner plates that swallowed baseballs in the wild, but I've yet to see any that size in a private system.

Kevin

 

[Zionas]

I see. What size would you expect in our systems for these and for the smaller Zebrasoma?

 

[Zionas]

And what about activity levels? Are they very active swimmers? What tank size do they need?

 

[Harpo]

I had one for a number of years. Maxed out at about 5 inches in a 135 gallon tank. Adult coloration took several years to develop: subtle but very attractive. About as active as a yellow tang in my tank.

 

[Zionas]

Yes I think they’re underrated. Did yours die of old age?

 

[Harpo]

Yes I think they're underrated. Did yours die of old age?

Tank crash

 

[Zionas]

Tank crash

I'm sorry to hear about that.

 

[Harpo]

I'm sorry to hear about that.

Thank you. Sadly few of us that have been around >25 years have not had it happen at least once. Murphy's law eventually prevails.

 

[Zionas]

Thank you. Sadly few of us that have been around >25 years have not had it happen at least once. Murphy's law eventually prevails.

Yeah, I hope you've managed to recover from it. How many years exactly did you have your Mimic Tang? Was it aggressive at all?