purchasing a kole tang

[Mappelbaum37]

Well I went to the LFS today and saw a BEAUTIFUL powder brown tang. The kole was lookin awesome as well. 2 questions though

1) the powder brown tang wouldn't do as good a job on algae as the kole tang would, right?
2) the kole tang's color was less brown on his tail and face, but darker brown on his body. This doesn't mean anything, right? He was swimming and grazing in the tank, nice and chubby as well. But when he grazed on the sand, I couldn't tell if he was rubbing himself or picking at the sand. From what I saw he didn't have ich. Probably nothing.

Last off topic question... I have 216 watts of lighting. It's a T-5 nova extreme lighting fixture. There was this amazing clam that I wish I had a picture of that was medium size and was $90. It was labeled DAROSA CLAM. the guy there said it's a risk but it can slip by in my tank if I put it higher in the tank, not in the sand bed. Is this a false statement. I was SO close to getting the clam. I have a $20 credit there that I either want to put on these pink polyps they had, the clam, the powder brown or the kole. I know in the end though I'm gonna end up with the kole.

Sorry for being off topic.

Thank you though

 

[OceanSpray]

Your already in love with the Kole...just haven't admitted it to yourself yet. My Kole has been in my tank with a yellow for close to 3 years now with no problems. MY kole is hands down my favorite fish. He never hides, and is always grazing on the rocks. For the most part he has never bothered anything. He did chase a flame hawk around the tank for a week or so, but finally accepted him as well, and then left him alone. Best of luck with your choice!

 

[xJake]

The kole tang in the tank I care for is a big softy. He hides until I put food in the tank and then is out and about all day picking leftover bits off the rocks and grazing on any nuisance algae that may have developed. He's never bothered anything else in the tank although most of the other fish are scared of him (except for the CBB). If the kole tang comes by they all go zooming to their hiding spot until he passes. He eats pretty much anything I offer and is out and about most of the day. I have almost no nuisance algae so I guess he probably helps with that as well.

 

[Mappelbaum37]

I hate making decisions like these. I will prob. end up with the kole just like oceanspray said. (this guy knows me better then myself! ) I hate being this type of guy, but I dont want 2 brown looking fish. Maybe sometime in the future I'll get a powder brown, but I think this time it will be the kole. It wont be for a little bit though, but I will put a deposit on the kole just to be safe. I am getting a new protein skimmer and apparently I'm in for a micro bubble issue, so I dont want to stress the kole out anymore then he has to be. Once the micro bubble issue with the new skimmer is resolved, I'll add him into the tank.

Thanks for the replies everyone. More experience/advice/stories are free to join in.

 

[onad75]

I just added a yellow eyed kole tang to my tank last weekend and IME this tang is the best algae eater compare to the other tang I've had (chevron,purple). Right now I have Atlantic blue, powder blue and i dont see any problem with them so far.

 

[Costazul]

Humm Atlantic blue I used to have one, I live in an island and here are lots of them very abundant fish but they grow fast, it very, very active fish, and lol you feel like vibrations when they swim like a lighting around. I just return it to the beach as soon as it reached 6 in. It just beginning to turn stressful and territorial claiming for space.

 

[Mappelbaum37]

That's awesome. A while ago I really wanted an atlantic blue tang for my tank and the store got one in that was a good 1' long and I was like whoaaaa... Too big for my tank. Yeah, so when I next go to the LFS I'll put money down on the kole. Hoepfully he's a big algae eater like the rest of em!

Thanks

 

[tbar]

I put a Coral Beauty in my tank (125) about a little over an hour ago and the Kole chased him very aggressively. Have not seen him since There are lots of places for him to hid so he should be alright I hope. Not planning to do anything drastic, just hope it works out in a day or two. Kind of surprised, would expect that with another Tang but didn't with an Angel fish. Getting ready to drop some mysis shrimp in, see it that brings him out.

 

[Mappelbaum37]

I put a 6 line wrasse in recently and the hawk didn't miss a second of chasin him. Constant chasing and biting. 2 days later, it was about 50% better and today there is no more chasing. Maybe once in a while if the wrasse gets in the hawks way. But thats about to change seeing as I will soon be removing my hawk. But I also dont know if I will be able to add another fish once I get the kole. I was thinking of getting a blue hippo tang, or a powder blue tang, but I dont know if I can trust the kole or not. Hoepfully when he is in my tank I will se how he reacts to it and will see if he gets territorial or aggressive toward other fish and I'll judge by his personality whether or not it will be safe to add another fish (specifically another tang)

Thanks and good luck tbar. Hopefully things will work out

 

[Mappelbaum37]

Ok, so I go to the LFS today to get the kole tang. And what are the odds, but it was sold. The powder brown tang I saw the other day was there and I put a deposit toward it. I didn't buy it bec. I need to make sure I'm making the right move. I have a few questions though...

1) If I get this powder brown tang, can I add a kole tang later on? I'm not talking about room in the tank or bio-load, but aggression/territory wise.
2) Out of curiosity, can 2 powder tangs go together, like a powder blue tang and a powder brown tang, or does that create problems?

I really was looking forward to getting the kole bec. I wanted to see if he would help with my algae at all. If I cant get the kole tang if I buy the powder brown, then I don't think I'll get the powder brown. I'm pretty tempted to get the kole. I would have to wait for the LFS to get it in of course.

Thanks for the help

 

[Costazul]

I have a 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Kole and 1 Rabbit Fish, they are happy together.(Hit and miss)

I don't know if 2 powder are compatible.

Also If you don’t find a Kole, the Tomini Tang it a good choice but they are more expensive.

 

[drstupid]

koles are one of the few tangs you can put in a 75 gallon and expect it to be happy. they don't require the swimming room most other tangs do.

i love mine, he picks at the rock constantly and gets the really tough algae off. i've recently gotten in the habit of occasionally leaving the closed loop off for an hour at a time so he can really go to town, since the rocks in high flow areas have noticeably more algae growth than the rocks he picks on all the time.

also, i've had a foxface for years and he never touched valonia. six months after adding the kole tang, i can't find a single bubble. even the really big ones that would hide in the back of the rockwork.

mine gets along great with all my other fish. i'd not expect you could keep it with another tang in a 75 gallon tank.

these are great fish. good looking, lots of personality, big contributors, low maintenance, and hardy.

 

[tbar]

I turned the lights off shortly after the post the other night and that helped with the Aggression towards the new Coral Beauty. A little chasing yesterday and all is well today. A Kole tang would be better then a Powder in a 75. Also Kole's are more hardy, probably the most hardy beside a yellow IMO. A Powder Blue or Brown are not as forgiving in less then pristine of stable water parameters.