Purple Tang Dilema

[bkbailes07]

Would it be possible to house a purple tang with a sailfin, and a paciffic blue in a 130 gallon.
currently i have the salifing and blue in a 46 bowfront(i know it is WAY to small but LFS said it was ok b/c we got them as tiny babies)
Would it be possible to combine blue, purple and sailfing at the same time with no problems?

 

[leebca]

At the same time is possibley the best approach. One tang will usually dominate the others, but put in at the same time, will at least start them out on more or less equal footing.

The tank couls still be larger for those tangs, though.

 

[yoboyjdizz]

Best to put them in all at once but if i were you i would get rid of the salfin tang it will get to big for your 130. Also 130 might be to small for the salfin and purple to coexist. It could work though good luck!

 

[thor32766]

just make sure you add them at the same time. that is the best way to introduce tangs.

 

[stykthyn]

your LFS is full of crap, I wouldnt go there any more. even in a 200 gallon I dont think you could keep the 3 of them together

 

[thor32766]

sailfins grow like weeds, you could probably do it, but those fish will grow fast. people will have opinions. you do what you want. goodluck

 

[bkbailes07]

what about this guy with a 180 gallon(not that much bigger than mine) with a ton of tangs and angels? he had been running that tank will great sucess. i know the tang poice will have their opinions too i just want an honest average person opinion like thor32766

heres the link to the picture of the 180 gallon
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&si=&thumb=1&page=2&sort=1&perpage=12&papass=&ppuser=16086&stype=

 

[bubbaOPPD]

Just remember if the Tang Polizei had their way no one could keep a Tang in a tank smaller then 300gal...you'll noticed most Tang polizei don't own Tangs or are rich enough to have +300gal tanks. I have a Sailfin for about 6months now and I have not noticed any growth from him, although my Sohal grew 3" in the same time period. So maybe my Sailfin needs some steroids...

 

[leebca]

Volume of the tank isn't as important as the dimensions of the tank.

Most ocean tangs travel more than 25 miles a day. They do this foraging for algae. Algae is low in protein so they need a lot of it to get the protein they need.

You put a fish that usually stays in a few cubic yards of water (like most anemonefishes) and defends its territory in a 30 gallon tank and it will do reasonably well. But put a tang that travels these great distances in a small tank and it will suffer chronic stress that will significantly shorten its life.

I see Yellow Tangs now in nano tanks. Sure the tang is small, and for that tang and the sailfin-type (Zebrasoma) tangs that don't travel as great of distances, that can work out for a while. But for the 'traveling' tangs (Naso, Ctenochaetus, Acanthurus and others), tank-life is stressful, but more so in a tank of short length.

It isn't they can't live there, it is just that their life is considerably shortened as the length of the tank is shortened. Take this guy who just lost his tang:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=842524

The other life-shortening factor is their diet. Most aquarists insist upon feeding them meaty products or brine shrimp. Neither is in their normal diet. The wrong foods will also shorten their lifespan. But with reasonable planning, diet and nutritional efforts like in this link:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=785228
they can get on well in a tank for many years, or 10+ years in a long/large tank. A Sohal tang I had once owned, now in another's care is going on 18 years so far and looking good. But it isn't in a 135 gallon tank! Try 500.

Just my experience and opinions. It seems to be a matter of how long they 'should' be with us, and their quality of life while in our care. Almost everyone seems to have a variation on those issues.

 

[Angel*Fish]

bkbailes07,
Go over to Aquarium World on 290@Hollister & watch the tangs in their 40,000g display. You'll see that they have a different demeaner in a tank that size compared to how they behave/appear in a smaller space. It's really an eye opener.

They have a flame angel in there, too. That little flame uses the entire tank! --horizontally speaking, that is, I haven't seen him swim up to the surface

 

[bkbailes07]

what about the tangs i want (which are not the 'traveling tangs') i know they grow big but they are fine right now in 46 gallon but they grew so fast i had to make them a bigger tank but this is the biggest i could fit in my house. and i have seen a purple, kole, yellow mix in a probably 65 gallon at a museum.

also i have had one ick outbreak on my blue tang but then i used selcon and garlic extreme with mysis, brine, formula 1&2 cubes, romaine lettuce, algae strips and a frozen mixture from a LFS that has 18 different things in it so i always use the garlic extreme w/ selcon.

 

[michindi]

bkbailes07......all of the tang police hate me...lol I think they would be fine in a 130 if they are small enough. I have a tang or two in my 90 with no probs and I will say that in time they will need a bigger tank. But thats JMHO.

 

[VSpeck]

same here if they are small it will be fine. they will out grow the tank but that means you get to upgrade. i have a pac blue, purple, and sailfin together along with a few others so its possable but just keep an eye on them for the first couple days to watch for fighting. leep them fed well. also meats are good for thier diet in small amounts but dont feed just algea

 

[leebca]

Wild tangs never saw nor ate in their lives:
brine shrimp
freshwater mysis
romaine lettuce

Those foods aren't optimal for a long and healthy life of the traveling tangs. The tangs will eat them, but it doesn't mean the tangs should eat them.

Formula 1 is for carnivores; Tangs are herbivores
Formula 2 is okay occasionally, but it is for omnivores - despite the hype labeling/advertising (read the ingredients)

I don't know the 'mystery mix' but if it contains land plants or land animals or freshwater plants or freshwater animals, it's also not in the tang's best interest for long term healthy survival.

Garlic has not been shown to help any disease. But, there is a lot of anecdotal information out there. It is questionable whether or not it even stimulates the appetite of fishes. I use it to get fish to start eating but I've not experienced a fish to begin eating food they previously rejected because it had garlic on it.

Some garlic reading info:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/sp/index.php

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Did you find out how long those fish had been in that 65 tank? The point I'm trying to make is that they don't die when they see they're trapped in a small tank, they just die sooner than if they were in a longer tank. No one (so far in this country) has stopped any determined aquarist from keeping any species of fish, even if the aquarist doesn't know how to best care for the fish, or if the aquarist can't even feed the fish (like a specialized feeding fish (obligate coral eaters)). There's always sellers.

You can keep building bigger and bigger tanks/systems, but the confines of the tank produces stress that shortens the life of these kinds of fish. A larger tank doesn't take away the damage that stress caused. But, we do the best we can. It's an ethical/moral issue on where to draw the line --- not buying any wild-caught fishes is on one extreme. I don't know the answer, I can only provide what I know to be true -- small tank = shorter life.