Purple Tang

bluerug

Moved On
I am kind of sad to say i know nothing about purple tangs and thought what a place to post a question about a purple tang. I have some general questions that maybe you guys and gals can help me with.
1. Are these tangs easily capable of attracting ich, like blue hippo's?
2. Will they be ok for an aggressive tank, that houses triggers, puffers, angels, eels?
3. What is the overall care level of this animal on a level from 1-10, 10 being the hardest?
4. What is the main diet besides greens for this purple tang?
5. Last but not least what should i be looking at to pay for one of these guys being in the 4-5 inch range if i do decide to get one?

By the way i have no idea what type of purple tangs there are but this is the one with the yellow tail.
Thank you,
Josh
 
I am no pro that is why I am only going to answer #5.

My LFS has one that is about 4in that I believe they are selling for $90-$100. These are very pricey fish. Beatiful though I must say.

Sean
 
I have a purple tang myself.
1. Yes they can get ich. If it is present in the water sure enough you will start seeing those white spots.
2. They make excellent inhabitants for an aggresssive tank. They can definitely hold their own. At least a medium to large sized one can. Very fiesty fish.
3. This fish is almost exactly like a yellow tang excpet its purple color. Maybe a 3 on that scale. Very easy fish to take care of. Assuming you have the correct water parameters and food.
4. I feed mine nori(dried seaweed) you can pick it up at any supermarket in the international foods section or go to an oriental market. Don't buy that overpriced designer author labeled junk. Also mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, pellets( I use new life spectrum) but you can also use ocean nutrition.
5. I got mine for an amazing 50.00 bucks! AHAHA my lfs is so cool. A big one too. About 5 inches. But usually they will cost between 70-100 dollars.
 
if your tank is large enough they make excellent fish. If you do plan on keeping them in an aggressive tank make sure to feed them nori sheets that have been soaked in garlic. wothout theat vegetable matter in their diet they will starve to death. unfortunately it seems that fish from the red sea are running a premium these days. look to pay around 100 for a decent animal.
 
Purple tangs might be difficult, but once acclimated, I think they are very hardy. They are really beautifual animals and well-worth the effort. I was lucky also. I picked mine up for $40 for one that is 3" with very good coloration.
 
I have a3-4" purple tang. I agree with Kennyboy except I would give it a 5 due to ich problems and if water params go nuts this fish is more likely to have problems. I think I got mine for about $ 60. The onlything mine won't eat is Cyclopeze zoo. It's too small to bother with.
 
Thank you all for the information, with this in mind and now that i have qt i will be getting a purple tang hopefully this saturday. And i will be sure to qt him, so ich does not get introduced into my tank. Anything else i need to know about these little guys before i go pick him up.
 
Wouldn't be a bad idea to grab a cleaner shrimp to put in your display tank. They not only make a great visual display, but also aid in keeping parasitic disease under control. I've seen my cleaner shrimp hop on my purple tang, and and most of my other fish from time to time as well.
 
the shrimp won't last in your tank with puffers, triggers, and eels.
I love my purple tang. He is really pretty. I got him for free!!!!:D :D :D My firend was taking down his tank and he gave me his hialide and everthing that was in his tank. I really lucked out.
 
Wow yes you did luck out, yeah i figured the cleaner wont last long. But i think now that i will end up getting the purple tang, now that i have my own qt finally setup. You really dont know how happy i am now that i have my own qt setup, its pretty sweet. But after researching the purple tang i think he is the fish for me. I figured he would be ok with my naso since he is a completely different shape, but then i cant get a yellow, which is not all that bad b/c i think the purple is a far better looking fish anyways.
 
66737mini-tang_shots_016.jpg
 
Im am sure you will love your purple tang. He will be fine with the naso, expecially since he is in a 140 gallon.
 
Well, when I transferred my desjardinii sailfin to the 240 I added a yellow and a purple at the same time. Absolutely no aggression (and the sailfin at least, was an obnoxious little *&^% in the smaller tank). It may have helped that the purple was the smallest of the bunch, who knows.

jds

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7524445#post7524445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bluecarpet
Wow yes you did luck out, yeah i figured the cleaner wont last long. But i think now that i will end up getting the purple tang, now that i have my own qt finally setup. You really dont know how happy i am now that i have my own qt setup, its pretty sweet. But after researching the purple tang i think he is the fish for me. I figured he would be ok with my naso since he is a completely different shape, but then i cant get a yellow, which is not all that bad b/c i think the purple is a far better looking fish anyways.
 
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