Question About Tangs

[Nick James]

I would LIKE to get a Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus) and perhaps a Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). I have read Powder Browns are supposed to be one of the less agressive species and they are not in the same Genus as a Yellow Tang. Yellow Tangs are true Tangs whereas PBT are Surgeonfish.

Does anyone have any experiences with these two types of Tangs or can anyone recommend two Tangs that would be good together in my 90 gallon. I also like the Regal Tang but I would only attempt to keep two of the above Tangs in my 90 gallon.

To be honest the Powder Brown is the fish I would prefer the most. Another Tang that I like is the Whitecheek surgeonfish.

Yellow Tang

Powder Brown

Regal Tang

Whitecheek Surgeonfish

Here is a list of fish in this family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthuridae

 

[myerst2]

Hello. PBT are very aggressive once well adjusted. I personally wouldn't keep an ancanthurus in a 90 as it isn't long enough. They swim non-stop and with great speed. I sometimes feel bad for my PBT in my 180. Personally I would just get one tang, either a zebrasoma or Ctenochaetus Genus. You can keep a a Zebrasoma and Ancanthurus together sucessfully, just not in a 90. I have a Z.Rostratum Black Tang living with my PBT for 5 months. Hope this helps. Regards, Tim

 

[JRechcygl]

I agree, two tangs in a 90 is 1 too many. PBT can be VERY aggressive as can powder blues. Some of the acanthurus are pretty mild i.e. orange shoulder but they are all too large for your tank. The regal, hippo, pacific blue whatever you call it will get far too large as well

 

[sean48183]

I would do 1 tang and make it a smaller one. A powder brown probably would be fine if you buy him small. A yellow tang or a scopas or something of that nature would work really well.

 

[JLopez]

well...i have two yellow tangs, two blue tangs, and a naso tang and no problems with any of them. I got the yellow tangs and the naso in my previous 75 but due to a leak i had to get a new tank. now i migrated the fish over and added two small blue tangs. they all get along and swim plenty.

my friend has a bunch of tangs in his 120. he has a blue tang, yellow tang, achilles tang, and powder brown. All of them are about twice the size of my largest tang. they all do very good as well.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

You received some very good answers here, I would only consider a very few species of tangs for a 90 and would only keep one. My favorite tangs for a tank that size are the bristletooths; kole, Tomini, chevron, two spot, ect. They stay pretty small for tangs, are really mellow for a tang and are about the best algae eaters around. I also like most of the zebrasoma genus except for the sailfins which get huge. I might put one of the smaller and mellower Acanthurus like a mimic or convict in a 90 but not the larger and more active Acanthurus species.

Most of the other tangs and surgeons you will want to steer clear from mostly due to tank size issues. I would skip most of the Acanthurus, all of the Naso, the regal, the sailfins and all of the other big, active, or aggressive species.

 

[Nick James]

Thanks for all the input. I will have to get a bigger tank one day I guess!

For now I will get either a small Powder Brown or a Whitecheek and just keep the one.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Hmmmm IMO the Yellow is better suited for a 90. My Powder Brown paces my 8', 240 tank. I can't imagine one being kept in a 90.

 

[forddna]

I agree, with my limited experience.

 

[Nick James]

From material I have been reading the Yellow can get bigger 9" and has a minimum tank size of 100g, The Powder Brown an get 8" (but usually around 6") and has a minimium tank size of 70g. This is the same with the Whitecheek Surgeonfish.

Any thoughts on this?

Again thanks for the opinions.. it will be my first Tang so I like to hear from your experience.

 

[LukFox]

The size difference isn't much to be concerned about (and a 1" difference isn't much to base the decision on), but rather how they behave. The two fish are shaped notably different. The Acanthurus is built for more long distance swimming and is more likely to "pace" tanks. The Zebrasoma tangs cope better in shorter tanks as they cruise rather than race. The yellow would be the better choice of the two.