Tang in a Nano? Tank pic included

[nano10]

Not looking to be critized for this only looking for people with success.

I have a 10g reef tank that has a major amount of grape caulerpa macro algea in it. My Orginal thought was to remove and replace all of the Live rock, But with me moving in january and probly upgrading to a 55 or larger i don't want to spend 150$ on new live rock. And since i will be having tangs in my new tank and with the Algea growing in some of my Zoa's that i really like. It was suggest in the Reef Dicussion forum that i place a small tang in there to pick at the Macro Algea. Has anyone had any success with a Tang in a small 10g tank for no more then 6 months and no less the 4. Im thinking that if i got a small Yellow or Hippo tang that by the time its to big for the tank i'd have my new 55 or larger setup.

pic's

 

[sandlot13]

good luck getting people to support this........... I personally think that it should be okay, as long as its a super small guy, but im sure 99% of the rest of the world will be angry at you for doing it. Do what you want, and let us know how it works out. We cant learn anything if we dont try it!

 

[FishyLover]

Who cares what other people think! You gotta try stuff and it might work for you. At one time we had a temp 10g with 7 seahorses in it... HAHA! They all lived fine and ate like crazy. I think maybe a hippo tang would work ok. Maybe a tiny scopus or yellow tang. My friend has a scopus in her 12g nano and it's been in there for a long time!

 

[ENraged]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7996760#post7996760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishyLover
Who cares what other people think! You gotta try stuff and it might work for you. At one time we had a temp 10g with 7 seahorses in it... HAHA! They all lived fine and ate like crazy. I think maybe a hippo tang would work ok. Maybe a tiny scopus or yellow tang. My friend has a scopus in her 12g nano and it's been in there for a long time!

its not a matter of can it survive its a simple fact that it is not enough space for them to cruise around.
A betta can survive in a coffee cup but it doesnt make it rite.

 

[nano10]

The amount of money I've put into my tank is worth a lot more then a tang being uncomfortable for a few months.

 

[Henry22]

i think one under under 1.5 would be ok, aliitle guy, but a 55 gallon is not large enough for any tang. I think 75 is the smallest you can keep a tang. Its not teh bioload or anything like that, tangs like to swim, and actually if you go a super long 65 gallon, then it could be long. They just need room to cruise like enraged said. So I support it as long as he is going into something larger than a 55, ideally a 75 in less than 1/2 a year.

 

[MarksReef]

Why not just pull as much as you can by hand until you get a larger tank where a Tang will be comfortable?

 

[fishykid9212]

I would do a very small hippo or yellow

 

[nano10]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7997956#post7997956 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MarksReef
Why not just pull as much as you can by hand until you get a larger tank where a Tang will be comfortable?

you obviously haven't had this problem or you would know that by pulling as much of it as your can out by hand creates little piece that then root and make your problem even worse next time you pull it out, the pictures shown above are after spending hours carefully removing pieces. I'm tired of it and don't want to have to deal with it ever again.

 

[fishykid9212]

A kole tang is a great algae eater but I have never seen them very small.

 

[moga]

small foxface will do the job really well....
try and trade the fish after you get rid of all the algae..

good luck~

 

[redvipe2010]

Who Cares

Who Cares

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7996760#post7996760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishyLover
Who cares what other people think! You gotta try stuff and it might work for you. At one time we had a temp 10g with 7 seahorses in it... HAHA! They all lived fine and ate like crazy. I think maybe a hippo tang would work ok. Maybe a tiny scopus or yellow tang. My friend has a scopus in her 12g nano and it's been in there for a long time!

Who Cares what people think? Ever think about the tang? Stick with the nano fish, lets not be cruel to a tang.

 

[cyenna]

I personally do not have any experience with raising tangs and it is to my understanding that they need "space to cruise".... However, considering you will move it to a bigger tank, i don't see why not keep one in a 10g temporarily, think of it as an extended quarantine? I have a friend who keeps two half-inch (give or tank) tangs in a 30 gallon. If you think of the proportionality (is that a word?), the small tangs have quite a bit of space to swim in. He, of course, plans on moving them to a bigger tank eventually too. So, if it is a guarantee that you will be getting a teeny tiny tang and that that tang will be in a bigger tank soon then I say go for it.

 

[DarkXerox]

How bout just dropping your phosphate levels to where the algae dies off?

Hippo tangs generally do not eat much algal matter and yellow tangs are a roll of the dice when it comes to some types of macro. Plus tangs have been shown to grow at very fast rates under non-restrictive conditions, so no reason to stick it in a small cage.

Best off with a rabbitfish since they tend to love caulpera, but keep in mind they get huge (7 inches plus) and are venomous.

As for your 55g, I wouldn't consider anything besides than a kole or yellow tang. I had a yellow that survived for 4 years in my old 55g, but ever since I upgraded to a 90, it has been way more active and is exhibiting less neurotic behavior.

 

[papagimp]

Re: Who Cares

Re: Who Cares

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8001768#post8001768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redvipe2010
Ever think about the tang?

If everybody thought about the fishes best interests their would be no aquariums, we'd all leave em alone and where they belond, in the ocean. But since we don't, please do try and make the little fishies as comfortable as possible.

 

[poke75]

I had a problem with algae also and I had (and still do in a larger tank) a small yellow tang. It totally decimated the algae. He is fat and happy (or seems so) now in the bigger tank.

 

[nano10]

Well i've decided to go with a tang, now the peoblem is finding a small on. Going to stop at the LFS tonight and see if they can order me one.

 

[Sk8r]

WHat a tang also needs is a LOT of oxygen in the water, or it may suffocate. The danger in this situation is the night time when the plants take up oxygen and breathe out co2. Unless it can eat faster than it breathes, it's going to need some supplemental oxygenation.
I'm a little suspicious that one of the reasons for mysterious tang deaths in small tanks is that the nano tanks don't have that violent a water-passage and the oxygen content is not that high.

 

[DarkXerox]

If you are so set on a tang, why not just get it when you get the new tank and have it take care of the caulpera in there? That way the chance of it dying is much lower.

 

[nano10]

Because i don't want to loose any more of my zoa's and other corals that have died because of the macroalgae. It suffocates anything it raps around.