Tangs for 125 gallon

Z

Zosyn

New member
I have a 125g (72"x18"x23") and I am wanting to introduce Tangs.

Currently I have a Chromis, a pair of clowns and a PJ Cardinal.

What tangs would be ok for this size tank? and how many tangs total?

I want to introduce them all at once to minimize aggression so just trying to get this all sorted out before I make an order from the LFS.
 
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Zosyn said:
I was thinking Tomini Tang and a Blue tang for starters.
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No. Pacific Blue Tangs don't fit in a 125, they need at least 8ft length of swimming room as an adult. Species that fit would include- Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens), Purple Tang (Zebrasoma Xanthurum) Lemonpeel Mimic Tang (Acanthurus Pyoferus), Eibli Mimic Tang (Acanthurus Tristis), Vroliki Mimic Tang (Acanthurus Chronixis), Convict Tang (Acanthurus Triostegus), Lavender Tang (Acanthurus Nigrofuscus), and any tang from the genus Ctenochaetus, thge bristletooth tangs, which includes 9 species.
 
Yellow, Kole, Tomini, and Mimic Tangs will all do great in a 125. Some have put a Purple and Blue Tangs in smaller tanks, but I would recommend at least a 180 for them.
 
I've seen Pacific Blue Tangs in just about every tank length there is, starting from a 20gal nano (unacceptable), going up to public aquarium sized, and the ones it seems the happiest in are 7-8ft+ standard dimension rectangles, 6 x 6ft+ square, circles with a diameter of 7ft+, and public aquariums (no duh, TONS of swimming space there). A Purple Tang would do just fine in a 125 gallon, but it would be aggressive towards other tangs and possibly other fish. A Yellow Tang would be fine, and would probably get along with other tangs if introduced simultaneously, the mimic tangs are fine, again, introduce simultaneously. Ctenochaetus Tangs would all fit too, as the largest gets to just under a foot, and they are just so darn cool not to fit. A Convict or Lavender Tang would mostly fit, I've seen both full grown in a 150gal 4ft x 3ft tank with no pacing or swimming back and forth the length of the tank, and they actually looked comfortable. The convict grows to 10.5in and the Lavender to 8.5in.
 
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Purple tang. Amazing fish. Powder blue would be a great choice as well. But if I could get only one, I'd get a purple.

And Genera, you really know your stuff, but I'm getting tired of googling those scientific names! Throw us noobs the common name once in a while.... :)
 
brett559 said:
Purple tang. Amazing fish. Powder blue would be a great choice as well. But if I could get only one, I'd get a purple.

And Genera, you really know your stuff, but I'm getting tired of googling those scientific names! Throw us noobs the common name once in a while.... :)
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The scientific names are preferable for some of us! :beer: Especially when compared to off the wall common names. :headwally:
 
Wow! Thanks for the great info!
I hear convicts can be agressive. Any word of caution on these?

After all this info I am leaning towards the Tomini and either a lavender or convict. What are your thoughts on this?
 
brett559 said:
And Genera, you really know your stuff, but I'm getting tired of googling those scientific names! Throw us noobs the common name once in a while.... :)
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Lol ok. I used to only know one scientific name, Zebrasoma Flavescens (Yellow Tang), and I used to think it was the greatest thing in the world! Now I realized it's not that great of an achievement compared to what I know now. I'll include common names too now

:rollface::rollface::rollface:
 
snorvich said:
Especially when compared to off the wall common names. :headwally:
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I know right! I have no idea what to call Acanthurus Pyroferus. Is it a lemonpeel mimic tang, mimic tang, yellow mimic tang, chocolate tang, or any of those but with surgeonfish instead of tang. And are Paracanthurus Hepatus blue tangs, regal tangs, pacific blue tangs, hippo tangs, blue hippo tangs, hepatus tangs, blue hepatus tangs, or again any of those with surgeonfish at the end. I'll just include one of the common names in parenthesis when I refer to scientific names.

This thread is getting off-topic, what were we trying to figure out, pufferfish in a 10 gallon?
 
Zosyn said:
I hear convicts can be agressive. Any word of caution on these?
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I don't find them to be particularly aggressive. Certainly not in the same class with an Achilles or powder blue. I have a convict in a 90 with a chevron and naso and its a model citizen.
 
ca1ore said:
I don't find them to be particularly aggressive. Certainly not in the same class with an Achilles or powder blue. I have a convict in a 90 with a chevron and naso and its a model citizen.
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Why do you have a naso in a 90 gallon? And the convict and sort of the chevron as well? I just don't see an 18in fish having enough space in a 48in tank.
 
Thanks guys! I think I am going to go with a Sohal and every species in Genus Naso. Should fit right? =P

just kidding! I think I am leaning towards the Convict and Tomini. What do you guys think?
 
Genera said:
Why do you have a naso in a 90 gallon? And the convict and sort of the chevron as well? I just don't see an 18in fish having enough space in a 48in tank.
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Well, it's there for a number of reasons. First of all, it's 4 inches, not 18 :lol:. Second, it was in my 265 but got the proverbial stuffing beaten out of it by the resident tangs (none of them are 18" either). Once it gets a bit of size, I shall reattempt. But for now, it's fine in the 'grow out' 90. As for the convict, I've kept them for many years, and none of mine got much past 6". Not sure how long you've been in the hobby, but I think you will find with a bit of experience that very few fish actually attain their wild size in captivity. Doesn't mean one should crowd them, of course, but even tangs I've had in the past for over 10 years didn't get wild large. I think the RC suggestions for tang tank sizes are good ones; even if we all probably 'push' them a bit.
 
Zosyn said:
just kidding! I think I am leaning towards the Convict and Tomini. What do you guys think?
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Good choices, though convicts tend to come in on the thin side (at least, all mine have) so you have to feed them a lot to get weight back on. More so even than other tangs, they're eating machines. My current one was eating Mysis, brine, LRS but not putting on any weight. Wasn't until I finally got it to eat nori that things turned around. So, be prepared to feed and feed and feed.
 
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