I have a 120g tank with a small sailfin. I am looking to add a Naso from my LFS soon. The Naso is about the same size fish as the sailfin. I was told that they would work out their differences in my tank, because of the size they could have each their own territory to claim. I was also told by the owner of my LFS that I could have up to 4-5 Tangs in my size tank. I know that I should add the most aggressive one last. Any suggestions on what other tangs would go well with my stocking list? Also, what order should I add the suggested tangs? I would like a variety of fish in my tank, so maybe that would include trying to look for other fish to add, other than the tangs.
Tangs (Need advice on adding multiples)
- Thread starter brad2157
- Start date
4-5 tangs in a 125 would be too many. The sailfin can get pretty big on its own also.
I have a Sailfin and a Tomini in my 210g and will probably leave it at that. They get along now but at the beginning the sailfin got the worse of it for awhile. They fought pretty good for the first few days even with 6ft of tank to dart across....
Check out the fish forum and the sticky at the top about Difficult and Special Care Species List. It lists some good info on certain fish
Fish
I have a Sailfin and a Tomini in my 210g and will probably leave it at that. They get along now but at the beginning the sailfin got the worse of it for awhile. They fought pretty good for the first few days even with 6ft of tank to dart across....
Check out the fish forum and the sticky at the top about Difficult and Special Care Species List. It lists some good info on certain fish
Fish
shaginwagon13
Chartered Accountant
+1
I had a Naso and powder blue in my tank and i wouldn't even think of adding another.
A 120 is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too small for 4-5 tangs, if you wanna have that many you would need at least a 350+ gallon tank in my opinion
I wasn't really thinking of adding that many tangs. It was just what the owner of one of my LFS had told me today while I was there getting some RO water. I did want to try to add another tang to the tank. I really think the owner is quite incorrect at suggesting things though after this. I am new and still learning (hence posting in the New to Hobby), but am learning new stuff and trying to soak it all up like a sponge. Thanks for the input guys.
shaginwagon13
Chartered Accountant
Its no problem. Try to research the fish you want and if a fish can grow to 6,7,8+ inches you are getting into pretty large fish for aquariums so usually 1 can work in an aquarium under 150 gallons. over 200 gallons you can usually have 2....the tanks that have 4+ tangs are the beauty dream tanks that everyone wants that are over 300-350+ gallons.
Its too bad that your LFS gives you info like that it just makes it that much harder/frustrating to try and learn but there are alot of smart people on this forum so if you post here I'm sure you'll get the info your looking for.
Its too bad that your LFS gives you info like that it just makes it that much harder/frustrating to try and learn but there are alot of smart people on this forum so if you post here I'm sure you'll get the info your looking for.
Yeah, I will definitely research it more and it is really a shame that the LSF gives me advice like they do. There is another, larger LFS, so I will probably start getting local advice from them before I go back to the LFS that gave me the horribly incorrect information. I really appreciate the input, that's the reason I asked to begin with. To get other peoples personal experiences and knowledge. This board has been a great help to me starting up. Thanks again for the help 
Tswifty
New member
True you can fit multiple tangs in a 120... just not those ones. Those are some of the big guys. As someone mentioned above, researching your interests prior to purchase is always a good idea.
Don't take last statement the wrong way, because we've all been there and made those mistakes at one point or another. Whether we care to admit it or not.
That being said... I see no problem with 2 or 3 Tangs in the Zebrasoma, Ctenochaetus, and maybe even one from the Acanthurus genus in a tank of your size.
Personally I would remove the Sailfin... not only do they get fairly large, but most I have had experience with are also EXTREMELY aggressive.
Don't take last statement the wrong way, because we've all been there and made those mistakes at one point or another. Whether we care to admit it or not.
That being said... I see no problem with 2 or 3 Tangs in the Zebrasoma, Ctenochaetus, and maybe even one from the Acanthurus genus in a tank of your size.
Personally I would remove the Sailfin... not only do they get fairly large, but most I have had experience with are also EXTREMELY aggressive.
I had a sailfin and a chocolate tang in a 150 along with two smaller angels(coral beauty, rusty) and a dragon wrasse. They all got along fine after the first few days of establishing territories. I have to say that my sailfin was definately the bully of the bunch, though. I just lost all of them to ICH after adding a blenny(dumb mistake of not QT'ing). I am looking to start fresh with a chocolate tang and achilles tang, as they are a little smaller of the surgeonfish.
Ok, I have decided that I want to add 1 tang only to my tank. I know that the sailfin I currently have will get pretty big and outgrow my tank, but I have decided to keep him since I just bought him. He is kinda small around 3.5"-4" now. I will keep him until he grows too big for my tank (which the LFS said would be a while), at which I will trade in at the LFS or sell to someone with a larger tank. I have talked to every LFS around my area and all are not opposed to adding a 2nd tang in my tank, given the size of my sailfin and the size of my tank. They all say that they do not know how the sailfin would act with another tang in the tank. I have only had the sailfin in the tank since Saturday (3 days now). Everyone suggested that if I were to add another tang, now would be the time to do it before the sailfin gets territory established. I am currently researching and looking for a smaller species of tang, other than the one I originally wanted (Naso tang), since it gets very large. I appreciate all the help and the input.
cdness
Premium Member
I have two tang in my 75G and I know they'll outgrow it sooner or later which is why an upgrade will be on my list in the near future.
I see "new to saltwater/reef (Just setup saltwater tank on May 16, 2009)" in your sig... keep an eye on those parameters as it might be too soon to be adding livestock to the tank. The LFS will sell you anything, ready or not... One quick thing you'll learn is take it slow with this hobby or you will run into issues...
I see "new to saltwater/reef (Just setup saltwater tank on May 16, 2009)" in your sig... keep an eye on those parameters as it might be too soon to be adding livestock to the tank. The LFS will sell you anything, ready or not... One quick thing you'll learn is take it slow with this hobby or you will run into issues...
jenglish
Marquis de Carabas
Your LFS can be great. Just realize they have a bias, and many of them see only the small fish they have and not the full size adult. If you ask a car dealer if you need a new car.... he is going to say yes. If you ask a LFS if you should buy an expensive fish... they are generally gonna want to sell it to ya.
CDNESS, I am not that stupid to just set up a tank and start dumping fish in it. The tank was just setup on May 16th at MY house". It is a established tank and has been set up for 3 years before being set up at my house. I bought it, moved everything (including all the original tank water) and re-setup at my house.
I do understand that some LFS just want to sell you anything in the store to make a buck. I have one around me that is like that. I do however, have some really great LFS that offer great advice and love to have happy, repeat customers too. I talked with the owner of that store and he said he had 4 tangs in a tank smaller than mine. He did not recommend the Naso because it is a fast grower. He did say there was absolutely nothing wrong with adding another tang, as long as it was a species that was not going to grow too quickly like the Naso. He said his tangs have been in the same tank for 8 years at his house and they are still plenty fine to keep in the same tank.
I do understand that some LFS just want to sell you anything in the store to make a buck. I have one around me that is like that. I do however, have some really great LFS that offer great advice and love to have happy, repeat customers too. I talked with the owner of that store and he said he had 4 tangs in a tank smaller than mine. He did not recommend the Naso because it is a fast grower. He did say there was absolutely nothing wrong with adding another tang, as long as it was a species that was not going to grow too quickly like the Naso. He said his tangs have been in the same tank for 8 years at his house and they are still plenty fine to keep in the same tank.
Sorry CDNESS, didn't mean to come off rude. I should have known that someone would see that in my Hobby Experience and think that I just set up the tank new from nothing. I need to go correct it, so I won't have any more confusion about it. Thanks for your input on my question though
I did a little looking around and talked to all the LFS's around my area and ended up bringing a Powder Blue tang home today and added with my sailfin. Before some of you send me stuff saying I don't agree with doing that..or what the h#ll are you thinking, I do understand everyone has different experiences about their personal tanks. I asked around a lot and bugged several guys at the LFS to get some recommendations as well as what you guys had posted to my thread. The sailfin and powder blue were getting along great since I added him in today. I can tell they are curious about each other, but I did have not noticed any signs of aggression so far between them. I change my mind a lot on things, so I am sure before they get too large for my tank, that I will have already gotten rid of them and replaced with something different (for all of you who think I will be keeping them indefintely). I don't plan to have them in there once they get to a mature size. They are both pretty small now at around 3.5" or so.
