two spot bristletooth tang question

[nightfire]

so who has one or had one. i have looked at a few places online and tons of them say the same thing bout them being peaceful and so on....except minimal tank size they all pretty much say different, from 50g all the way up to 100 i have seen....now i know i could keep one from 1" or so till whatever size in the tank and maybe trade him in as he got bigger and sell him....but what are your thoughts on the fish? thanks guys

 

[NatureNerd]

Here is mine:

He is a model citizen of my 75g, 48" tank. This is as small of a tank as I think this fish needs. Like all tangs, they grow fast. Six months ago I got him when he was the size of a quarter. Now he is about 2" long. He is very peaceful and not quite as hyper as other tangs. He is constantly grazing but mine does not eat Nori.

This fish seems very robust. When I got him, he had ripped fins and they healed in just 2-3 days. I was amazed. I have never seen one of these in captivity bigger than about 6" but, most sites say they get to 8". I may have made a mistake getting one, but I hope not. My tank has no big fish just occ clowns, purple firefish, a DF pipefish, and a tailspot blenny. The tang rules the tank already.

 

[nightfire]

yea.....i want one bad but yea im hearing from others saying dont put him in my 55

 

[NatureNerd]

I think they probably need more room to swim once they get bigger but, I am certainly not an expert on these guys. I don't know anyone else that has ever had one. That, and I have only seen two others in LFS's, ever, and I have been in this hobby for well over twenty years.

 

[snorvich]

Please read this. We recommend a 75 gallon tank for this fish. Please do not buy one hoping to give it away when it gets too large. Size of the fish is not really the issue, it is more that tangs are swimmers and need longish tanks and also that they graze off algae which means a small tank limits available food. Buy fish for the tank you have.

 

[anbosu]

I have one in my 90 but would not put it in a 55. These fish are constantly eating film algae and algae off the rocks and I'm not sure there would be enough in a 55 to sustain it long term, like Steve mentioned.