Yellow Tangs and sterilisers

Cornishlass

New member
I would love a yellow tang. And i know it will out grow a 390 ltr tank. So would need moving on. But I was told you have to have a uv steriliser with tangs. Is this correct?
 
Not correct! Whomever is telling you this doesn't know what they're talking about. I imagine it stems from the faulty assumption that a UV controls parasites like ich. It does not. Tank size, however, is a legitimate concern.
 
Thank you. Would you say it's a no go getting a young tang and moving on when larger?

The problem with that mentality is often times, people don't end up getting the bigger tank that they originally planned. It's always better to plan for what you have now, rather than what you may, possibly, end up getting a year or two from now. And getting an established Tang out of a tank is a lot easier said than done, especially if you plan on having a lot of coral in the tank.

A Yellow-eyed Kole Tang should work well in that size tank. And you didn't hear this for me, but I've read other guys had good luck with Yellow Tangs in tanks even smaller than yours. But bigger is always better when it comes to Tangs.

And while UV sterilization won't eliminate nasty parasites, I believe it does help tremendously in preventing an outbreak if you already have the parasite in the tank. Of course it all depends on the power of the UV and water flow rate. And preventing the parasite from entering the Display in the first place by using proper quarantine is always the ideal.
 
I have kept juvenile tangs in smaller aquariums, trading them in when they got larger (as have many others), but it does entail some risk, and they can grow very quickly, meaning the time you get to enjoy them can be rather limited.

The UV stuff is B.S. - quarantine them (and all other fish) properly, and it is not necessary...
 
I'll be pushing it a tad myself planning a blue hippo in a 7 foot tank. However, think of it this way... Tangs are open water swimmers. I was stationed in Hawaii and LOVED watching the yellow tangs. They are all over the reef.

It's not so much their "size", but the room to swim and even a juvenile would rather have that room. They need to swim. That said, I'm not the tang police and still learning myself, and not about to say it can't work.

Ever see "Finding Nemo"? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. That's a tang :)
 
Thanks everyone. Whilst I love the look of most tangs. I do not want to do wrong by my fish. If i can't have a tang. Then I will just have to admire them wgen I see them. I do love the yellow eyed kole also. But I know head needs to rule heart. And yes I have watched finding Nemo far too much!
 
Not correct! Whomever is telling you this doesn't know what they're talking about. I imagine it stems from the faulty assumption that a UV controls parasites like ich. It does not. Tank size, however, is a legitimate concern.

This.
 
I think there is every reason to believe that a properly functioning UV will kill any ich parasites that pass through the unit, thus reducing the number of parasites. It's the logical leap that this means a potential outbreak will be blunted somehow that I doubt. I have ich in my system, and running versus not running my UV makes no observable differences.
 
I think there is every reason to believe that a properly functioning UV will kill any ich parasites that pass through the unit, thus reducing the number of parasites. It's the logical leap that this means a potential outbreak will be blunted somehow that I doubt. I have ich in my system, and running versus not running my UV makes no observable differences.

The problem is that not all water passes by the UV. If multiple tanks share water, isolating with UV (properly configured) will keep parasites from spreading to connected tanks.
 
I think there is every reason to believe that a properly functioning UV will kill any ich parasites that pass through the unit, thus reducing the number of parasites. It's the logical leap that this means a potential outbreak will be blunted somehow that I doubt. I have ich in my system, and running versus not running my UV makes no observable differences.

I think you may be on to something. I have ich in my system as well, but only my Powder Blue Tang and Labout's Fairy Wrasse ever show any symptoms (a handful of white spots at worst). Most of the time all the fish look completely healthy.

I run my UV filter 24/7, but a couple months back, I shut it off for a week and a half to dose Prazi-pro. I saw a couple white spots on the Labout's and PBT, but definitely no outbreak. So I can't say with absolute certainty one way or another how much it helps or doesn't. But it does help me sleep easier at night.
 
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