yellow tang

[Bigworm616]

My friend has a yellow tang that is way too big for his 75 gallon. He asked me what he should do and i told him i would ask and see if anyone wanted it online. So anybody want a healthy 4 inch yellow tang.

[Tyler718]

My friend has a yellow tang that is way too big for his 75 gallon. He asked me what he should do and i told him i would ask and see if anyone wanted it online. So anybody want a healthy 4 inch yellow tang.

I can think of only 2-3 options. Buy a bigger tank, trade it in to a LFS or, give it to somebody.

[AW2EOD]

Where in Chicago do you live? I live on the North side...Clark and Devon area.

I have a 200gal. FOWLR tank, and I'd take the Tang. Is it healthy?

[Cearbhaill]

Hope it happens- I love a happy ending!!

[reefpicker]

4 inch yellow tang

That does not sound too big for a 75g. How do you know the fish is "unhappy"?

[caz]

That does not sound too big for a 75g. How do you know the fish is "unhappy"?

i agree. i had a tang in my 75 about that big. seemes to be doing very well. accept for his aggression towards my eibli

[AW2EOD]

A 90gal. tank is minimum requirements for any type of tang. They can reach lengths of 14". Reefpicker and Caz...if you're planning on keeping your tangs long term, you're going to have to get bigger tanks.

[jessie]

i disagree, i have a freind that has had a yellow tang in a 75 gallon tank for around 3 1/2 years. it is about 6 inches long, very playful and seems to be doing great.

[AW2EOD]

i disagree, i have a freind that has had a yellow tang in a 75 gallon tank for around 3 1/2 years. it is about 6 inches long, very playful and seems to be doing great.

6" long isnt full grown. Research, if you want....or ask other peoples opinions. 90% of people (on this forum, as well as other forums) will tell you that a 55gal. is too small for any type of Tang. If I went and bought a 2" baby Yellow Tang, I could keep it in my 15gal. reef for quite a long time. That doesnt mean that 15gal. is suitable for that fish.

The purpose of this hobby (as well as keeping any other animal) is providing the best environment that you possibly can to keep that fish healthy and happy. The measurements on a 75gal. aquarium are 48W x 18D x 21H. That's only 18" from front to back. You keep a larger fish in that size tank and it's like putting you inside a closet and letting you live there. You may be able to survive, but are you going to be happy and healthy?

I'm not arguing because I want the fish. If I wanted one so bad, I'd go to the fish store and buy one for $20. I'm arguing for the sake of the fish.

[jessie]

im not argueing at all. i was just putting in my 2 cents. i think a 75 is ok, does that mean im wrong? maybe, but not everyone does everything the same. the point of this board is to get everyones opion, not say im right and your wrong. as far as keeping fish in the best enviroment for them, who decides this, you have to tell by observing the fish. watching the individual fish is the only way to tell if its happy or not.

[AW2EOD]

as far as keeping fish in the best enviroment for them, who decides this, you have to tell by observing the fish. watching the individual fish is the only way to tell if its happy or not.

A fish may swim, eat, etc...but unless you can talk directly to that fish, and ask it...you dont know that it's happy and in the best health that it can be in. Just because fish do not show signs of disease or ill-health, doesnt mean they're healthy.

[jessie]

so exactly who decides how much room a fish needs?

[AW2EOD]

No one really "decides" how much room a fish needs. But, it's kinda common sense...

You dont put a fish that get's 15" long into a 55gal. tank (even though it's 48" long). You dont put a fish that gets 3 feet long into a 10 gal tank, even though it may be a 2" juvenile.

If you're going to get a fish...no matter if it's a juvenile or not, you need to make sure you've got enough tank room for it to live through adulthood.

What your saying is basically like saying...."Hey, I'm gonna buy a dog...but it's a puppy, so I'll stick it in a tiny cage and wait till it's cramped and uphappy before I move it to a bigger cage, or get rid of it."

[reefpicker]

Hi,

My point was that at that stage (4-inch?), it seems that the animal does not require an immidiate move to a bigger tank.

While it might be true that tangs will grow to an enormous size, perhaps even in captivity, I do not believe many do so.

In a way, I agree that attempting to assess a fish health status by "looking" at them is not a very responsible and sensible thing. However, what other factors can you use to judge the animal's health?


Just because fish do not show signs of disease or ill-health, doesnt
mean they're healthy.

This statement seems to be contradictory. However, you are on the right track. I assume that you mean to say that the absence of dissease does not always implies that an animal is "healthy".

The bottom line is that a fish might be "healthy" now, and because of whatever conditions it will become sick later. This happens in overcrowding situations, underfeeding, etc.


Finally two thoughts keep crossing my mind and I whish to share them with you...

I can imagine that this tang vs tank problem could be taken a little bit farther and we could say that fish in general should not be kept in tanks. They are not happy because they do not have the space that they have in the ocean! Damsels keep small territories in the wild, but they have a huge an open space all around them that a tank (even a 200g tank) does not provide!

I also think about my visit to C-Quest, a hatchery in the Caribbean. When I saw what a really well fed, healthy, and well-cared false percula look like I felt ashamed. This fish are huge! (and I do mean huge, at least 3 times as long than my female clownfish and 10 times its mass. Almost Goldfish huge) They are also very old!

Truth be told, the longest I have kept any saltwater fish has been 4 or 5 years. I have kept freshwater fish for a little bit longer, perhaps about 10 years.

So, I stand by my statement. 4 inch tang in 75g tank should not be a problem as long as the rest of the conditions for good SW husbandry are met.

[mogurnda]

Just wanted to note a few things.

First, thanks to all for keeping the discussion very civil. If any of you have witnessed a "tang police" flame war, you will know what I'm talking about. This is the main reason I really like hanging out here.

Second, tangs vary in their maximum size. According to FishBase, yellow tangs max out at 8" in the wild. I have no idea if that means they'll be "happy" in a 75.

[caz]

i do not think that yellow tangs get 14", especially in captivity. also, a 90 will just give you added height, and i dont think that will help much.

[mogurnda]

i do not think that yellow tangs get 14", especially in captivity. also, a 90 will just give you added height, and i dont think that will help much.If fishbase says 8", I believe it.

[AW2EOD]

i do not think that yellow tangs get 14", especially in captivity. also, a 90 will just give you added height, and i dont think that will help much.

I wasnt saying that Yellow Tangs get to be 14"...I was just stating that there are speices of Tangs (in general) that will be 14" full grown. I think a Yellow Tang will max out at 8" - 10", in a tank....but even then, a 75gal. is too small.

[Bigworm616]

hey, what i meant by unhappy is that my friend is straped for cash and he cant afford to keep the tank in the state it should be. So who ever asked my why it wasnt happy, relax, its a figure of speech. Feel free not to analyze everything i say. Oh yeah and 75 is too small for a tang, because tangs get bigger or die.And last time i checked he wasnt planning on getting a new tank.