Tangs in a 30 gallon?

[Germanman]

poor powder blue they are always so abused:huh:

 

[USCavalry19d]

Here's a nifty article I came across recently that matches tangs to their appropriate minimum tank size. Pretty useful when looking for stocking ideas. <cut and paste below>



Which tangs for What size of Tank
1. Tangs are not good choices for newly set up aquaria. To thrive they need a stable environment with pristine water conditions. Anyone thinking their newly set up aquarium is stable is invited to read through the following thread:
Maturity Issues

2. Tangs are medium to large, active fish that need plenty of space. On the question of tank sizes, we defer to Scott W. Michael, who recommends the following minimum sizes in Marine Fishes, 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, Microcosm Ltd., 1999:


1. Acanthurus achilles, Achilles Surgeonfish, 100 gal (380l).
2. Acanthurus coeruleus, Atlantic Blue Tang, 75 gal (285l).
3. Acanthurus japonicus, Powder Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).
4. Acanthurus leucosternon, Powder Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).
5. Acanthurus lineatus, Lined or Clown Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).
6. Acanthurus nigricans, Whitecheek Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
7. Acanthurus olivaceus, Orangeshoulder Surgeonfish, 135 gal (510l).
8. Acanthurus pyroferus, Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
9. Acanthurus sohal, Sohal Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).
10. Acanthurus tristegus, Convict Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
11. Acanthurus tristis, Indian Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
12. Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, Chevron Tang, 100 gal (380l).
13. Ctenochaetus strigosus, Kole's Tang, 75 gal (285l).
14. Naso brevirostris, Spotted Unicornfish, 180 gal (685l).
15. Naso lituratus, Orangespine Unicornfish or Naso Tang, 135 gal (510l).
16. Naso unicornis, Bluespine Unicornfish, 200 gal (760l).
17. Paracanthurus hepatus, Pacific Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).
18. Zebrasoma desjardinii, Indian Ocean or Red Sea Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).
19. Zebrasoma flavescens, Yellow Tang, 75 gal (285l).
20. Zebrasoma scopas, Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).
21. Zebrasoma veliferum, Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).
22. Zebrasoma xanthurum, Purple Tang, 100 gal (380l).


You will note that none of these minimum sizes are less than 75 gallons. If you have a tang in a smaller tank, you should expect that some people will give you a hard time about it. Expressing outrage about that could result in suspension of your posting privileges. We are not, BTW, giving a free pass to the self-styled "Tang Police" to be abusive.

3. The above sizes assume a standard rectangular shape with plenty of open swimming space. If your tank is full to the brim with coral, your tang won't be happy. Tanks 125G or larger are assumed to be at least six feet long (approx. two meters). Where possible, choose longer rather than deeper shapes. While smaller species may be OK in a four foot tank, they will probably do better in a five foot or longer tank.

4. We do not condone the practice of keeping more than one specimen of the same or very similar species together in the same aquarium, except possibly for Zebrasoma species in a very large tank.

5. If you wish to keep multiple dissimilar tangs in the same aquarium, we recommend you have an aquarium significantly larger than the sizes listed above.

We can all sit here and argue about who is right and who isnt on the topic of Tangs and the size tanks they require. I see that this article above states a 75 as the minimum however, i believe that it is more of a judgement call since other sites say 55 is a minimum size as these sites do:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/marine/ytang.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1875&articleid=2050

 

[darkcirca]

Hmm.... the LFS has a powerder blue tang in a.. 10-15 gallon tank w/ a goby I think. They said they would sell it soon. I don't plan on getting tangs unless I get a bigger tank

I hate seeing this happen. I recently acquired a Yellow Tang (around 2") because I felt so bad for it. They stocked it with probably 10-15 False Percula's in a 10gl tank. It's hard to pass up a poor creature like that sometimes. I hope he works out okay now, as he's only in a 56gl, he seems really happy though with his new cleaner shrimp friend.

Most hope to sell soon, maybe thats why I got mine for $30...

 

[5xevy]

Here's the rest of that thread from post 9 if anyone's interested.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=739380

 

[Reefscape]

It is quite an interesting read really, i love tang debates..

Its one of them issues that is always going to be around on marine keeper forums..I do this and works fine, the fish is happy...then someone else chimes in and says "how do you know the fish is happy in a small tank?"...

What a lot of people have to remember is that there are varying opinions about tang fish all over the world, not just in the US..I say this as i am on forums in the US and UK. Just because one person states that they have one and it is doing fine ( or so they presume ) does not neccesarily make that the golden rule and everybody should abide by it..

A prime example is the debate about tank size for a specific type of tang..When a person states that a powder blue tang should not go into a tank less than 100gal, the person states that from his own knowledge and experience, but that does not make it a golden rule...

I think what it all boils down to is personal opinions and when someone states an opinion, other people should not get jumping on the others back straight away saying..." You cant do that, i can say that you cant, because i know so " is not really a fair opinion to present on a board.

How-ever, i do agree that there are times when people do need jumping on, when it comes to buying fish that documented stats prove, should not be kept in a tank just because they plan to upgrade in the future..The future is an uncertain thing that no-one can predict. If you only have a tank that is 30gallon, ONLY buy fish that are the correct size for that tank..dont use the minimum rule, think about the adult size of the fish....If it was deemed acceptable, everybody would be going out and buying a powder blue or regal and putting it in their nano cubes and say "its fine because i am going to buy a bigger tank in a year or so"....

We have a duty, to the fish, corals and inverts we keep, to provide them with the best enviroment possible, not a make do system....

This is all of course just my own opinion..

Niko

 

[drobes]

I actually pulled that excerpt from a thread on saltwaterfish.com's forums not reefcentral, but I guess it gets around as the list is from Scott Michael's marine bible book.

I agree that any reference list such as this is a generalization and not necessarily applicable to every situation. However, I still believe it is very useful because using a reference combined with your own common sense will yeild better decisions than just going off common sense (or lack there-of) alone.

 

[Germanman]

u can keep a baby in a smaller tank but it will grow...so its fine if u have 350 gallon waiting for them like i do...lol otherwise its not the best to go below 70 really with most tangs. i really agree with everyone on that its such a personal preference thing

 

[5xevy]

I actually pulled that excerpt from a thread on saltwaterfish.com's forums not reefcentral, but I guess it gets around as the list is from Scott Michael's marine bible book.

Sorry about that. I just saw the same thing on these boards a week or two ago linked to reefcentral- didn't know it was from Scott Michael's book.

I really think the Tang debate will never end. There is one thing I mostly agree with though for almost all Tangs from that excerpt:

Where possible, choose longer rather than deeper shapes.

In my experience most Tangs like to swim a lot back and forth and, depending on the Tang, some with high velocity! Some people might think that Tangs don't belong in a 33G tank but those same Tangs could go in a 120G tank. It's interesting to note that one can go out and purchase a ~48" 33G long and a ~48" 120G. While the 120G has almost 4x the volume, they're still the same length. The same with a 36" 65G. According to the above statement, if one were to prefer longer rather than deeper shapes then a 48" 33G long would be better than a 36" 65G, right? No wait, that can't be right because it's still under 75G.

My point is that there are just so many variables out there (tank size/length, adult size of said Tang, Tang genus, other tankmates, etc.). What one person does with their Tangs or fish, another person would never even consider doing. I see it on the freshwater forums too. Some people really like the understocked look whereas others admit they 'overstock' but have "excellent filtration" with constant and permanent water exchange and their fish "seem happy." Ever see the goldfish and betta debates?

I really think it's never-ending. I think almost anyone would agree that one can never really go too large with a tank. But I'm sure the Tang (and others!) debate will always be around.

 

[BBN]

I have a yellow in my 75g and he uses every inch of it. 5xevy is right. Length is much better than depth for tanks. These little guys are open swimmers as opposed to many fish that just like to find a rock to hang near.