2 tangs in a 55 gal?

donahue

donahue

Member
I recently bought a 55 gal. tank and it is now time to start filling it with fish. The fish i want are:
1 cleaner wrasse
2 common clown fish
1 yellow tang
1 regal tang
The question i have for you guys is if this is too many fish and will the tangs be to cramped? also i have read several different descriptions of these tangs where they list theirs sizes ranging from 3 inches to 10 inches. help me out guys!
 
fishtanker

fishtanker

Member
only 1 yellow tang in a 55gal..even that might be a little tight. Another suggestion would be to axe the cleaner wrasse..not a good canidate for capitivity, needs specialized feeding.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
You can substitute 2 Neon Gobies for the Wrasse.
A pair of Clownfish is A+ :)
Yellow tang could work but have you considered a Kole Tang? They're not the open water swimmers that the other Tangs are.
Regal Tangs usually don't survive long term in 4 foot tanks.
Consider a Coral Beauty.
 
marvida

marvida

Member
I just wanted to make a comment on the quality responses to this thread. Alternatives are listed in addition to reasons why. No flames just good info. IMO this is what we need to see more of!
Sorry for the hijack, Donahue, Good Luck!
 
donahue

donahue

Member
thankks for the suggestions! the wrasses sound like a must and im undecided on the whole tang situation, but your thoughts are a big influence.
 
avbryce1

avbryce1

Member

Originally posted by MarVida
I just wanted to make a comment on the quality responses to this thread. Alternatives are listed in addition to reasons why. No flames just good info. IMO this is what we need to see more of!
Sorry for the hijack, Donahue, Good Luck!
:yes: :yes: :yes:
 
liontamer

liontamer

Member
Dude, believe me, no flame intended, bt stick to a different tang, cuz a regal tang in a 55 would only be trouble on yer part. It will most likely develop ich and kill off yer whole tank, and u dont want that. So, yea, sticking with a kole tang would be really nice. Yellows are pushing it, but I had one myself in a 55 for a while, and now hes boarding in a 30 until he gets to go to the 120:D Poor little guy, but hes toughing it out.
 
lionfish12

lionfish12

Active Member
NO!!! no tangs.. maybe a yellow, thats all... i learned about having tangs in small tanks.. Im finaly learning my lession. :D
 
M

markymark

Guest

Originally posted by viet-tin
I never had problems with my cleaner wrasse...he was a pig, he ate EVEYTHING i gave him.
same as Kip, they are pretty much hit or miss, most of the time tho its a miss
 
S

sebae0

Guest
i have to aggree with everything said above i had a cleaner wrasse for 2 years ate anything and died one day with no reason, all other fish fine since then. they are mostly hit or miss and most tangs in a 55 should not be in there long.
 
viet-tin

viet-tin

Active Member
I guess once you get them eating they will eat EVERYTHING. mines ate live brine, clam, fish,shrimp,flakes and even ate lettuce.
 
sammyg

sammyg

Member

Originally posted by Bang Guy
Yellow tang could work but have you considered a Kole Tang? They're not the open water swimmers that the other Tangs are.

Could you elaborate on this a little? I've always wanted a tang for my 45, but didn't think there were any appropriate species. But I looked up some other advice on Kole tangs and it seemed like 70 gallons was a better minimum. Could I handle a yellow or kole tang in my 3 ft long 45 gallon?
My fish stock is:
1 yellow watchman goby
1 b&w clown
2 firefish gobies
Planning a flame angel in a few months
Thanks for the advice in advance,
Sam
 
M

markymark

Guest

Originally posted by SammyG
Could I handle a yellow or kole tang in my 3 ft long 45 gallon?
not comfortably
 
ndpb6b

ndpb6b

Member
I wouldn't recommend the tangs, it's like putting a dog in a tiny pin. But more importantly I would NOT go with the cleaner wrasse. Not b/c they may live or not live very long but more b/c of the concerns of what taking them off of the reefs is doing especially in Hawaii. There is a great book that can expound on this: "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert M. Fenner. The neon gobies will give you the same look and not as sketchy as the cleaner wrasse. You could put in a cleaner shrimp or two to do the parasitic cleaning that the wrasse would do. Do a search in general about the cleaner wrasses and see what you think. As part of being in this hobby being concerned about putting the fishes well being over what we want. I put a lunar wrasse in a 65g when I first started and saw how much he swam and I realized that the 3ft. tank was just mean. I went and bought a 125g and he was as happy as could be.
My 2 cents.
 
mysticgal22

mysticgal22

Member
Okay im sure that someone out there is going to hound me aobut my list, but you know what I do water changes and care for my tank and the fish are happy.
1-yeallow tang
1-blue tang
1- valentine puffer
1-flame angel
1-dog face puffer
many snails and crabs
I have a 72 bow front with a home made filter system that adds an extra 75 gallons of water to the cycle. I do a 10 gallon water change every other week. Everything seems great. So I hear people always saying that its a terrible thing to have 2 tangs together... well not for me its been nothing but wonderful. And always saying that puffers dont mix well with non aggresive fish. So I am saying that anything is poosible. And as long as you can care for your fish and tank u should do just fine. This is my opinion thats all.
 
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