Am I a member of the "Tang Police"?

srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
This is a great topic, with many well thought & written posts. When this thread dies of natural causes; I'm hoping to get the same great minds working on another topic that I feel strongly about: I feel it is almost impossible for the pet trade to have any significant effect on the populations of marine fish. (Yes, there are exceptions) I think the idea that 'nature abhors really applies to reef fish. Example: if a diver takes all the Emperor Angels he can from a section of reef and returns a year later, roughly same number of Emperor Angels will again be there. Please lets not start this thread going that way (yeah, then I shouldn't have opened my yap) on this thread...just food for thought, I'll post a new thread soon.
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2479317
This is a great topic, with many well thought & written posts. When this thread dies of natural causes; I'm hoping to get the same great minds working on another topic that I feel strongly about: I feel it is almost impossible for the pet trade to have any significant effect on the populations of marine fish. (Yes, there are exceptions) I think the idea that 'nature abhors really applies to reef fish. Example: if a diver takes all the Emperor Angels he can from a section of reef and returns a year later, roughly same number of Emperor Angels will again be there. Please lets not start this thread going that way (yeah, then I shouldn't have opened my yap) on this thread...just food for thought, I'll post a new thread soon.
That's an interesting topic as well, and if/when you start a thread I'll gladly contribute.

BTW, thanks again to everyone for contributing, the conversation has certainly relaxed my initial "shock" from all the tang threads this past week.

I'd still be interested in reading more, if anyone has any data to provide.
 
crashbandicoot

crashbandicoot

Active Member
I was sitting here trying to figure out how to run an experamint to determin the health and hapieness of yellow tangs in different systems . I would be interested to see the results . My idea needs three tanks . I'm gonna say a 29 a 75 and a125 . Get three YT of the same size . and try to mimic the same settings in each tank and see what kind of results we would get ?
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Originally Posted by Crashbandicoot
http:///forum/post/2479339
I was sitting here trying to figure out how to run an experamint to determin the health and hapieness of yellow tangs in different systems . I would be interested to see the results . My idea needs three tanks . I'm gonna say a 29 a 75 and a125 . Get three YT of the same size . and try to mimic the same settings in each tank and see what kind of results we would get ?
Honestly, if I had the money I would do it...
 
A

allenk

Guest
I am not a tang nazi, nor do I subscribe to the idea that a 500 gallon tank is necessary. There clearly is a minimum size of tang that is required to raise a healthy tang. However, I think it is up to debate what that size is. I kept a regal tang for 3 years in an 80-90 gallon tank before giving a very healthy specimen away because I moved out of state. The fish never had ich or any other sign of stress/disease.
One could make the argument that living in an 80-90 gallon tank did not allow the fish to live to its full potential. After all, the tang is an open ocean living fish that finds a patch of algae, devours it and moves on. Well, if that is the argument, then no tank size available to the home hobbyist would be big enough.
A little common sense needs to be applied. Obviously a fish that is going to grow to be 18 inches can't be kept in a 55 gallon tank long term. However, not all tangs are going to require a 150 gallon monster.
 
coachklm

coachklm

Active Member
I would like to thank all the posters in this thread... The most debated and heated arguments on this forum are generally about this topic. this thread has lots of information and points of view (opinions) I am thanking you all for not singling each other out and atacking their opinions, this has (and I'm sure will continue to be) a very democratic debate and you all have approached it with open minds and kind words...thats how a thread survives..

Thx again. -Coach
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by coachKLM
http:///forum/post/2479426
I would like to thank all the posters in this thread... The most debated and heated arguments on this forum are generally about this topic. this thread has lots of information and points of view (opinions) I am thanking you all for not singling each other out and atacking their opinions, this has (and I'm sure will continue to be) a very democratic debate and you all have approached it with open minds and kind words...thats how a thread survives..

Thx again. -Coach
Now if we can just get back to discussing the most humane way of getting rid of damsels>
 
slycoolman

slycoolman

Member
I agree, and though this will be the second time I have learned this... once on the other forum, and once now... an open mind is the best way to deal with things like these. JMO.
 
lizzy

lizzy

Member
So what would you say to someone that wanted to get a tang that was small and keep it till it was to big for the tank that they have and then trade it in for a different fish? Of course you would have to take into consideration the size of tank verses size of fish and all that fun stuff...I understand that at full grown size a 55 gal tank would be way to small...but for a tang under 2 inches seems to me it would have enough room to roam at that size...just wondering.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by Lizzy
http:///forum/post/2482821
So what would you say to someone that wanted to get a tang that was small and keep it till it was to big for the tank that they have and then trade it in for a different fish? Of course you would have to take into consideration the size of tank verses size of fish and all that fun stuff...I understand that at full grown size a 55 gal tank would be way to small...but for a tang under 2 inches seems to me it would have enough room to roam at that size...just wondering.

IMO, nobody has the right to say "you can't do that". But, getting rid of a fish you've gotten attached to isn't easy and getting any fish out of many tanks is a frustrating, stress-inducing (on both you & the fish) job. IMO, look at some other fish. There are so many suitable wrasse, dwarf angels, etc etc, etc that would work well.
 
crashbandicoot

crashbandicoot

Active Member
I dont know I just dont understand why you would want to get a fish that you can't keep all its life . expecting to trade it in when it gets too big is a risky idea . what if they wont take it back when its too big ? What if the LFS closes between now and then ?
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by Crashbandicoot
http:///forum/post/2482870
I dont know I just dont understand why you would want to get a fish that you can't keep all its life . expecting to trade it in when it gets too big is a risky idea . what if they wont take it back when its too big ? What if the LFS closes between now and then ?
Yeah, I never hear this about triggers, groupers, puffers, large angels, etc. Tangs either have some mystical hold on some folks; or, like my son, they just can't resist the challenge of being told something is a bad idea. (Like the time he moved the trampoline under the live-oak in Mississippi and started climbing....
 
lizzy

lizzy

Member
(dont read in a defensive tone...for thats not how it was written just one of wanting to understand...thank you) I dont want to be rude but that didnt answer my question at all...i wasnt asking if i could get it out of the tank or wondering if i would get attached to it. I was wondering if the fish would do well in a smaller tank when its at a smaller size? or does say a 2 inch fish need the same swimming space as a 10 inch fish? thats my main question. It would be up to me to catch it and to say a loving goodbye to a fish that I was able to keep healty and have a good life with me for as long as I had it. and it would be up to the next person that bought it to give it a good life from there. do you see what i'm saying? It would be the resposibility of the owner of the fish to do what is best for it. Thats the whole point everyone has been trying to make on this thread after all isnt it? So the question i had was if a smaller tang would be healthy in a smaller tank? (as long as you were responisble for its needs when it got bigger? whatever method that would be)
 
1boatnut

1boatnut

Member
Lizzy,
IMO I don't think it would be an issue. My Tang is healty,and not in it's final home. As a matter of fact I will most likely be moving him shortly
I will be honest,maybe I'm lucky but my Hippo does not speed around all over the tank. Always made me wonder what everyone was talking about. It pretty much just swims in and out of the rockwork knowing it is King of the tank,and looking at me every time I walk past "where is my food" ?
If 99 out of a 100 Hippos are real movers in their tanks,I just got the one that wasn't. My neighbor also has a small Hippo in a 50 gallon,that kinda acts the same way. He has had numerous issues in keeping some fish alive(some really bd luck),but his Hippo is still there after about 1 1/2 years. It was one of his very 1st fish.
 
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