Am I a member of the "Tang Police"?

[sh2000]

Can you have a tank with schooling blue tangs ? each one 1 inch
I want to switch my 30 gallon fresh water tank to saltwater... what I would do is empty the tank and take the 3 fish to the LFS and put in 3 small blue tangs 1 inch each...I would put in water from my 80 gal fowlr tank which is mature and pure...use a canister filter with carbon...these are the 2 major points my 30 gallon is 6 feet long the dimensions are 72x10x10 second there will be those 3 tangs in the tank only and if they get sick they can be treated with any method...hypo/copper etc..so for the tang police they have 6 feet and no stress from bullys and can be treated as the tank is only for them...just to confirm with blue tangs add them at the same time in odd numbers, like 3...I have plenty of LR or will put it in there to make them feel safe. I would love opinions on this.

 

[1boatnut]

Just answering,but not a member

Well if they stayed in that tank, altough the 6 feet long is good, at adult size it would be hard for them to turn around because of the small width
although you have met their length requirements

 

[coachklm]

But can you provide enough nutrition and natural algea for them to graze on and still provide that swimming room? My YT would look like a shark in the tank.. lol and he could turn round..lol j/w

 

[1boatnut]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
http:///forum/post/2485906
No I picked this guy up yesterday, this tang is said to have beaten the odds as many Y. tangs observed (In the wild) have been 8" or less,, What people don't understand is... tangs don't stop growing.. They die from disease, predation, and weakness (which is accelerated in a glass box the size of a coffee table.)

On the contrary. I think many people realize this. I certainly do.
As a matter of fact that is a neighbor's whole premise on keeping his Tang in smaller than 6' enviroment. He believes if the fish survives,then he will up-grade to accomodate,but why worry about something that may never be?
Maybe there is some relevance in his thoughts

I don't know for certain if anything stated would be accelerated any less if it were kept in a glass box the size of a couch,instead of a coffee table though.
I really think the whole premise of the "Tang Police" vs the nay-sayers has all been in the presentation /explanation on size,and data to back it up.Pretty much the TP simply will not allow people to grow with the hobby. Many are firm believers that the fish should go directly from the LFS to it's final home,and they defend it with a vengence. I normally read their posts and just get a good chuckle out of it.
I think we can all agreeSIZE MATTERS,but so does the size of the fish going into a tank.No different than a tire. The bigger the tire the less revolutions it will make to go a greater distance than a smaller tire. Fish are no different. I truly don't see an issue with a Hippo the size of a quarter in a 4' tank,but a 8" Hippo would be a much different story.
Since many posters like to give their fish human qualities,I'll relate to it in human thinking.
When a baby is born and comes home it usually is in a bassinette,then in time will move to a crib. Later they will go to a single bed,then maybe a twin and then maybe a Queen or King...
That being said I personally see no problem with a Tang the size of a quarter being kept in a 4' tank,like a baby in a bassinette,as long as when the time arises that the fish is getting to large for the tank,we take the next step forward.

 

[1boatnut]

So coach,what size tank did this fish come from ?

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
http:///forum/post/2485906
No I picked this guy up yesterday, this tang is said to have beaten the odds as many Y. tangs observed (In the wild) have been 8" or less,, What people don't understand is... tangs don't stop growing.. They die from disease, predation, and weakness (which is accelerated in a glass box the size of a coffee table.)

Pretty group of fish! No QT??

 

[coachklm]

you are correct.. no qt... I obviously overestimated the size of my 40b qurentine tank when I bought this fish. As there was no way he was going to fit for 6 weeks... This was confirmed by a great source of mine , that the ratio of inches to fish before being detrimental to the process(of qt)over a period of time is 5-7 gallons per inch of fish.

yes it shocked me too..
this fish was in a heavy stocked 90g in the fish store (as it had arrived that day)still in the bag, I was called by the LFS to come get it(dont tell my wife)lol as he had no where to put it (he ordered a small and got "the beast" )..

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
http:///forum/post/2486091
you are correct.. no qt... I obviously overestimated the size of my 40b qurentine tank when I bought this fish. As there was no way he was going to fit for 6 weeks... This was confirmed by a great source of mine , that the ratio of inches to fish before being detrimental to the process(of qt)over a period of time is 5-7 gallons per inch of fish.

yes it shocked me too..
this fish was in a heavy stocked 90g in the fish store (as it had arrived that day)still in the bag, I was called by the LFS to come get it(dont tell my wife)lol as he had no where to put it (he ordered a small and got "the beast" )..
BTW, Coach, Thanks for serving...there's no "smiley" for a salute, but you deserve one!

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by SH2000
http:///forum/post/2485954
Can you have a tank with schooling blue tangs ? each one 1 inch
I want to switch my 30 gallon fresh water tank to saltwater... what I would do is empty the tank and take the 3 fish to the LFS and put in 3 small blue tangs 1 inch each...I would put in water from my 80 gal fowlr tank which is mature and pure...use a canister filter with carbon...these are the 2 major points my 30 gallon is 6 feet long the dimensions are 72x10x10 second there will be those 3 tangs in the tank only and if they get sick they can be treated with any method...hypo/copper etc..so for the tang police they have 6 feet and no stress from bullys and can be treated as the tank is only for them...just to confirm with blue tangs add them at the same time in odd numbers, like 3...I have plenty of LR or will put it in there to make them feel safe. I would love opinions on this.
Well, there's a few things wrong here...
First, using water from an established tank does nothing, really. While there may be a small amount of planktonic life, there is no real accumulation of bacteria, which is what would actually help, since bacteria lives on solid surfaces, not in the water. You would still need to use a real method of cycling the tank. Second, canister filters are nitrate traps and aren't worth the time or money to use, imo. An HOB filter would be a better/easier route for a 30g, if you want specific mechanical filtration like that. Finally, which the tangs might do ok for a short time, it's not a long term placing (less than 1 year before they'd need to move into a real tank), and imo, as noted before, juveniles are so sensitive that they're difficult to keep and keep healthy anyway, so you're making it 3 times harder than keeping just one juvenile.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2486654
Well, there's a few things wrong here...
First, using water from an established tank does nothing, really. While there may be a small amount of planktonic life, there is no real accumulation of bacteria, which is what would actually help, since bacteria lives on solid surfaces, not in the water. You would still need to use a real method of cycling the tank. Second, canister filters are nitrate traps and aren't worth the time or money to use, imo. An HOB filter would be a better/easier route for a 30g, if you want specific mechanical filtration like that. Finally, which the tangs might do ok for a short time, it's not a long term placing (less than 1 year before they'd need to move into a real tank), and imo, as noted before, juveniles are so sensitive that they're difficult to keep and keep healthy anyway, so you're making it 3 times harder than keeping just one juvenile.

Yeah; the idea that water is "cycled" is on of the most common myths on this forum; there is no difference, bacteria- cycle wise, between water from an established tank and a bucket of WW that was just mixed. IMO, a thorough understanding of the nitrogen cycle is vital for success. check the stickys at the start of the "New Hobbiests section, there's lots of good, very helpful info.(Read the thread on the ich cycle while you're there Not just stuff that's nice to know, but stuff every fishkeeper NEEDS to know.