Calling All Tang Police!

[bang guy]

I just want to put this in perspective.
A Purple Tang should live 40- 50 years so saying yours did fine for a few years in a 55 really isn't that meaningful.
I agree that a Purple or Yellow could do fine for decades in a 55. All I'm saying is that it will be stressed and the chances of it leading a long life are severly reduced in a 4 foot tank.

 

[cwgibson]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
I just want to put this in perspective.
A Purple Tang should live 40- 50 years so saying yours did fine for a few years in a 55 really isn't that meaningful.
I agree that a Purple or Yellow could do fine for decades in a 55. All I'm saying is that it will be stressed and the chances of it leading a long life are severly reduced in a 4 foot tank.
it is meaningful for my point which is that you can get one when it is small and trade it in for another.

 

[garnet13aj]

Bang GuyI did mention a Rabbitfish. A Pencil-Streak or a Foxface would work.
Yeah, sorry some people definitely have put in some other good options and I misstyped in my last post (I've fixed it now) but I was just saying that people were continuing to discourage me from getting a tang when that isn't in my plan anymore.
Thanks for the other additions everyone and to clarify I don't neccessarily want to put a large fish in replacement of a tang I was just looking for ideas that people thought were cool. I've flipped through Marine Fishes at the store and I didn't really like the way it was set up or sometimes the type of information that was given but I've had a lot of people suggest it so I may pick it up anyway and give it more of a chance.
Also, I'm not a big fan of the idea of getting a fish and giving it away when it gets to big. I'd rather get fish that would eventually grow into my size tank that I could keep heathy throughout an average lifespan for that fish in captivity.

 

[garnet13aj]

I really like the idea of the sixline wrasse, but since I don't have to narrow it down because I'm not buying anymore fish until after winter break I haven't officially decided on anything yet.
And what would you guys say is the rule of thumb regarding how many fish inches per gallon?
My book says 1'' per 2 gallons of water I'm a bit skeptical of this though not entirely sure but other people say 1'' per 5 gallons but that would mean I could only fit 2 ocellaris clownfish and a coral beauty in a 55 and that doesn't seem right either. Any other opinions.

 

[garnet13aj]

bump

 

[bang guy]

For a new hobbiest I strongly recommend the 1" per 5 gallons and taking the expected adult size of the fish, not the current size.
Yes, that means a couple Clownfish, a Pygmy angel, and a couple Clown Goby or Neon Goby.
To see why I suggest that do a search on this site for "Nitrate Problem" or "My fish are dying", or "I can't get rid of algae", or "red slime problem". All of these problems are usually caused by overstocking a young tank without knowing how to properly remove excess nutrients.

 

[rstiles]

I would get 3 small maroon clownfish the female will get to 5 or six inchs long once thay pair up a real eye catcher,a coral beauty is fine if your leaning towards the yellows ( tangs)why not a bicolor angelfish,any kind of hawkfish will sooner or later eat you snails,crabs.I have a antennata loin fish in with a pair of clarks clowns no problems as long as the lion is well fed .By the way most angles large or small are not really reef safe if your going that way later on,same with most butterflyfish. A male bluechin triggerfish is also a nice one to add and its reef safe.A real good book is Marine Fishes by Scott W. Michael

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by rstiles
I would get 3 small maroon clownfish the female will get to 5 or six inchs long once thay pair up ...
and the pair will probably kill the 3rd. Stick with 2.

 

[garnet13aj]

I already have 2 ocellaris clowns, so that's not a problem

 

[morayeels]

yada yada yada!!!! the tank police.
I have :
1- hippo tang
1- yellow tang
1- naso
1- spotted surgen
in my 90 gallon tank.

 

[surfinusa]

Originally Posted by morayeels
yada yada yada!!!! the tank police.
I have :
1- hippo tang
1- yellow tang
1- naso
1- spotted surgen
in my 90 gallon tank.
the hippo and yellow are fine for a while the naso will need like a 200 and im guessing that its a vlamingi tang or something like that and it will need several thousand gallons to live happy

 

[clekchau]

as bob fenner has stated many times, those with the best intentions of upgrading to a larger tank usually don't

 

[benter]

try a flame fin tang they are one of the smallest...and in my opinion tangs are fine in a 55 as long as it is small when you get it and you understand that you will have to trade it in, in a couple of years...As bang said it takes 40 to 50 years to reach full growth on some of them..so TEEN do you plan on keeping your tangs for 40 - 50 years...Be reasonably responsible and you can have a tang for a long time in a 55..I don't think that there is a fish one, that given the choice to be in our tanks or the ocean would opt for our tanks....just my .02 worth!!!

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Benter
...and in my opinion tangs are fine in a 55 as long as it is small when you get it and you understand that you will have to trade it in, in a couple of years...As bang said it takes 40 to 50 years to reach full growth ...
Just to clarify, I don't think Bang said anywhere it takes Tangs 50 years to reach full size.
Tangs like to swim. There body is designed to swim. I have a small Purple Tang in my 180. He swims the length of the tank. It's not a questions of can they survive or can it be done, it is a question of proper habitat. The bigger the tank the better for a Tang.

 

[garnet13aj]

I hate to be blunt, but I don't even know why we are talking about tangs in this thread because I specifically made this thread to look for other options.
What I've done is pick up the book Marine Fishes because that's what people suggested I do. I leafed through the whole thing and came up with some fish I'd like to keep and am mostly happy with the list except I think there is a little too much emphasis on orange and yellow (I didn't see too many options that I could keep in my tank that weren't at least partly that color) and I like the Potter's angelfish but I see a lot of variation in it's color when I searched for pictures and don't really want one that is going to be faded yellow. Do people like Potter's angelfish or coral beauties more? They have relatively the same coloring so I guess I'm wondering about personality and ease of care.

 

[mike22cha]

You need to get Marine Fishes. There is not as many common options for a 55g but there are endless combonations. Look up all the fishes that could fit in a 55g and have fun sorting through them. All the people are going to mention a lot of fish and that is just the fish they like. What fish would you like in your tank?

 

[garnet13aj]

Today 03:39 PM
garnet13aj
What I've done is pick up the book Marine Fishes because that's what people have suggested
....
Today 05:37 PM
MIKE22chaYou need to get Marine Fishes
Honestly, why reply if you aren't paying any attentin to what I am saying you can't help me. It sounds rude, but I've asked for help choosing fish and all MOST (not all) people have done is argue about what size tank tangs need. I appreciate people who have either given me adive or suggested where I can go to get better advice. But if you are responding to my original post and not reading the question and atleast paying attention to my most recent posts you're really just clogging up the thread. I love this site, but this post is not useful to anyone if the original question isn't answered and I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who has wondered what other fish they can put in their tank if a tang won't fit.
Please don't take this thread as an attack, I just don't know why people answer without paying attention and/or thinking first.

 

[mike22cha]

Sorry to offend you
I read
I may pick it up
My fault, I was at my moms and couldn't look at the replies so I just looked at it. Im glad you picked it up and looked through it.

 

[garnet13aj]

Yeah, i found some pretty cool things that I hadn't heard of before, but I have a while to mull it over before I pick anything new up.

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
....
Honestly, why reply if you aren't paying any attentin to what I am saying you can't help me. It sounds rude, but I've asked for help choosing fish and all MOST (not all) people have done is argue about what size tank tangs need. I appreciate people who have either given me adive or suggested where I can go to get better advice. But if you are responding to my original post and not reading the question and atleast paying attention to my most recent posts you're really just clogging up the thread. I love this site, but this post is not useful to anyone if the original question isn't answered and I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who has wondered what other fish they can put in their tank if a tang won't fit.
Please don't take this thread as an attack, I just don't know why people answer without paying attention and/or thinking first.
Just let me know and I will delete the whole thread and you can start another one since it went WAY off track of the original question. Barry
Or I can lock it. But you kinda flamed everyone or asked for them to come in a bash away with the title! I have been avoiding the thread because of the title.