Originally Posted by TangLove
I had to share this, it came from this site!
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Pellet, Flake, Greens
Origin: Indian Ocean
Acclimation Time: 4+ hours
Minimum Tank Size: 40 gallons
Coral Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Does that mean you agree or disagree with it? Interesting we can not talk about competing sites....but its ok to say that this one is wrong and that they need at least 75 gallons.
Yes, they are adaptable, the stock level and floorplan of the tank matter. Over a decade ago my dad had an Orbiculate Batfish and a Naso Tang in a 55g together. They were fine and could basically lap the tank (as opposed to going along the front, turning and goin back) they did little oval laps around the tank. They were fine. They were the only two things in the tank. This was before hundreds of pounds of rock and sand were put in so now a 55 gallon is probably barely above 40 in actual water volume. At the time there was some reef bones in the tank and a filter system for one twice as large. It worked fine, they never got ich or other diseases. They were bought in 1989 (Mayish), The batfish died in 2000 (11 years in the tank, it was not a baby when he got it). The Tang died in 2002 (13 years in the tank, and again he was not a baby when put in.)
Originally Posted by boozzbro
that is the requirement for when you get teh fish. that wont cut it after a year or 2. if you must get it i would say 100 gal min for a hippo. The yellow tang stays smaller you should be fine with that in a 90 gal tank.
Keep this one in mind too, watch the fish, if they get huge and incumbered by the tank or aquascaping....take him out and back to the store or get a bigger tank or give him to someone with a bigger tank (note that the store's tank may not be any bigger...)
So what does this mean? Things change, animals adapt, and opinions are like fingerprints (what did you think I was going to say), everyone has them and they are all different.
If the issue is will they fight...then the larger the better but also lots of cover and hiding places should keep them happy.
If the issue is swimming room....then realize that tank bred ones or captive held ones were not in billion gallon holding tanks. I have yet to go to a LFS that has much of any stock tank longer than 4 ft. They sell tangs of all sizes, I have not seen any with special 6 or 8 foot tanks because the tangs "need" them.
Keep the water quality perfect, keep the nutrition perfect, and give them room to hide and swim(4 feet, 6 feet, whatever, even that 620 gallon tank on here is a pissload smaller than the friggin ocean so why keep tangs at all?) They are one of the most popular fish for the aquarium and have been a part of this hobby for longer than most people on this forum have. 20 years ago tanks above 100 gallons were not common, but tangs were...they are still here we still keep them, they still live (what was that count again...oh yeah 13 years healthy in our tank....)
Gather information and make a judgement call. No one experiment can prove someone right, but a single one can prove them wrong. There is lots of info here and many books to read. Take them all in and decide, do not listen to one person or book (not me, not the mods, not concientious marine aquarist.) No one source is sufficient. Combine all the opinions and info. When they say can't...it isn't fact, its opinion. Fact: Your tank is 90 gallons. Opinion: It is too small for 2 tangs or Yeah, you can have two tangs. Read some species specific guides (respected and recent would be best). Visit some more forums, and hear the opinions of more people who have tangs, especially those with similar size tanks and those with especially old fish. In the end its your money, your tank, your fish...What someone here thinks won't matter.
