rudedog40
Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
Nobody said it was a crime against humanity to keep a tang in a 48" long tank, many people have successfully done it, but even more haven't. There are some that may be fine, like the smaller bristle-tooth tangs, and the scopas tang. The majority of the tangs can grow to be a foot long or more, so if a fish has only 3-4x its body length to swim back and forth, and 1-1.5x its body length to turn around is that really a nice environment? So imo yes, the extra couple feet does matter. In the wild tangs don't circle around a rock formation picking at the algae, they school from location to location.
As hobbyists it is our job to provide the most natural environment possible for our fish, and space is part of a tang's habitiat. Yes anyone can argue that taking such fish out of the ocean and putting them into a 8',10', or 20' tank still doesn't compare to the ocean, it is still better than keeping them in a tank only 3x their length. If you don't think that any size tank is suitable for any fish, then you're probably in the wrong hobby.
-Justin
If you own a tang in a tank smaller than what the "experts" call for, follow the suggestions of my LFS - by the smallest size of that species you can find. When you see the tang start to stress as they get larger (swim spoadically, breathe heavier, etc), pull them out and take them back to your LFS. Mine will take one on consignment, and when it sells, I get store credit to buy something else. Most LFS's have the small Blue Hippo's that are less than 1" long. Based on what I've read, it will take a tang that size over two years to outgrow a 55g tank. If you're not the type of person that gets emotionally attached to your 'pets', then I see no harm in getting one if that's the fish you enjoy to watch. Blame it on the Nemo movie.
Nobody said it was a crime against humanity to keep a tang in a 48" long tank, many people have successfully done it, but even more haven't. There are some that may be fine, like the smaller bristle-tooth tangs, and the scopas tang. The majority of the tangs can grow to be a foot long or more, so if a fish has only 3-4x its body length to swim back and forth, and 1-1.5x its body length to turn around is that really a nice environment? So imo yes, the extra couple feet does matter. In the wild tangs don't circle around a rock formation picking at the algae, they school from location to location.
As hobbyists it is our job to provide the most natural environment possible for our fish, and space is part of a tang's habitiat. Yes anyone can argue that taking such fish out of the ocean and putting them into a 8',10', or 20' tank still doesn't compare to the ocean, it is still better than keeping them in a tank only 3x their length. If you don't think that any size tank is suitable for any fish, then you're probably in the wrong hobby.
-Justin
If you own a tang in a tank smaller than what the "experts" call for, follow the suggestions of my LFS - by the smallest size of that species you can find. When you see the tang start to stress as they get larger (swim spoadically, breathe heavier, etc), pull them out and take them back to your LFS. Mine will take one on consignment, and when it sells, I get store credit to buy something else. Most LFS's have the small Blue Hippo's that are less than 1" long. Based on what I've read, it will take a tang that size over two years to outgrow a 55g tank. If you're not the type of person that gets emotionally attached to your 'pets', then I see no harm in getting one if that's the fish you enjoy to watch. Blame it on the Nemo movie.
