How about 5 convict tangs in a 180?

[bluemarlin]

I'm still tossing around ideas as to what I should do with my 180 tank. Its been running for about 2 years and a long power outage killed many of my inhabitants. Now I have a very expensive generator backup, 5 cardinals, 1 chromis, 2 CBS, a cleaner shrimp and a very hardy Urchin. (I still don't know how the urchin lived through the power outage.)
I am thinking of adding 5 convict tangs. What do you think? I may also add an elegance wrasse. Any conflicts? I don't see any.

 

[kev]

I dont really know if 5 tangs would fit in a 180, but I would be worred about an ick outbreak! If you get them make sure you QT em.

 

[bang guy]

I don't know anyone that has tried it but i would not expect them to live more than 5 or 6 years.

 

[rickycobra]

Imo those five will out grow the tank, and it sounds like a recipe for ick

 

[bluemarlin]

5-6 years would be a good time frame as I would have a bigger tank by then and the 180 would be the "little" one.
Lets discuss the ick worries here. I know that tangs are very suseptable to ick but if I quarantine them and keep the water in the main tank in pestine quality, where is the ick threat coming from? I only ask because the responses have all mentioned the ick thing. Any more thoughts on this?
Thanks.

 

[bang guy]

Ick isn't as easy to eliminate as it would appear. It's not a threat to a healthy Tang at all because of their incredibly active immune system. Unfortunately Tangs are easily stressed and the first victim of stress is a shut down of their immune system. The don't have much of a slime coat, so once their immune system quits the Ick parasite (Cryptocaryon) has free access to their skin.
5 Tangs in close quarters is going to cause a LOT of stress. I don't believe your tank is going to be the tranquil source of relaxation you are envisioning.
As far as 5 years for the life expectancy... that's equivalent to saying your son will not make it to his teenage years unless you move. How long would you stay??

 

[bluemarlin]

Lets be honest here. If I could get a good 5-6 years out of a fish I would take it. I have had some live for that long and even had one go over 14 years but on average I'd say that most folks are killing fish much faster than 5-6 years. My plan is to build another custom tank that will be bigger than my 180. It will not be for 24 months but it will come.
I think that the convicts would like well together. There is not much else in the tank so they would have little competition and that would remove one element of stress. I still think that this has possibilities. Maybe not the greatest idea I have had but it id doable. Right?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by BlueMarlin
Lets be honest here. If I could get a good 5-6 years out of a fish I would take it.
You asked a question, the concensus appears to be that it's too much stress. It's doable, the animals may get along fine. They're truely unpredictable. My guess is that it's not going to be peaceful very long.
These are schooling fish, but they stay a couple feet away from each other in the school, maybe it's a personal space thing, I don't know.
Now getting 5 - 6 years out of a fish that normally lives 40 - 50 years is not really a success story in my opinion. You say most folks are killing them faster, that's probably because most folks ask questions about the space requirements for Tangs and don't like or just ignore the answers. Tangs are not endangered or threatened, I'm not the type to feel sorry for them. I just don't believe you will be happy with fish that are often sick with "unexplained" illnesses, the occational missing scales & cuts & scrapes. I really am just giving the advice that in my opinion gives you the best chance for success in the hobby.
I could be wrong. I've never tried it so I have zero experience with keeping a school of Tangs in a 180. You asked for clarification, I gave it. It's your challenge to pick out what advice makes sense. If you go for it, I truly hope it works perfectly.
Guy

 

[bluemarlin]

Thanks for your reply. By reading it, it seems as though my previous post may have put you on the defensive. I did not mean to do that. I was just having a conversation. Sorry if I came across the wrong way.
I am a big believer in educating myself before doing anything. Hence the topic here about the 5 convicts. I may try it and I may not. I am just trying to get a grasp on what I can expect and what I should look out for.
I think that a 5-6 year life is above average for most aquarium inhabitants. I'm not saying that is a good thing but I think it is an honest evaluation of aquarium life expectancy.
Again, thanks for the info. I WILL use it. You words have not fallen onto deaf ears. (You should have seen my post in the aggressive section about keeping a tank full of triggers. ) Just searching here...

 

[bang guy]

No, I was trying not to be defensive. You had good questions
I was putting some meat behind my opinion. It's not a knee-jerk reaction. I have thought about it.

 

[jrb384]

I have heard of a person having 5 convict tangs, BUT he also has a 1200 gallon tank. I think 5 "small" ones would work for awhile, but eventually you would have to do something.
whats interesting is I've seen 5 tangs in smaller tanks that appear fine, but they were all different, i.e. yellow, purple, powder blue ect. but i know they were not togther for the 5 year period.
I will say I agree with you that if you have a fish live 5 years in your tank, that is great and I wish all of them would make it atleast that long. in fact, forget the fish, i'm sure there are tons of people that just quit the hobby and their tanks do not even make it 5 years.
and for bang guy, i have a ? about ich since its being discussed. My LFS says that all fish, no matter what, carry ich all the time, but when they get stressed is when it "appears" and you see its negative effects. whats your view on that statement?
i figured there was a homeostatic balance going on, and the fish keep it in check, otherwise they wouldnt be alive.

 

[bang guy]

I agree somewhat with that statement. I believe most of our fish carry Ick, not all. It is possible to temporarily eliminate all Ick from your tank, it takes time and it stresses the fish a lot IMO. The best prevention for Ick IMO is knowing the requirements of your fish and providing those requirements.
I am 100% positive that I have ick in my aquarium. I have not seen an outbreak and I don't expect to. In my opinion Ick is just a symptom of a really stressed fish. Fix the stress and it can fight off the Ick.
Case in point...
One of my LFSs had a Powder Blue on it's deathbed. Covered in Ick, swimming sideways, etc. I offered to put it into my reef and nurse it if he gave me store credit when he got it back. He thought I was nuts putting an ick covered Tang in my established reef. I was a little worried about my Yellow becomming stressed but I knew I could just pull out the PBT if the Yellow got Ick. I didn't have any problems. Within 4 weeks the PBT was active & healthy and ready to go back.