Quote:
Originally Posted by
novahobbies http:///forum/thread/110216/how-many-tangs-in-a-125#post_3356464
You guys realize that this thread is almost 7 years old, right?? 
YES! ! ! But somebody brought it back to life, and it is still a very valid topic!!!..methinks.....So how much/many is too many? ?? ? ?
Tang police will say 1 tang max per 100 gallons easy,,,,but others will say maybe 2 in a 100 or 125 is OK.......I know there are specific Tangs that grow very large 12+" or so, but with most the zebrasoma and acanthurus species, more like 7- 8" max in a home aquarium would be expected (except: acanthurus sohal/naso lituratus [naso]/zebrasoma velierum [sailfin] tangs which are 12"+ species).... and it's usually a couple years before any tang would outgrow a 75 or 100 gal tank if kept singularly with a couple other small fish......The hippo (blue/flag/dori/regal) tang can reach lengths of 8-9" in the home aquarium over time, if given proper space, 125-200 gal.....BUT with ANY TANG, if you start out in a 55 or 75 gal tank, you better be ready in a few years to upgrade to a tank double that size without adding any more large fish....One needs to decide what the PRIMARY show/display fish will be years from now - either tang(s) or angles/dwarf angles/butterflies/triggers. etc and concentrate on only 1 primary display species...and then add other small types for preference and suitability (clowns/damsels/blennys/dart fishes/etc.)... Unless your able to upgrade someday to a large 250 - 400+gal tank or multiple 100+ sizes....
BUT
The bio load of a tang is much less than the same bio load of a similar sized trigger or other messy carnivore eater. Tangs on the reef spend the entire day grazing for their minimum diet, and cover many thousands/hundreds of thousands of square feet+ to do so......In the PROPER home tank, assuming a suitable diet is provided daily to prevent HLLE/wasting, most tangs do quite well in comparably small tanks....Water quality and general tank parameters must be quite high as well, regardless of how big your tank is..........Tang predators are also an issue on the reef which should not be so in the home tank.
All Tangs and surgeonfish are very susceptible to skin parasitic ailments, and if one is not properly equipped with quarantine tanks, medications, and reasonable knowledge of this, lifespans will be very short - regardless of how many hundreds of gallons your main tank holds.......Proper and exceptional quarantine procedures must be employed if keeping tangs - and this stands for ALL new additions(coral/fish/invert/live food) to a main tank that contains tangs.....It's also very easy to overcrowd a tang(s) with other species that will grow to a similar size - or may remain smaller but displace an equal or larger biological load as a tang and make high water quality hard to maintain......
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So many people want to house tangs/triggers/angles<dwarfs>/butterflies/hawks (or some combination) all together/in combination in a 55/75/100 gal tank
WITH other small fihses and don't realize that today it's OK cause everyone is pretty small - 2-3"......But within 2-3 years, any tang should be in the 3-5 inch range - and growing to 4-6++ within only 2 or so more years....That's a 4-6" tang(s) housed with other now equal sized fishes + the little ones, and that 100 gal tank is totally overcrowded, and water quality cannot be reasonably maintained. That 2" tang is gonna tripple in size in 4-5 years!!
The point here is plan for the 3-5 years down the road for your tank today, while stocking your tank.....Choose your primary display fish type, and don't stock so that in 3-5 years your tank has double in size for the fish it should have in it...or be ready to shell out the $$$ for a larger system.....Most tangs will easily survive 10 years and many can see the 20 year mark in the home aquarium, with proper diet & water quality....My oldest tang is now just middle aged at 7 years, since he was 2" long when I got him he's probably about 8 or 9 years old now, and should make it to 2020 - I'm plannin anyway
Dont' forget, with a single tang easily living 10 to 15+ years in a home aquarium, it's gonna cost several thousands of dollars over his lifespan in food, salt, electricity, water costs, lightbulbs, filter media, test kits, and maintenance costs to keep him alive...plus the original costs of tank setup...are you ready for that??
My $0.02 on tangs...
That kid in that guys avatar is probably in college HAHAHAHAHAHAH
