mimic tang and blue hippo tang

[bms]

Hello all,
I have a juvenile yellow mimic tang I just recently added to my tank. Other inhabitants are 1 firefish, 1 blue damsel, and 1 false percula clownfish. My tank is 75 gallons. I was wondering if it would be safe to add a blue hippo tang my girlfriend bought for her 45 gallon tank. "It was just so cute" she had to have it and went against my advice and bought it but said she would give it to me when it got too big...well now we are 6-7 months down the road and its getting too big for her tank. At the time I did not have another tang in my tank and thought nothing of it until she reminded me today and said its about time. So now i want to make sure that the blue tang can co-exist with my mimic tang? thanks.

 

[acrylic51]

I wouldn't put both tangs in a 75.

 

[bms]

Ok thanks for the advice. Is the reason because the two will fight in that size tank or because a 75 gallon tank is too small for two tangs? is there anyone out there that has two tangs in a 75 gallon tank? and if so what have been your results?

 

[spanko]

The mods on another site put this together a while ago. A good "guide" to go by IMO.
1. Tangs are not good choices for newly set up aquaria. To thrive they need a stable environment with pristine water conditions. Anyone thinking their newly set up aquarium is stable is invited to read through the following thread:
Maturity Issues
2. Tangs are medium to large, active fish that need plenty of space. On the question of tank sizes, we defer to Scott W. Michael, who recommends the following minimum sizes in Marine Fishes, 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, Microcosm Ltd., 1999:
Acanthurus achilles, Achilles Surgeonfish, 100 gal (380l).
Acanthurus coeruleus, Atlantic Blue Tang, 75 gal (285l).
Acanthurus japonicus, Powder Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).
Acanthurus leucosternon, Powder Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).
Acanthurus lineatus, Lined or Clown Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).
Acanthurus nigricans, Whitecheek Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
Acanthurus olivaceus, Orangeshoulder Surgeonfish, 135 gal (510l).
Acanthurus pyroferus, Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
Acanthurus sohal, Sohal Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).
Acanthurus tristegus, Convict Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
Acanthurus tristis, Indian Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, Chevron Tang, 100 gal (380l).
Ctenochaetus strigosus, Kole's Tang, 75 gal (285l).
Naso brevirostris, Spotted Unicornfish, 180 gal (685l).
Naso lituratus, Orangespine Unicornfish or Naso Tang, 135 gal (510l).
Naso unicornis, Bluespine Unicornfish, 200 gal (760l).
Paracanthurus hepatus, Pacific Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).
Zebrasoma desjardinii, Indian Ocean or Red Sea Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).
Zebrasoma flavescens, Yellow Tang, 75 gal (285l).
Zebrasoma scopas, Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).
Zebrasoma veliferum, Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).
Zebrasoma xanthurum, Purple Tang, 100 gal (380l).
You will note that none of these minimum sizes are less than 75 gallons. If you have a tang in a smaller tank, you should expect that some people will give you a hard time about it. Expressing outrage about that could result in suspension of your posting privileges. We are not, BTW, giving a free pass to the self-styled "Tang Police" to be abusive.
3. The above sizes assume a standard rectangular shape with plenty of open swimming space. If your tank is full to the brim with coral, your tang won't be happy. Tanks 125G or larger are assumed to be at least six feet long (approx. two meters). Where possible, choose longer rather than deeper shapes. While smaller species may be OK in a four foot tank, they will probably do better in a five foot or longer tank.
4. We do not condone the practice of keeping more than one specimen of the same or very similar species together in the same aquarium, except possibly for Zebrasoma species in a very large tank.
5. If you wish to keep multiple dissimilar tangs in the same aquarium, we recommend you have an aquarium significantly larger than the sizes listed above.