Powder Brown Tangs

arasa

Member
HAs anyone kept the powder brown tangs in a fish only aquariums? I know they are difficult fish but what can one do to keep them well in captivity, such as feeding, tank setup, etc.
Are they generally hardier than the Powder Blue tangs?
 
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tyler geene

Guest
i didnt know that they were difficult to keep i was going to put one in my 90 gallon reef tank
 

b00st3d

Member
I keep a powder brown with realative ease. Just make sure he has rock work to play in and plenty of room to swim. Mine likes to hideout in some caves and also likes to show off while swimming with his puffer buddy.
Just keep your water parameters in check and keep it well fed.
 

casper1875

Member
Mine eats like a horse. Pellets, flake, dried sheets, mysis you name it. He runs the tank when it's time to eat. I put Formula Two and dried algea sheets in a clip for him. He's not afraid of anything. My son surprised me one day and brought him home. I have a 75 gallon so I had to buy a larger tank. I have a 180 gallon that I hope to have up and running by the end of summer.
 

geridoc

Well-Known Member
There are two fish that are commonly confused in the trade - Powder Brown and Gold Rim Tangs. The true powder brown is a difficult keeper, and the Gold Rim is supposed to be easier. I had a PBT for 9 years, but I can't be sure whether I had a GRT or a PB. Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances...
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by GeriDoc
http:///forum/post/2643321
There are two fish that are commonly confused in the trade - Powder Brown and Gold Rim Tangs. The true powder brown is a difficult keeper, and the Gold Rim is supposed to be easier. I had a PBT for 9 years, but I can't be sure whether I had a GRT or a PB. Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances...

the powder brown (Acanthurus japonicus) is the hardier one that does fairly well. the gold rim/white cheek (Acanthurus nigricans) has dismal survival in captivity though I know of several who have kept them long tern with no problems. Been two + years this site has had the gold rim as "easy" in the description which is completely wrong. I found my powder brown to be more robust than my hippo.

the powder brown (japonicus) has a white "face" extending from the mouth up to the eye. the red on the dorsal fin is usually more obvious as well

the gold rim (nigricans) have a smaller white mark just under the eye (hence white "cheek" if it had a cheek lol)
 

bioneck47

Member
They are all a challenge to keep. I really beleive that you just have to find one that really wants to live. I've gone through 4 powder blues, 3 powder browns, and 3 gold rims with all of them dying within a month. I finally got a tough gold rim this time and have had him for a while. All of these fish are beautiful but I really don't believe that any of them are much more hardy than the others from my experiences.
 

draend

New Member
I love my powder brown. I have had him for about 1 year in my 90, he will eat right out of my hand if i were to let him, not at all scared of contact, not that i go and touch him, swims in and out of rocks, eats algea sheets, mysid shrimp, picks at LR all day long, and just is a pleasure to have in my tank.
 

nate213

Member
If powder browns are tough to keep, then Im not as lousy of a fish owner as I thought.
I figured they were practically indestructible. I had one in a 75 that is a submarine. He is currently in a 40 QT. Eats like a horse and cruises all day long.
We are getting ready to move though, and I realize he is too big to live the rest of his life in a 75, so Im going to trade him in. I wish they didn't require so much space. They have great personality. Ours loves my wife, he comes right up to the front of the tank and swims back and forth watching her. When strangers visit, he is nowhere to be found. It is pretty weird.
 

mr_x

Active Member
i had 2 of them. both seemed just as easy as any other tang to me. btw- all tangs are prone to ich. i disagree with one tang being less/more vulnerable to it than another.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2674401
i had 2 of them. both seemed just as easy as any other tang to me. btw- all tangs are prone to ich. i disagree with one tang being less/more vulnerable to it than another.
maybe but in comparison to the hippo (had from slightly larger than a quarter to almost 3") the powder brown is much harder to stress and much more easy going. much less gittery. I cant help but believe that makes them less prone than hippo tangs. I had two ich outbreaks where the hippo was the only fish showing signs of ich (both hippo and PB together, 6ft tank) which was a b*tch because all my fish were in a 30g for over a month. thats when I decided I was done adding fish. I just found the power powder brown to be more hardy, robust and laid back overall.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2675222
what brought on the outbreaks?
I added a midas blenny from the LFS. I admitt I dont quarantine BUT this fish was at the LFS for weeks and nobody bought it which is partly why I did. The hippo got visable ich right away and no other fish did but I still had to go thru the whole annoying fish free display tank with a bare 30g full of oversized fish.
 
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