Success stories of yellow tang in 75?

[sinner's girl]

Success stories of yellow tang in 75? (my 75gl is NOT 6ft long).
Some say yes, others say no. My books says yes, other say min of 6ft. I got into this hobby because a yellow tang, we bought my 55gl for him (guy told me my 20 was too small, I needed 55gl), this was before I found this site…anyway he died (bully clown and he wasn’t fed algae…I was told he didn’t need it since he ate the other food…grr).. I've learned a lot since then.
Anyway, I’m in the process of getting my 75gl back up. I’ll be adding sand and I have ¼ tank of lr (I hope to weight it when I move the tank). Nitrates currently 0 (and should be, I’ve been doing water changes weekly to get rid of cc). It’s been setup for 2 years.
I’d like to know if anyone has successfully kept a yellow, long term (no plan to upgrade for a long time) in a 75gl. He’ll be with maybe, 2 other fish (not clowns, I want a fish I've never had). He might just be the only one though. (along with three stars).
Thoughts? Thanks….

 

[halo_frk03]

he will be fine

 

[pallan]

ive had the same yellow tang now for about a year. he started off in a 45 gallon rumage sale tank i bought that had a skimmer with it so i jumped into the saltwater hobby. i did alot of things wrong but he has never been sick he is a bully tho and i have to really be carefull when ever adding any new fish. he really does not like angels and is the reason to this day i have lost several of them. He does ok with my powder brown but he learned quickly that the powder can defend himself and they no longer have issue with each other. he survived the move into a 75 gallon in jan. and with alot of new live rock seems rather content. Im not done and someday the 75 gallon will become a sump for a larger tank. but i have yet to see any problems with mine other than the bully attitude in a 75.
I know a year is not long term but its where im at right now.

 

[halo_frk03]

forget about what the haters say... if its just one yellow tang and a couple other smaller fish he will be fine

 

[puffer32]

I had onwe in a 75 for about a yr, it looked cramped when he grew larger, I might have had to much LR, and it took up alot of his swimming space.

 

[sinner's girl]

puffer, how much lr did you have? I have about 1/4 tank, I can take some out or arrange it lower and not high or something. The tank's being moved, so I can arrange the lr to suit the tangs needs. However, if I'm told no, I'll go with no and just get the few smaller fish I want.
HaLo- the tang could be by itself or with 1-2 small fish...i'm thinking a wrasse or something. I wouldn't add more than 2 other fish (I like a low bio-load).
This was the tank 2 years ago...I've taken out the fake stuff (what's circled) and I have about 5lbs that's not in the tank, but all pieces are small.

 

[puffer32]

I started out with about 125 lbs or so of LR before i got the tang. But within a yr, i had many many corals that were mounted on rocks, my lfs used large rubble when he fragged, and a huge worm rock, all were added after the tang, so it was nearly impossibe to remove any rocks and rearrange later.
I would get a tang if i were you, but get a small one, mine was med when i got it, and got larger fast!

 

[promisetbg]

Is there any true LR or did it all start as base rock??

 

[dragonzim]

I've got a YT in my 75 FO. I started him off in a 55 and have since upgraded. At this point I do think he is too big for my tank. I plan on changing my setup to a true FOWLER in the next few months and I will be getting rid of all my fish when I do since they are all outgrowing the tank at this point.

 

[sinner's girl]

Is there any true LR or did it all start as base rock??
I'm not sure how much of it started as base rock, maybe a few pieces, but I know some was real lr we'd buy a few few pieces as we saw it...one piece, isn't lr, it's too heavy, but I like the shape....a few others were alive when we got them, but we had to cure them before putting them in the tank...I know most if it was live because we had critters and hichickers, feather duster and a cool crab came in one.
But most the rock in the 75gl came from the 55gl which was up a few years before the 75gl.
Why?

 

[promisetbg]

I was just wondering..for filtration purpose, and beneficial natural algae for the tang. If you have some LR..and mixed it with base then you are fine. The LR will make the baserock live. Many people set up their FO tanks with completely base rock, and miss out on all the benefits of LR.

 

[sinner's girl]

ah, no, it was set up with lr, the base rock we added was alive...at one point. I have some more rock that was alive, very alive, but after a week on a cruise ship...it's dead, but not in the tank.
I'd wait a while before adding one, I have no algea growing in my tank. I'm still not sure...some say okay, others say no...

 

[ophiura]

IMO, this is not really the best question. Because in all likelihood, it will do "fine." It will live, and swim, and probably grow. Will it grow as large as it will in a larger tank? Dunno. Will it be relatively more stressed? IMO, yes....because with active fish the larger the better. So it will "live" in the tank and if you are fine with that, then no worries. But, considering the possible options for fish tanks and suitable fish, it is not ideal, IMO. I hope no one comes back with the "it is not the ocean" argument because I think people can understand what I mean here.
If you are fine with it, then it will probably be "fine" which is a relative statement.
IMO, it should be in a longer tank. IMO it should also be in a tank with a lot of LR, because I feel grazing opportunities on LR is critical to keeping fish like tangs healthy. But again, that is me.
Really this is just a matter of what you are willing to accept. Some people are fine with yellow tangs in a 29g.

I have little doubt about whether it will survive.
However, I think a yellow eye tang would be a far far better choice.

 

[lazarus]

dont you hate the awful truth about these beautiful creatures? i just launched my 100g and as much as i want a tang....i may get the lemon peel angel instead.

 

[grilai]

I had a yellow tang in a 55 gls tank; for almost 4 years with a maroon clown, they get along very good. I just recently transfered everything to a new 80 gls corner tank, 23 " deep. i think the YT is happier then ever. he was probably 2 1/2" when i bought him, now he is about 4".

 

[wilsonreef]

It should be fine..My two biggest fish are my yellow tang and Blue Hippo Both have been the tank for over 1 and a half years. I have about 115 lbs of live rock, and they seem to be happy as long as they have some place to hide when they need to. It's funny all of my little fish aren't afraid and my two biggest fish will hide when you walk up to the tank. My Percula clown will eat out of my hand. go figure.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
Success stories of yellow tang in 75? (my 75gl is NOT 6ft long)..
You will undoubtable hear tales of "my fish is doing fine" and "no problem" for 4 foot tanks.
The truth is you will hear very very few of these statements from people having a Yellow more than 5 years. These fish live decades... 30, 40, even 50 years. Someone saying theirs is "happy" for 2 or 3 years is doing you an injustice.
IMO the only Tang that can adapt to a 4' tank is the Kole Tang. All other Tangs are open water swimmers and need longer tank to thrive long term.
That being said, I have had my Yellow in a 6' tank for 6 years. It's time to move it to the Lagoon (8' X 8'). It is now large enough where it can't "open up" in just 6'.

 

[ophiura]

Definitely agree with Bang Guy.
The phrase "it will be fine" is extremely relative, meaning, it is fine if the owner thinks it is fine.
Whether the fish is actually fine is open to question. Many people think that rapidly swimming back in forth in the tank is normal "fine" behavior, when it is not. People think a lot of things about fish behavior - anthropomorphic things - things that make them as a hobbyist feel better. That the fish is "happy" to see them, for example.
Fish need food, space, grazing and not being stacked together in a "tight" tank with other fish. It does not necessarily equate to the human emotion of "happiness." It is a need to stay stress free and then disease free. Most of our fish get food. Some get the grazing (live rock live rock live rock) few get the appropriate minimal tank size or lack of other fish...this leads to shortened life spans.
If you want to keep the fish in this size tank, first off, I would say it would be short term (maybe a few years) and there really shouldn't be many, if any, other fish in there. Perhaps a few small one's at most. But ultimately, the question again is if you are fine with the situation - stunted growth, disease or shortened lifespan of the fish.
If you want the tang - a Kole is better. If you want the yellow fish, consider one of the dwarf angels perhaps.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by ophiura
Definitely agree with Bang Guy.
The phrase "it will be fine" is extremely relative, meaning, it is fine if the owner thinks it is fine.
Whether the fish is actually fine is open to question. Many people think that rapidly swimming back in forth in the tank is normal "fine" behavior, when it is not. People think a lot of things about fish behavior - anthropomorphic things - things that make them as a hobbyist feel better. That the fish is "happy" to see them, for example.
Fish need food, space, grazing and not being stacked together in a "tight" tank with other fish. It does not necessarily equate to the human emotion of "happiness." It is a need to stay stress free and then disease free. Most of our fish get food. Some get the grazing (live rock live rock live rock) few get the appropriate minimal tank size or lack of other fish...this leads to shortened life spans.
If you want to keep the fish in this size tank, first off, I would say it would be short term (maybe a few years) and there really shouldn't be many, if any, other fish in there. Perhaps a few small one's at most. But ultimately, the question again is if you are fine with the situation - stunted growth, disease or shortened lifespan of the fish.
If you want the tang - a Kole is better. If you want the yellow fish, consider one of the dwarf angels perhaps.
As far as the Kole Tang ver the Yellow Tang, aren't we just talking a relative size of only being 2" difference at full growth? Top size Yellow Tang 8", top size Kole Tang 6", not much difference there if you ask me. But thats just mo.

 

[ophiura]

The Kole tang, behaviorally, is a better choice. It is not as much an active swimmer. Rather, it is a "rock hugger" and spends a great deal of time grazing as opposed to active swimming. So it is not so much the size, but the level of activity, that makes it more suitable.