Tang Question

sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Can I keep a yellow tang, and a blue hippo tang in one 150 gallon tank? The size of the tank is 60" Length x 30" Height x Approx 18" Depth.
I also have:
2 Clowns
5 Pyjama Cardinals
1 Blenny
I plan on getting a few other fish even after I purchase the tangs (assuming I can purchase the two) but know my space will be getting limited should I decide to get them.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
if you have lots of free swimming room in the tank to where they can cruise around and through some rock and stuff i would say yes.
Definatley the yellow, and i would think the blue as well.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Yes, I have a ton of room in there. I'm going to be removing some rock work and rearrange everything to better suit swimmers, but I do indeed have a nice amount of rock work for them to swim in and out of. Thanks for your feedback! Anyone else please feel free to chime in.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
So, I'm starting to really look at getting the fish I've wanted for some time. As I said, I am going to be purchasing a Blue Hippo Tang (hopefully tomorrow), I set up the refugium today I've had it running since I've started my DT but hadn't had the water warm enough to have anything live in there, so it's warming up right now. I believe it was around 64 and is now around 68 possibly even 70 now. I will run a test before bed just to make sure all levels are balanced as well.
Anyway, I'm getting the Blue Hippo Tang, and I also want the Yellow Tang. (Both will be purchased seperate and both will be QTed for at least 1 month!)
I have 5 pajama cardinals
1 blenny
2 clowns
Do you think it would be ok to fit a Bicolor Angelfish into the tank as well? This shows up as a dwarf angelfish, so I'm assuming it'll grow to be as large as 4 or 5 inches. I'm assuming it should be fine for my tank, but I run it by all the fish police!
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
The tang police have arrived! LOL
IMO you can do both of these fish if proper swimming room is allotted. I'm not a fan of seeing a Blue Hippo or any other larger tang in anything less than a 6ft long tank, but I've seen your tank in pictures and think it would work. Keep an eye out for aggression as well as either tang swimming/pacing back and forth, this pacing is a sure sign that the fish in unhappy and the tank is too small for it. My Blonde Naso is only 5-6" and is pacing my 6' long tank at the moment and it's not making me very comfortable.
As for the BiColor Angelfish, yes it is a dwarf angelfish, but it is one of the larger dwarfs, growing to 5-6". IMO, it's not a good reef inhabitant and there are better dwarf angelfish for reef tanks (which I believe yours is). BiColors also tend to be a little bit more difficult to care for than some of the other dwarfs. Although it's not required of them to have sponge in their diet as it is with most larger dwarfs, I haven't seen many people have long term success with these guys unless sponge is offered (which is available in many frozen angelfish prepared foods).
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/383462/tang-question#post_3354245
The tang police have arrived! LOL
IMO you can do both of these fish if proper swimming room is allotted. I'm not a fan of seeing a Blue Hippo or any other larger tang in anything less than a 6ft long tank, but I've seen your tank in pictures and think it would work. Keep an eye out for aggression as well as either tang swimming/pacing back and forth, this pacing is a sure sign that the fish in unhappy and the tank is too small for it. My Blonde Naso is only 5-6" and is pacing my 6' long tank at the moment and it's not making me very comfortable.
As for the BiColor Angelfish, yes it is a dwarf angelfish, but it is one of the larger dwarfs, growing to 5-6". IMO, it's not a good reef inhabitant and there are better dwarf angelfish for reef tanks (which I believe yours is). BiColors also tend to be a little bit more difficult to care for than some of the other dwarfs. Although it's not required of them to have sponge in their diet as it is with most larger dwarfs, I haven't seen many people have long term success with these guys unless sponge is offered (which is available in many frozen angelfish prepared foods).
Ok, so the pacing will be something to keep an eye out for. In this situation I won't purchase the Angelfish then. I had done some research after posting and found that the BiColor is a difficult angelfish to care for so it had me leary to start. Blonde Naso's get to be quite large though, don't Hippo's and Yellow Tangs get to be only 6 inches or so? I think I have a decent amount of swimming room for them and I just fixed some rock work to add a few extra hiding spots for them. So your personal opinion is OK on the Hippo and Yellow Tang, but no go on the BiColor Angelfish. Correct? Or are you leaning even more towards just one of the tangs? I'm not going to be one of those people that will buy regardless of what people say, so I'd like for you all to voice your opinions and I will take everything into thought. My only thing is I will be getting the hippo because I feel 5' is definately long enough for a Hippo alone.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I have a female blonde naso, so she'll probably only reach about 10" if I'm lucky. They do get larger in the wild, in captivity, only about 12" at best have I seen unless it's a male with streamers. I've already spoken with my local Aquarium, if I need to get rid of her, they will take her for their reef tanks.
Where did you read that Blue Hippo Tangs only get to be 6"? They can reach double that.
If the only two tangs you're doing are the blue hippo and the yellow, you should be okay, but definitely look for pacing/aggression. Try to get a Blue Hippo that is atleast 4", anything smaller is a gamble and IMO, won't fair well against a Yellow Tang, as they can get aggressive.
Skip the BiColor, but you could do a more reef safe dwarf such as a Coral Beauty, Flame Angel or African Flameback.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Can I add the Yellow later down the line when the hippo has grown in size? I don't plan to add them at the same time so I'm wondering will there be aggresion between the two if I add the hippo now and the yellow say 6 months down the line and the hippo has grown a bit more?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
You should be okay. They're different body shapes, so they shouldn't fight, but Yellows can be a bit aggressive. IMO, if you're not going to add at the same time, I would add the Blue Hippo first and let it build up its territory before adding the Yellow.
 
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