Tangs?

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by ClownRico
well MONK if your going to give advice to people who are very new at the hobby then you need to more specific!, we dont know what you mean, and if u cant do that, then i dont think your advice, is necessary. The several other people like me who have raised healthy great tangs in smaller tanks have an opinion also, and have seen it done without all of the ridiculous side effects that will happen!, and its time you come out and be a proud tang police member. its ok, im sure theyll accept you.

I believe my first post was rather specific. I try to give competent reasons why on most of the advice that I offer, and although sometimes my advice might differ from someone else who knows more (and that has happened recently), you'll find that the info that I gave above to be fairly accurate 90% of the time. If someone finds my information to be inaccurate, I am definitely gracious enough to accept it and apologize for steering someone in the wrong direction.
Personally, I believe it is reckless to tell someone new to the hobby that they can put 2 tangs in a 45 gallon tank considering all of the accounts where this is detrimental to the health of the fish. You are certainly welcome to your opinion, but again, because of the overwhelming number of failures doing this, I believe new people shouldn't be advised to do this. And if you want to say that I'm a member of the so-called "tang police" because I believe in giving proper care to fish, that is fine by me.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by ClownRico
.... The several other people like me who have raised healthy great tangs in smaller tanks ...
If your Tang is not outgrowing a small tank you are not raising a healthy Tang.
Furthermore ClownRico, you are not being honest when you say you've raised Tangs in small tanks. A quick scan of your posting history shows you have never kept a Tang long.

 

[jonthefishguy]

Busted!!! Anyways. Yes, keeping 2 tangs in a small tank much less 1 is a bad idea and serves no purpose other than you just dont care about the fish. It is no secret that these fish require much more swimming room and do in fact reach very close to their full body size in HEALTHY aquariums. Large fish such as tangs that stay small in aquariums are usually under poor health or bad feeding habits which in turn causes their growth to be stunned. Tang police or not, its just common sense and I guess not everyone has it or uses it.

 

[wangotango]

How many people do you think actually upgrade their tank after they get a tang? "I'm putting a yellow tang in my 29gal, but I'm upgrading in a year so it'll be fine."

Way to escape the tang police me thinks...
The whole tank vs ocean thing is ridiculous so give it up. Of course the fish would be happier in the ocean, but there is a big difference between keeping a full adult hippo or sailfin tang in a 55 than say a 750. Nobody is saying put the tang in a larger tank just for the heck of it. There is no point in spending all this money in this hobby if you don't care about what you're doing, and you don't need to be a tree-hugger to think this. It's not even all about the size of the fish. Do you really think that an adult tang, a fish that grazes continuosly, will live on the algae growing in say a 30gal? You can feed all the nori you want, but seriously...
You also mentioned that tangs are very individual. Just about every type of tang usually is found in schools.
I would think that if the majority of people in a hobby that is built off of personal experience along with the knowledge of a very few well known people who have done experiments and studies think something is a bad idea, it probably is. I went through two yellow tangs in a 55 before I realized this.
-Justin

 

[clownrico]

lmao, im busted! i dont think so. i think you guys think ur so clever to try and bully people to believe what your saying, first of all journeyman i have no interest in what you say, for what its worth, you dont need to comment on anything i say, your nothing but a trouble maker, i dont trust you at all. i think certain people need to removed from this site because its heading in the wrong direction.. am i allowed to give my own opinion, good god!, noone knows my history with saltwater and i dont need to share it online to you. ive raised a tang, i said people have raised tangs! like many people. TANG POLICE WILL ALWAYS LOSE, the ocean is a great reference to keep you people from realizing that you think your doing these fish a favor, if you care soo freaking much then go release them in the ocean! enough, im soo sorry, new-guy you had to see these guys act like this, it never ends all they do is bully and try and prove points, its completely ridiculous. no need to comment anymore on what you think, i dont care.

 

[wangotango]

Really I don't see how we're being bullies. Other members have posted their opinions and none of them were harsh or judgmental towards the OP. It is members like you who cause trouble.
If you feel that keeping tangs in x size of tank is fine, you do it. If I think it's better to keep them in y size tanks fine. We all gave our opinions and it's the OP's job to determine whose they want to follow.
Don't start with "If you loved your fish you'd put them back in the ocean." There is a difference between setting up a habitat that will be marginal at keeping an animal healthy, and setting up one that will allow it to live health and happily. There is no reason why tangs cannot be kept in captivity.
-Justin

 

[jonthefishguy]

Oh well, I guess with CLOWNRICO's 1 year saltwater experience under his belt with a 55 gallon, he is able to give great advice.

 

[aquaknight]

We are agruing about apples to oranges. ClownRico is pretty much saying that a Kole Tang would do fine in a 55gal. That may or may not be true, depending on your idea of 'fine' but I doubt a Kole would die from being in a 55. However, he is blanket stating that his experience, with perhaps the smallest tang, is true of all tangs, which is far from the truth. No way would a 55 hold an adult Hippo tang, sailfin, etc (think of medium tangs here, obviously any large ones would go insane).

 

[ccampbell57]

I currently have an 8.5" hippo tang in my 180 with a 7" naso tang. They do fine. But I will bet the farm that the hippo will be at 10" by Fall.
She would NEVER be able to be in a 55 or even a 75. I would only put her in a 125 MINIMUM.
I agree with everyone that tangs are not meant for a small tank. There are a couple of tangs that you may be able to keep in a smaller tank (55), but that is far from the rule.

 

[1journeyman]

ClownRico, I didn't post here for your benefit; I posted here for the benefit of the potentially thousands of other posters who might read your posts and believe you've done something successfully that you haven't.
You are absolutely free to post your opinions. That said, understand other posters may very well disagree with you. You do not have the right to post an opinion and then tell anyone not to post in rebuttal. This is SWF's forums, not your own.
If you wish to debate with them make sure you do so in a polite fashion.

 

[petjunkie]

Why is it that people with tangs in small tanks always say they are "happy' healthy, doing great, la dee da and people with tangs in huge tanks think they need more room? Perhaps because a healthy tang in a suitable space is an extremely active fish. Another factor to consider is tangs are usually more aggressive in cramped quarters, more likely to fight. They also need established stable tanks with lots of flow and a good amount of live rock to graze on, they are not a beginner fish. If you are looking for an active fish a dwarf angel or sixline wrasse would be better suited to your size tank. Listen to your pet store, they are giving good advice.

 

[ice4ice]

I am in the planning stages of starting my first SW tank, ClownRico. I, too was going to add a Tang in a 46G tank, But you know what ? After alot of reading & research on tangs and looking onto different forum sites for opinions, it's not worth the money wasted on a tang if they're not going to do well in smaller tanks. Why ? Because I am going to a RESPONSIBLE SW fish tank owner.
There are fine folks here with YEARS of experience of raising/keeping tangs and knowing their swimming habits, feeding habits and of course their personaltiy/aggressiveness of tangs in general. Don't go bashing and labelling them as "bullies" because they ADVISED you not to put tangs in a small tank.
But hey, if you want to put your tangs in a smaller tank - go ahead. I guess you'll have to learn the hard way. It's you money to burn ... and your ignorance of tang success stories in small tanks.

 

[freak man]

This thread is just amazing,

I, wow I dont know what to say. This is my personal experience. In the early 80's my mom and I switched from fresh to salt. And we did the 3" layer of cc, undergravel filter, coral skeleton decorations, and cycled the tanks with blue damsels. The largest tank was a 55 gallon.
She had a Rock Beauty Angel for 9 years, and a mated pair of Tomatoe Clowns that laid eggs on a regular basis. Her fav fish were Yellow tangs. She would buy them small, they never grew very large because they would always die before they had a chance to grow larger. Wow go figure, they would always come down with some disease. Or they would just up and die.
About a year ago she set up a 45? or so gallon bow front. She did the same thing, cc, damsels , 2 clowns and a ... you guessed it a yellow tang. She tore it down and whent fresh water about 2 months ago. The yellow tang got ich, and died, so did the clowns and the damsels were returned to the store.
How anybody can think someone posting about the health and well being of a fish think that it is bad advice just shows how ignorant they are and a disgrace to this hoby.Kind of like people that keep large dogs in there studio apt. Only to come home from work and the dog eats there couch chairs and what ever else, out of boredom. And the people beat there dogs

Why some people have to put a lable on a group of people that care about a specific group of fish is beyond me. Its because of the so called "Tang police" that a few of those beutiful fish have not died from inexperienced people's ignorance. God bless the Tang Police, or just the people that care.