green machine
Member
What is the smallest system you would put a Vlamingi in? and what would you consider the ideal size tank for one?
Vlamingi Tang
- Thread starter green machine
- Start date
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Well for a visual I would go to my local public aquarium
green machine
Member
well.. i have one that came with the 155g that i bought, and I plan on selling because I dont think I would personally keep one in that size of a tank, swf site says minimum of 110g. that seems pretty small.
I want to make sure I sell him to someone who has an appropiate sized tank.
I want to make sure I sell him to someone who has an appropiate sized tank.
S
saltman23
Guest
IMO 155 is a fine size for one.
florida joe
Well-Known Member
I believe SWF states min size tank at 250g
culled info from the net
I couldn’t think of a fish to write about for this month’s column until I stumbled upon a debate in one of the XXXXX forums. The debate was over the ethics of keeping the Vlamingi tang (Naso vlamingi) in home aquariums. The Vlamingi tang grows to be a spectacular reef fish; it’s hardy, eats well in captivity, doesn’t bother sessile invertebrates, and rarely quarrels with other reef fish. Sounds like the perfect addition to your reef aquarium, right? Well, I left out one fact. It grows to an adult length of two feet! Juvenile specimens, in the two to four inch range, are frequently available for sale. If maintained well, they will rapidly outgrow the largest of home aquariums. I’m not going to tell you not to buy this fish or any other fish, but I feel it’s important for every aquarist to do their research BEFORE buying living creatures for their aquariums. All too often I see posts on the various forums that start out with “I just bought this fish/coral. Can someone help me identify it?” I don’t want to make this a column about ethics but I will present some of the arguments on both sides of the issue.
The Vlamingi tang is part of the large family of tangs and surgeonfish, Acanthuridae. It belongs to the sub-family, Nasinae, which contains the single genus, Naso. There are 20 species of Naso tangs, including the Vlamingi tang. Naso tangs are distinguished by the two fixed spines on the caudal penduncle. In other tangs and surgeonfish, the spines retract into a sheath. Some Naso tangs develop nasal protrusions as they mature. These can be small humps or single large horns, hence the name “unicornfish.”
All the Naso tangs get very large by aquarium standards. Adult sizes range from 12 inches up to 36 inches (Naso annulatus)! Most of the Naso tangs are somewhat understated in coloration, with the exceptions of perhaps N. lituratus and N. elegans. Even the Vlamingi tang is a bit of an ugly duckling. The magnificent coloration doesn’t manifest itself until the fish reaches 8-10 inches in length.
Naso tangs are primarily mid-water planktivores. They cruise reef walls in large numbers and feed on passing zooplankton in the tidal currents. They will also graze the substrate for algae, a trait that is more pronounced in some species than others (e.g., N. lituratus and N. elegans).
Naso tangs are a widespread species and occur throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean, but are not present in the Atlantic Ocean
Naso tangs are primarily mid-water planktivores. They cruise reef walls in large numbers and feed on passing zooplankton in the tidal currents. They will also graze the substrate for algae, a trait that is more pronounced in some species than others (e.g., N. lituratus and N. elegans).
Naso tangs are a widespread species and occur throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean, but are not present in the Atlantic Ocean
Keeping more than one specimen. They are a spectacular sight in groups. Joe Yaiullo maintains a group of Vlamingi tangs in the Atlantis Marine World reef aquarium. This aquarium is 30 feet in length and 20,000 gallons in volume!
Other than space, Vlamingi tangs have no special needs. They look their best in reef aquariums but don’t appreciate being crowded by corals and rocks. They literally eat just about anything, but a good diet should consist of an assortment of meaty seafood. Chopped krill, mysis shrimp, plankton, crabmeat, and clams are good sources of nutrition, along with occasional spirulina-enriched flakes and dried Macroalgae. As planktivores, they should be fed at least twice daily. Vlamingi tangs make good tank mates. They don’t exhibit the territoriality of most of the other tangs and generally ignore other reef fish.
culled info from the net
I couldn’t think of a fish to write about for this month’s column until I stumbled upon a debate in one of the XXXXX forums. The debate was over the ethics of keeping the Vlamingi tang (Naso vlamingi) in home aquariums. The Vlamingi tang grows to be a spectacular reef fish; it’s hardy, eats well in captivity, doesn’t bother sessile invertebrates, and rarely quarrels with other reef fish. Sounds like the perfect addition to your reef aquarium, right? Well, I left out one fact. It grows to an adult length of two feet! Juvenile specimens, in the two to four inch range, are frequently available for sale. If maintained well, they will rapidly outgrow the largest of home aquariums. I’m not going to tell you not to buy this fish or any other fish, but I feel it’s important for every aquarist to do their research BEFORE buying living creatures for their aquariums. All too often I see posts on the various forums that start out with “I just bought this fish/coral. Can someone help me identify it?” I don’t want to make this a column about ethics but I will present some of the arguments on both sides of the issue.
The Vlamingi tang is part of the large family of tangs and surgeonfish, Acanthuridae. It belongs to the sub-family, Nasinae, which contains the single genus, Naso. There are 20 species of Naso tangs, including the Vlamingi tang. Naso tangs are distinguished by the two fixed spines on the caudal penduncle. In other tangs and surgeonfish, the spines retract into a sheath. Some Naso tangs develop nasal protrusions as they mature. These can be small humps or single large horns, hence the name “unicornfish.”
All the Naso tangs get very large by aquarium standards. Adult sizes range from 12 inches up to 36 inches (Naso annulatus)! Most of the Naso tangs are somewhat understated in coloration, with the exceptions of perhaps N. lituratus and N. elegans. Even the Vlamingi tang is a bit of an ugly duckling. The magnificent coloration doesn’t manifest itself until the fish reaches 8-10 inches in length.
Naso tangs are primarily mid-water planktivores. They cruise reef walls in large numbers and feed on passing zooplankton in the tidal currents. They will also graze the substrate for algae, a trait that is more pronounced in some species than others (e.g., N. lituratus and N. elegans).
Naso tangs are a widespread species and occur throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean, but are not present in the Atlantic Ocean
Naso tangs are primarily mid-water planktivores. They cruise reef walls in large numbers and feed on passing zooplankton in the tidal currents. They will also graze the substrate for algae, a trait that is more pronounced in some species than others (e.g., N. lituratus and N. elegans).
Naso tangs are a widespread species and occur throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean, but are not present in the Atlantic Ocean
Keeping more than one specimen. They are a spectacular sight in groups. Joe Yaiullo maintains a group of Vlamingi tangs in the Atlantis Marine World reef aquarium. This aquarium is 30 feet in length and 20,000 gallons in volume!
Other than space, Vlamingi tangs have no special needs. They look their best in reef aquariums but don’t appreciate being crowded by corals and rocks. They literally eat just about anything, but a good diet should consist of an assortment of meaty seafood. Chopped krill, mysis shrimp, plankton, crabmeat, and clams are good sources of nutrition, along with occasional spirulina-enriched flakes and dried Macroalgae. As planktivores, they should be fed at least twice daily. Vlamingi tangs make good tank mates. They don’t exhibit the territoriality of most of the other tangs and generally ignore other reef fish.
green machine
Member
here is a direct quote from swf
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
fishkid13
Active Member
Originally Posted by green machine
http:///forum/post/3074446
here is a direct quote from swf
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
Personaly I don't like how SWF.com provides their information about their livestock. I am not saying the they don't know what they are doing. Were you looking at the Vlamingi tang juv? I would say no to keeping it. A 155 is big but these fish very large and need a very large amount of swimming room.
http:///forum/post/3074446
here is a direct quote from swf
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
Personaly I don't like how SWF.com provides their information about their livestock. I am not saying the they don't know what they are doing. Were you looking at the Vlamingi tang juv? I would say no to keeping it. A 155 is big but these fish very large and need a very large amount of swimming room.
green machine
Member
ohh, dont get me wrong, keeping it is not an option, im just wanted to see about when someone wants to buy it, how big of a tang should that person have. I agree that a 155 is not large enough for a vlamingi longterm
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by green machine
http:///forum/post/3074446
here is a direct quote from swf
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
The size you reference is 2 to 3.5 inched an extreme juvenal if you had looked furter you would have seen SWF recommends a size 4 to 6 inches as follows
The Vlamingi Tang, a.k.a. Bignose Unicornfish, is a large species of the Surgeonfishes that has a light blue body color that is covered in navy blue vertical lines and spots. These fish are a very docile Tang species and do well with other Tangs, as well as other fish. The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 250 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
And this is a fish that commonly grows to an average length of 24inches
http:///forum/post/3074446
here is a direct quote from swf
The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 110 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
The size you reference is 2 to 3.5 inched an extreme juvenal if you had looked furter you would have seen SWF recommends a size 4 to 6 inches as follows
The Vlamingi Tang, a.k.a. Bignose Unicornfish, is a large species of the Surgeonfishes that has a light blue body color that is covered in navy blue vertical lines and spots. These fish are a very docile Tang species and do well with other Tangs, as well as other fish. The Vlamingi Tang should be kept in a minimum tank size of 250 gallons. Keep only one per tank. They are voracious algae eaters.
And this is a fish that commonly grows to an average length of 24inches
green machine
Member
Thanks Joe, I missed the adult portion.
So I guess I should only sell to someone with a minimum of 250g. The vlamingi I have is 4-5 inches.
So I guess I should only sell to someone with a minimum of 250g. The vlamingi I have is 4-5 inches.
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by green machine
http:///forum/post/3074488
Thanks Joe, I missed the adult portion.
So I guess I should only sell to someone with a minimum of 250g. The vlamingi I have is 4-5 inches.
I think as a conscientious hobbyist, which you seem to be, it woud be a good idea to educate anyone interested in buying it
http:///forum/post/3074488
Thanks Joe, I missed the adult portion.
So I guess I should only sell to someone with a minimum of 250g. The vlamingi I have is 4-5 inches.
I think as a conscientious hobbyist, which you seem to be, it woud be a good idea to educate anyone interested in buying it
ophiura
Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3074382
Well for a visual I would go to my local public aquarium
Yep, do this and IMO even a 250 will look too small.
http:///forum/post/3074382
Well for a visual I would go to my local public aquarium
Yep, do this and IMO even a 250 will look too small.
briand7878
Member
I kept one in my 125 for about a year. It didnt grow at all for about 6 months. The next 6 months it was unstoppable. That sucker was a growing machine. I upgraded my tank to a 220 just for that stupid fish. He showed me his gratitude by jumping out and dying about 2 months later.
juniors04
Member
Originally Posted by BRIAND7878
http:///forum/post/3074932
I kept one in my 125 for about a year. It didnt grow at all for about 6 months. The next 6 months it was unstoppable. That sucker was a growing machine. I upgraded my tank to a 220 just for that stupid fish. He showed me his gratitude by jumping out and dying about 2 months later.
Man thats a bummer!
http:///forum/post/3074932
I kept one in my 125 for about a year. It didnt grow at all for about 6 months. The next 6 months it was unstoppable. That sucker was a growing machine. I upgraded my tank to a 220 just for that stupid fish. He showed me his gratitude by jumping out and dying about 2 months later.
Man thats a bummer!
green machine
Member
I found a buyer and he hes a big enough system. so everythings ago.