What tang?

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
I am curently in the works of a 70 gallon tank which will be up and running by December. I have done a lot of research on Tangs but I have only dealt with the Regal Tang in the past. Cool, little fish but he got ick and dies on me after a couple of months. Anyways, I was curious as to what tang you guys would recommend for my 70 or if you would even recommend me getting a Tang. I am still getting used to these little fish as I am most familiar with all the big, aggressive fish so bear with me. I will have 1 Flame Angel, 1 Yellow-head Jawfish, 1 SwissGuard Basslet, 1 Black-cap Basslet, and 1 Perc Clown. I am getting rid of the Foxface due to his aggression towards my Angel. It is going to have a Wavemaker, a Protien skimmer, 5 powerheads, and a Refugium. No need to worry about algea for the tang to eat. I have so much calurpa I have to throw away a bunch everyday. Probably 5 pounds a month I throw away. So what do you think. I'm also going to add a pair of Purple Firefish and be done with the tank. Any replies would be appreciated and personal experiences are great. Thanks.

 

[grouperhead]

lionfish, i would reccomend a kole/yelloweye tang for your tank. they are one of the smaller gorwing tangs, and i think one would work good in a 70 gallon. they are imo one of the best looking tangs as well, i love the purple and yellows and them. they are also pretty hardy as far as tangs go. you may be able to get a yellow in there, but he might get agressive to the angel. go with the kole. bo

 

[blueberryboomer]

Hey lionfish, We just got our Unicorn Tang last week, he is a cool looking fish, we bought a juvy, so he doesn't have his horn yet, when he mutures he will become a dark blue with light blue spots and have a horn growing out of his head. Very different looking fish. Ours is doing very good, he even ate the first night in the tank...
I'd say try a Unicorn Tang....Later Lisa
P.S. I have a pic of our posted on our web page if you want to see him, beware it loads slow, I'm working on that...
Also I forgot to add they have been known to breed in a home tank... http://www.angelfire.com/my/fixitandbluesreef
[ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: BLUEBERRYBOOMER ]
[ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: BLUEBERRYBOOMER ]

 

[pufferlover]

Lionfish; The only two tangs I have ever had luck with is the Kole (mine is almost 4 now) and my Sailfin which is a little over a year now. The Kole loves to peck away at algae but eats all other foods I feed. The Sailfin is a great eatre also and is pretty darn hardy. My Sailfin is in my 65 and one of its tank mates is a juvenile King Angel who altho a bit nasty does not mess with the Sailfin who just raises his fin and sticks his spike out and backs towards the Angel who then leaves the area.
Interesting side note on the Kole Tang that I read about is that years ago in Hawaii they were considered special favorites of the kings and if one was caught with one they would be put to death. They were considered god like by the people for many years there. They are also considered favorites for a reef tank and they are friendly towards members of its own species.

 

[tjswanson]

Alright Lionfish, I've had just about every tang. Throughout my experiences w/ tangs Zebrosoma tangs are by far the most hardy w/ a close second to the Naso genius. But if you'd like a somewhat aggressive tang that looks absolutely awesome, you can't go wrong w/ a sohol. But being a 70g. I'd stay w/ something like a Scopas, aka brown tang, Purple tang, Naso, Blonde naso, and sailfins do well. I'd stay away from the powder tangs, blue and brown. Achilles and Clown tangs don't do well either. TJ

 

[jimi]

I have found over the years that purples are by far one of the toughest tangs. They are not real powerful swimmers like the powders or larger tangs so you could get away with one in a 70. As far as the other tangs Koles are ok but really need a good supply of algae in the tank, sohols get way too big for a 70 and are powerful swimmers as do the unicorns which get really big. The Acanthurus family of tangs(powders,achilles,clown,etc.)should definately not be kept in anything under a 100 or bigger depending on the particular fish and not by new aquarist or tanks.

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says.......
Thanks for the replies, guys. I have known to stay away from the Sohol and Achilles. And I have dealt with Clown triggers at the LFS and they aren't easy to keep healthy. Yellows really can get ick as I've seen. I have kept my eye on Purples and Koles for awhile. Algea is no problem for me. Like I said I have way too much calurpa. It grows so fast that the Angel and Foxface can't even keep it under control. So that is not a worry for me. The only problem I have with the Purple is that it costs so much. And I would hate for it to get ick and kill off all my fish. I have some very expensive fish with it. I baby my Black-cap, Swissguard, and Flame Angel because they cost me more. I don't want to lose them. And I love that little Jawfish. Now, I couldn't care less about the clown. Stupid thing is way too territorial and it has started to sleep on my brain coral and it gets agitated. But overall, I pretty much knew which ones to stay away from. I was very curious what your opinions were. I will think about the Purple. And, Blueberry, nice fish. Colorful, too. Of course, most people have forgotten I have a 180 waiting to be set up. But I will wait awhile before that project.

 

[uel]

Lionfish,
I have had great success with the Regal Blue, Yellow, and Purple in the same tank with a Bicolor Angel. I did remove the Yellow when I got the Purple. My Regal is over 4 years old and the Yellow was at least 2 when I traded him, and the Purple is now about one year old. I had two tangs die on me and they were a Naso (three tries) and one Sailfin. They were all in a swim tank. I think I over loaded the tank when I added the last two tangs. My LFS guy says the Yellow and Purple are two of the most aggressive Tangs. The purple will be the last fish I transfer over to my new 180. Good Luck.