Yellow Tang in a 55.......

hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by scoot
ive had my yellow tang in my 55 for a long time now and he nvr swims bak and forth hes always eating off the rocks but i do think they shouldnt be kept in a 55 unless u have lots of stuff they can eat like algeas off ur LR
What do you consider a long time? A year or less is not even success in this hobby. What foods they have is not the question here it's the space to swim freely minimum 6 FEET...
 
natep206

natep206

Member
Originally Posted by hot883
What do you consider a long time? A year or less is not even success in this hobby. What foods they have is not the question here it's the space to swim freely minimum 6 FEET...
as stated earlier (to my suprize) yts arnt open water fish. but they DO SWIM WHEN IN SEARCH OF FOOD. there for a yt with alot of algae to eat wont be swimming all around it will be be picking off of rocks. and a yt with not alot of algae and rock will be swimming all around trying to find a good food source. there for the question might be foods they have and not space to swim freely.
nate
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by NateP206
as stated earlier (to my suprize) yts arnt open water fish. but they DO SWIM WHEN IN SEARCH OF FOOD. there for a yt with alot of algae to eat wont be swimming all around it will be be picking off of rocks. and a yt with not alot of algae and rock will be swimming all around trying to find a good food source. there for the question might be foods they have and not space to swim freely.
nate

Nate, that is an excellent point. I really do like it when the learning takes over. That may be a very valid point.
The thing that concerns me is that folks set up new tanks and add the fish that is in such high demand in this hobby. To newcomers, especially. You don't hear about folks who have been doing this for years asking if they can have a tang.
IDK, even with a tank that has been established for 2+ years, I would be very hesitant. Food supplies diminish..and they search.
 
fishfiend

fishfiend

Member
you all have said many times that a yellow tang swims hundreds of miles each day..
i find that extremely hard to believe. on top of that, if a yellow tang was bred and raised in captivity, its not going to know the difference. how can it miss swimming all those miles per day, and be unhappy if its never experianced it before?
i think a 55 gallon tank is a big enough tank to keep a yellow tang happy and healthy. JMO
 
reeffreak9

reeffreak9

Member
I have a yt in my 55 gal, no problems. Never had ich or any other illness. I know he can't tell me otherwise, but I believe he is happy. As far as not having enough swimming room... he really just sticks around the left side of the tank. He swims in and out of his cave and eats ALOT! Every time I sit down infront of the tank he comes up to the glass and looks purddy for me. As far as I can tell he is as happy as can be. And healthy too. Imo, the yt is the only tang I'd put in a 55 though.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by FishFiend
on top of that, if a yellow tang was bred and raised in captivity, its not going to know the difference. how can it miss swimming all those miles per day, and be unhappy if its never experianced it before?

I may be totally wrong, but I have never heard of YT's being captive bred.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by zanoshanox
they are very easy to breed i think.

Oh...I did not know that. Thanks for the info. :joy:
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
Great debate thus far!
My only question is how can a fishes happieness be judged?
If someone has had a Yellow Tang in their 55 gallon tank for years and it is healthy, how can one know that the fish is "unhappy"?

IMO, because the fish should outgrow that tank. And if it has not in several years, then, IMO, it is not healthy. JMO tho.

But people are also convinced that things like the fish running up to the corner of the tank means they are happy to see the owner (it is basic conditioning a la Pavlov's dog), or that they are happy because they are "pacing" the tank, or that they are happy because they swim into the current of their powerhead because they are "playing." Unfortunately, people ascribe all sorts of inappropriate human emotions on fish....clouds things.
The question, IMO, is not whether the fish is "happy" which is a human emotion, but whether it is healthy. And if it has not outgrown what would be a very confined space in the wild, that is an issue, and reason not to keep them long term in small tanks. When you see these animals in large systems, boy, they are very impressive.

I have not read the whole thread so far, but I appreciate that you all seem to be taking a heated topic in stride....!
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
I have had 1 yt in all of my exp. He was in a 55 with other things(nothing large, mostly inverts) He seemed to flourish, never had a problem with ich nor other parisites or dieases. Come to think of it when the tank crashed after 3 years He, The sea apple, and a condy anem. were the only ones left. So in light of the damage he may have sustained he was adopted out while I rebuilt the setup. He was placed in a 220 and looked the same as he always did.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
So, in you folks experience, what is, if any, the best suited Tang for a 55 gallon or other 4' long tank?

IMO, the Kole (aka Yellow Eye) is the only suitable one.
I am not a member of the tang police, BTW. Often they bother me as much as people on the other side who also throw out unecessary names and are equally inflamatory.

I, for example, would take one of those TINY regals and put it into a 30g reef to grow it up - but that is assuming it is THE fish and the intent is to grow it a bit to a bigger tank. I do not believe in the "no way no how" but I do believe that these are not fish that should be placed in a 4'tank for years on end. They should be a transient fish, and if your LFS does not take them back, or you will grow too attached to them, then I think it better that you NOT get one then to risk keeping it for years on end.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
This fish swims hundreds and hundreds of miles each day!
Yes emperor, I know you already answered this, but this is just common sense, a car traveling at 60 mph can maybe make 200 mi in a day maybe more. Have you ever seen a yellow tang travel at 60 miles per hour in a strait line all day. they maybe make 5 miles per day, just going back and forth. My verdict yes they can be happ and healthy in a 55
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
IMO, because the fish should outgrow that tank. And if it has not in several years, then, IMO, it is not healthy. JMO tho.

But people are also convinced that things like the fish running up to the corner of the tank means they are happy to see the owner (it is basic conditioning a la Pavlov's dog), or that they are happy because they are "pacing" the tank, or that they are happy because they swim into the current of their powerhead because they are "playing." Unfortunately, people ascribe all sorts of inappropriate human emotions on fish....clouds things.
The question, IMO, is not whether the fish is "happy" which is a human emotion, but whether it is healthy. And if it has not outgrown what would be a very confined space in the wild, that is an issue, and reason not to keep them long term in small tanks. When you see these animals in large systems, boy, they are very impressive.

I have not read the whole thread so far, but I appreciate that you all seem to be taking a heated topic in stride....!

Good info.
This is exactly what I was looking for.
I do feel that some are hesitant to post their experience in this matter for fear of being flamed.
Anyway, keep it comin'!
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
IMO, the Kole (aka Yellow Eye) is the only suitable one.
I am not a member of the tang police, BTW. Often they bother me as much as people on the other side who also throw out unecessary names and are equally inflamatory.

I, for example, would take one of those TINY regals and put it into a 30g reef to grow it up - but that is assuming it is THE fish and the intent is to grow it a bit to a bigger tank. I do not believe in the "no way no how" but I do believe that these are not fish that should be placed in a 4'tank for years on end. They should be a transient fish, and if your LFS does not take them back, or you will grow too attached to them, then I think it better that you NOT get one then to risk keeping it for years on end.

***)
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by zanoshanox
they are very easy to breed i think.
I think you are mistaken. Every site I have searched has said they have not been reported to breed in captivity.
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
IMO, because the fish should outgrow that tank. And if it has not in several years, then, IMO, it is not healthy. JMO tho.

But people are also convinced that things like the fish running up to the corner of the tank means they are happy to see the owner (it is basic conditioning a la Pavlov's dog), or that they are happy because they are "pacing" the tank, or that they are happy because they swim into the current of their powerhead because they are "playing." Unfortunately, people ascribe all sorts of inappropriate human emotions on fish....clouds things.
The question, IMO, is not whether the fish is "happy" which is a human emotion, but whether it is healthy. And if it has not outgrown what would be a very confined space in the wild, that is an issue, and reason not to keep them long term in small tanks. When you see these animals in large systems, boy, they are very impressive.

I have not read the whole thread so far, but I appreciate that you all seem to be taking a heated topic in stride....!

When one wishes to add an attractive fish or invert, please consider it as it exsists in the wild.
The yellow tang eats itself out of a home in no time and moves on. Perhaps not 100 miles per day, as someone has said, but the point is the appetite exceeds the tank unless the tank can reproduce the harvested areas.
Come on folks, a 55 can't. A 75 can't. ETC.
If you can feed this fish enough to satisfy it, the fish (as quoted) should outgrow the tank. And I'm sorry, I have a tough time with "I bought the fish because I have plans to up grade". Give the fish the upgraded home it needs first. Not last.
 
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