Tangs & Surgeonfish: Why you can't keep one in your nano

[lgreen]

Tangs & Surgeonfish: Why you can't keep one in your nano

 

By lgreen (copyright 2010)

 

 

(Image source: http://westcoastconnection.wordpress.com)

 

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Your Responsibility As A Fish Owner

II. Why You Can't Keep A Tang In Your Nano Explained

IV. Starting Tangs In Smaller Tanks & Transferring To Larger Tanks

V. Summary Of Genus, Commonly Available Species, & Their Minimum Tank Size

 

I. Introduction

 

Tangs & Surgeonfish are well known for their striking colors, fascinating schooling and feeding behaviors, and along with clownfish are probably one of the most easily recognized fish by both non-hobbyist and hobbyists when they think about what fish live in the reefs. In fact, in many cases it is the bright yellow color of the Yellow tang or contrasting blue and black coloring of the Blue Hippo Tang that bring people into this hobby. Tangs and surgeonfish can be great pets...they are often very social, can be trained to eat right from your hand, and are relatively hardy & long-lived.

 

Unfortunately though, there are several reasons why tangs and surgeonfish are not the ideal choice for stocking your nano aquarium. I will explain these reasons in further detail below, but to give you a basic summary, it mostly has to do with their maximum adult size, fast growth rates, aggression/territorial issues, feeding behavior, and their susceptibility to stress & disease.

 

II. Your Responsibility As A Fish Owner

 

Fish are living things and deserve to be cared for as you would any other animal. Their life and well-being should not be valued by their price or just because they are easy to replace. As a fish owner you should strive to give your fish the most natural life possible, respecting that you have removed this animal from it's natural environment. To be straightforward, if you aren't willing to put forth the effort, time, money, and do the necessary research to properly take care of and create the ideal environment for your fish, you need to find a different hobby.

• Design your aquarium around what fish you would like to inhabit it with. Never expect a fish to just adapt to a less than adequate tank size.
  
• Plan your aquarium around the maximum size the fish will get. Just because it is a baby does not give you an excuse to keep it in a smaller tank.
  

I can not stress the above two statements enough when keeping tangs & surgeonfish. If you know you want to keep a tang or surgeonfish, it is absolutely critical that you design an aquarium system around the needs of that fish and around keeping that fish for its entire life. If you expect a tang or surgeonfish to just adapt to what you feel to be an adequate habitat, you will be asking for trouble which may have very negative consequences. It is also a generally accepted rule that regardless of whether a fish is a baby or adult, you should place it in the tank it will need to be happy as an adult from the start. DO NOT think it is ok to place your tang in a nano for a few years while promising yourself you will upgrade to a larger tank at some point. Although a baby tang or surgeonfish is smaller, it still exhibits the same behaviors of an adult...some of which are accounted for in determining the minimum tank size. I will discuss minimum tank size and the idea of transferring fish between tanks as it grows below.

 

Also keep in mind:

• Regardless of what the fish guy at Walmart told you, fish do not only grow to the size of the tank you put them in.
  
• Fish stores are businesses and looking to make money. There are some great fish stores that really do care about their customers, their customer's tanks, and give out great advice. Unfortunately, that is not as often the case as it should be. Exercise extreme caution when taking advice from fish stores until you know they are really interested in helping you have an amazing tank and not just taking your money.
  
• Research, research, and more research! Learn everything you can!
  

 

II. Why You Can't Keep A Tang In Your Nano Explained

 

Adult Size

 

The smallest commonly available fish with in the tang & surgeon fish genus gets to be around 7", while the largest get nearly 1.5 feet. So in this case, it simply comes down to the fact that most nano aquariums would give these fish nearly no room to move.

 

Fast Growth

 

Some species of tangs and surgeonfish are commonly available for sale at sizes down to 3/4". While they may appear tiny and cute at the time, they can easily double their size with in just a year. Will you have the funding to upgrade your tank every year to accommodate this growth? It would be smarter for your pocket book and the fishes best interest to just plan for the fishes maximum size from the start.

 

Aggression/Territory

 

Tangs and surgeons are very territorial and can exhibit rather aggressive behavior towards other fish, as well, other tangs or surgeons. Tangs and surgeons come from an environment of limited food and resources, therefore they must grab what food they can and defend the territory in which they graze for food. The problem here is that they exhibit these same behaviors whether they are in the ocean or in any tank size. They have fairly descent size territories and will defend them to the death. The smaller the tank you put a tang in, the more and more it will feel the need to defend what limited territory is available. People with tangs in smaller tanks (even 55-125g+tanks!) often find it is difficult and in some cases impossible to introduce any new fish to their tank after a tang has established its territory. The tang sees this fish as a threat to its territory and therefore will kill it. Nano aquariums simply do not provide enough territory for these fish and they may feel the need to be overly aggressive to defend it as it becomes more limited.

 

Feeding Behavior

 

Tangs and surgeonfish are herbivores that typically graze on algae growing through out the reef. As they are also opportunistic eaters, they usually will also accept brine/mysis shrimp, however this should not be their main source of nutrition, and plenty of algae in different forms should make up the bulk of their diet. A nano aquarium does not provide the surface area for the growth of algae that would allow these fish to casually graze on the rocks through out the day.

 

Stress/Disease

 

While established tangs & surgeonfish can be very hardy and long lived, they also are very susceptible to disease most commonly caused by stress. Stress may come in the form of being transported, introduced to a new tank, territorial pressures, not enough hiding spaces, and other issues with the aquarium chemistry itself. In some cases this stress also leads the fish to stop eating. By placing a tang or surgeonfish into a nano aquarium, you are subjecting it to even more stress than it would already be experiencing when placed into an adequately sized tank, therefore greatly increasing the risk of the fish getting a parasitical/bacterial infection, or it may simply stop eating and waste away. These fish already stress enough just from the move from the fish store to your tank and being put into less than adequate tank conditions from the start, will only make it worse.

 

One last note...

 

Don't be fooled by success stories. Many people attempt keeping tangs or surgeonfish in nano aquariums and then gloat about their success. Anyone can place a fish into a tank, but the real question is how will the fish fair long term? In most cases, tangs and surgeons that are put into nano aquariums, do not last more than a few months.

 

IV. Starting Tangs In Smaller Tanks & Transferring To Larger Tanks

 

It's really in the best interest of the fish for you to start a tang or surgeonfish in the same tank it will live out its entire life in. If you must start your tang or surgeonfish in a smaller tank though, it is commonly preached and an informal rule that under no circumstance should a tang be kept in a tank under 55g. This is the recommendation that I feel most comfortable giving and sticking with. People throw out rules about the tank needing to be minimally 4ft, 6ft, 8ft, whatever, but I'm going to say at absolute bare minimum your tank should be 36"x18"x18", although I do really feel that a 4ft tank would be a better minimum choice, with 6-8ft tanks being the ideal choice.

 

V. Summary Of Genus, Commonly Available Species, & Their Minimum Tank Size

 

Acanthurus (Surgeonfish)

• Achilles Tang (125g+ Assuming you could keep one alive anyways haha...these guys are difficult!!)
  
• Powder Blue Tang (90g+)
  
• Powder Brown Tang (75g+)
  
• Clown Tang (150g+ Clown tangs get very large, over 1ft, and can be extremely aggressive)
  
• Lavender Tang (90g+)
  
• Orange Shoulder Tang (125g+ Orange Shoulder Tangs get very large, over 1 ft)
  
• Sohal Tang (150g+ Sohal Tangs get very large, over 1ft, and can be extremely aggressive)
  
• Convict Tang (75g+)
  
• Lemon (Mimic) Tang (75g+)
  
• Eibli (Mimic) Tang (75g+)
  
• Atlantic Blue Tang (75g+)
  
• Chevron Tang (90g+)
  

Ctenochaetus (Bristletooths)

• Kole Eye Tang (aka Bristletooth Tang) (55g minimum, but ideally 75g+)
  
• Tomini Tang (aka Tomini Bristletooth Tang) (55g minimum, but ideally 75g+)
  

Naso (Unicornfish)

• Blonde Naso Tang (Blonde Naso Tangs get very large, 18 inches+, so 125g+ minimum, but ideally 150g+)
  
• Naso Tang (Naso Tangs get very large, 18 inches+, so 125g+ minimum, but ideally 150g+)
  
• Vlamingii Tang (Vlamingii Tangs get very large, 23 inches+, so 125g+ minimum, but ideally 150g+)
  

Paracanthurus

• Blue Hippo Tang (aka Regal Tang, Hippo Tang, or Blue Tang) (Blue Hippo Tangs get very large, over 1ft, so 125g+ minimum, but ideally 150g+)
  
• Yellow Belly Hippo Tang (aka Yellow Belly Regal Tang, Hippo Tang, or Blue Tang) (Yellow Belly Blue Hippo Tangs get very large, over 1ft, so 125g+ minimum, but ideally 150g+)
  

Zebrasoma (Salfins)

• Yellow Tang (75g+)
  
• Purple Tang (75g+)
  
• Desjardini Salfin Tang (Desjardini Tangs can get up to 1ft TALL! 125g minimum, but ideally 180g+)
  
• Salfin Tang (Desjardini Tangs can get up to 1ft TALL! 125g minimum, but ideally 180g+)
  
• Scopas Tang (75g+)
  

 

Discussion and comments are encouraged, but please spare your success stories of keeping tangs in nano aquariums as the point of this thread is to encourage responsible reef keeping, not for you to brag about what you got away with.

[Pilg0re]

Great write up! I'm sure there will be some debate in here but everything you said sounds extremely reasonable.

 

Can we get a sticky?

[Pickle010]

Once again... great write up.

[animalmaster6]

Perfect!!! I knew someone was going to make an Ultimate Guide like this.

 

Here's two other tangs. Mimic Eibli Tang and Mimic Lemonpeel Tang. Both get to around 7" and should be kept in a minimum of 75 gallons.

 

And Can't Vlamingii Tangs and some Naso Tangs get to like 24 inches? I believe David Saxby has one that big.

[lgreen]

Perfect!!! I knew someone was going to make an Ultimate Guide like this.

 

Here's two other tangs. Mimic Eibli Tang and Mimic Lemonpeel Tang. Both get to around 7" and should be kept in a minimum of 75 gallons.

 

And Can't Vlamingii Tangs and some Naso Tangs get to like 24 inches? I believe David Saxby has one that big.

 

Lemon was there already, but added the Eibli.

 

Oh wow, yeah...fish base does say about 23" for the Vlamingii.

[animalmaster6]

Just looked at the link and it apparently said over 2 feet, oops

 

 

- Nvm just saw your post. I guess they do get that big, must've saw it somewhere else...

[Pilg0re]

Is the Achilles tang on there or did I miss that?

[animalmaster6]

Seems like it...

[fewskillz]

Fantastic lgreen! Great job, you're really good at these articles. Instant sticky IMO...

 

To add some additional experienced opinion, I won't even keep the bigger tangs in my 180. Acanthurus, Zebrasoma, and Bristletooths only. No hippo, no unicorns. Bums me out because I love blond naso tangs, but it's the responsible thing to do.

 

-Detective Fewskillz

Nano Task Force

Tang Police

[streetsong]

Great guide, igreen. Thoughtful and well-written!

[Apoptosis]

Instant sticky IMO...

+1

[StevieT]

Good linking material. Nice

 

or precisely why this thread is needed.

 

[Apoptosis]

Good linking material. Nice

 

or precisely why this thread is needed.

 

 

LULZ

[Oceanus]

One note, it's scopas not scopus. Love this thread! Great!

[J-Ranko]

Here's further reading for anyone who might be interested from someone who actually wrote his PhD thesis on Tangs & Surgeonfish:

 

Randall, J.E. Surgeonfishes of the World

 

Here's a brief profile of the author:

----------------

Dr. John E. Randall is the author of more than 600 publications, principally on the biology and classification of coral reef fishes. Remarkably, he has described 555 new fishes, more coral-reef species than anyone in history.

 

He is Senior Ichthyologist Emeritus of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, member of the Graduate Faculty in Zoology of the University of Hawaii, and Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

---------------

[source: John E. Randall, PhD, Microcosm Aquarium Explorer"]

 

If you're interested in his credentials here's a condensed C.V. from the HBS.

[lakshwadeep]

One note, it's scopas not scopus. Love this thread! Great!

 

It seems like both names are listed in scientific papers, but only scopas is listed on many taxonomic sites, including ITIS, fishbase.org, and WoRMS. It does seem more likely since Zebrasoma has a feminine ending (in terms of Latin grammar), and scopas sounds like a better fit than scopus.

 

Also, thanks lgreen for also listing scientific names. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much reefers put into the face value of common names, even if they are misleading.

[basser1]

Ahem.... anyone get a look at the tank on the home page with 2 tangs??

 

As others have said.... great write up. But I'm sure someone will critcize us for being the N-R "elders"

[DoubleD]

Great write up.

 

Now if people would read it before buying these fish.

[lgreen]

Thanks for the positive feedback.

 

"scopus" changed to "scopas".

[ajmckay]

Great write-up.

 

I agree with what's been written. I particularly like where you mention some people's "success stories". It seems that I read a lot of posts where people claim their fish are "happy" and "fat" in their nano-tanks. Of course most of the time when asked how long they have had the fish it's less than 6 months. We like nano-tanks. There will always be those who push the envelope, but I think most of us have recognized that there are certain things we just shouldn't keep given the limitations of our tanks.

 

Let's consider what the natural lifespan of our fishes are in the wild. Is 5 years in captivity a good amount of time? Or should it really be 8 or 9? I would maybe include that in this guide, specifically the average natural lifespan of various members of this family - if such information exists from a reliable source.

Additionally, I would mention that many of these fish are still captured from the reefs. Of course I am by no means an expert on them, but as I recall captive breeding is still considered a difficult endeavor, even to just acquire the broodstock.

 

Finally, what are your assumptions regarding the "Minimum tank size" for each fish. I have to assume that the minimum tank size recommendation is based on having either a specimen tank or a very lightly stocked one...

[jeremai]

great job, lgreen. if you delete this one I'll personally come to your house and put a tang in your tank.

[Paleoreef103]

This is great, but I would recommend bumping minimum on the Achilles Tang up to a 125 minimum. They can get to be 10+ inches, are fairly aggressive compared to other tangs, and get ich if you look at them funny. I say 125 minimum with a very large skimmer.

[jm82792]

Those Achilles Tangs get HUGE!

I swim with them occasionally and they are the biggest tangs I've seen out here.

[lgreen]

great job, lgreen. if you delete this one I'll personally come to your house and put a tang in your tank.

 

lol

 

This is great, but I would recommend bumping minimum on the Achilles Tang up to a 125 minimum. They can get to be 10+ inches, are fairly aggressive compared to other tangs, and get ich if you look at them funny. I say 125 minimum with a very large skimmer.

 

That works for me. Not like most people have a chance at keeping one alive anyways though haha.

[wombat]

IMHO Naso vlamingii should be kept in 500g+ systems. At the very least it should have a different tank size requirement than N. lituratus. I don't know the max size in the wild but in captivity the former gets twice as large.

 

Let's consider what the natural lifespan of our fishes are in the wild. Is 5 years in captivity a good amount of time? Or should it really be 8 or 9? I would maybe include that in this guide, specifically the average natural lifespan of various members of this family - if such information exists from a reliable source.

 

Z. flavescens has been recorded up to 41 years...

http://0-departments.oxy.edu.oasys.lib.oxy...wth_Habitat.pdf