Why do my tangs keep dying

[Tang lover]

Hi I have a ten gallon 2 feet nano reef and I try to put tangs in there and they just die and you can’t say it’s the tank size because after two days to a week they die. The only thing I have successfully kept are clowns and damsels. What do you think I am doing wrong. My parameters are fine. Do I need some equipment that I do not have

[Crawford_T]

As you already mentioned, this tank size is severely inadequate for a tang let alone multiple. It could be stress related, not enough grazing room, not enough food, something in the tank, insufficient biological filtration causing ammonia.. hard to say. End of the day, wrong livestock for that size tank. 

[FishI]

Have you ever heard of the tang police?

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, Tang lover said:

Do I need some equipment that I do not have

yes, a bigger tank, a much much bigger tank.  Any reference on keeping a tang will tell you that minimum 6 feet will barely be adequate.  

 

No, don't tell me that they live fine at LFS's holding tank.  because holding tanks are just that, temporary housing until someone purchase them to a, presumably, bigger better home.

[Tang lover]

Yh but in lfs holding tanks they do not die in like two days in my tank they die in two days and people literally keep tangs In a 10g qt tank for a month I can’t even keep one for longer than a week

[Tang lover]

What is all essential equipment that people might forget to use in a 10g nano. E.g. I do not have a wave maker or a protein skimmer

[Coolbreeze]

Old wife tells. What tang are we talking about, and what size are they? If it was me, I would only have one small one for algae control, and if he/she gets bigger, move him/her to another tank or sell him back to the pet store as they will be too big in a tank, even for my WB 110.

 

I have had a purple tang in my IM 30 for a year, and I do not have any problems with him or the other fish in there. Also, I do not care about the tang police. I bought him when he was small, and he will move the WB 50 to do his job and finally to the WB110. All three tanks are 4 feet in length.

 

Also, what are you feeding him/her? These things eat a lot, and they are very territorial in nature, so if you want to keep one for some time, you have to move to a bigger tank. As stated above, my purple tang is now 6 inches in length, and if I do not keep him fed well, he becomes a bully to all the other fish. Actually, he gives me attitude when I clean the tank 

[Tang lover]

I feed once a day maybe be mysis brine or pellets flakes and once every 3 days some algae sheets

[FishI]

12 minutes ago, Coolbreeze said:

Old wife tells. What tang are we talking about, and what size are they? If it was me, I would only have one small one for algae control, and if he/she gets bigger, move him/her to another tank or sell him back to the pet store as they will be too big in a tank, even for my WB 110.

 

I have had a purple tang in my IM 30 for a year, and I do not have any problems with him or the other fish in there. Also, I do not care about the tang police. I bought him when he was small, and he will move the WB 50 to do his job and finally to the WB110. All three tanks are 4 feet in length.

 

Also, what are you feeding him/her? These things eat a lot, and they are very territorial in nature, so if you want to keep one for some time, you have to move to a bigger tank. As stated above, my purple tang is now 6 inches in length, and if I do not keep him fed well, he becomes a bully to all the other fish. Actually, he gives me attitude when I clean the tank 

Tang police are coming for you. OTE(Ohio Tang Enforcement) has been informed. 

[anizato]

Tank size is obviously a main problem here.

 

I am thinking the fish may have been stressed at the LFS. Did you ask how long they had them before getting them? Did you feed the fish at the store to see if they ate well?

If I ever buy a fish from the LFS I make sure it has been there for at least a few days, I come back and check its behavior/feeding response. I'll only take them if I am convinced. 

 

Also, regardless of the tang police or not, pur yourself in the fish's shoes.... it seems stress related. Don't you think? Are there any signs on the bodies of the fish that died? 

 

if you want tangs, just get a bigger tank. if you can't get a bigger tank, get a poster of a tang, or a tattoo. Whatever you do buddy, just stop putting tangs in there.

[FishI]

5 minutes ago, anizato said:

Tank size is obviously a main problem here.

 

I am thinking the fish may have been stressed at the LFS. Did you ask how long they had them before getting them? Did you feed the fish at the store to see if they ate well?

If I ever buy a fish from the LFS I make sure it has been there for at least a few days, I come back and check its behavior/feeding response. I'll only take them if I am convinced. 

 

Also, regardless of the tang police or not, pur yourself in the fish's shoes.... it seems stress related. Don't you think? Are there any signs on the bodies of the fish that died? 

 

if you want tangs, just get a bigger tank. if you can't get a bigger tank, get a poster of a tang, or a tattoo. Whatever you do buddy, just stop putting tangs in there.

Agreed 100%

[Coolbreeze]

38 minutes ago, FishI said:

Tang police are coming for you. OTE(Ohio Tang Enforcement) has been informed. 

 

As Client Eastwood would say - "Go ahead and make my day."

 

36 minutes ago, anizato said:

Tank size is obviously a main problem here.

 

I am thinking the fish may have been stressed at the LFS. Did you ask how long they had them before getting them? Did you feed the fish at the store to see if they ate well?

If I ever buy a fish from the LFS I make sure it has been there for at least a few days, I come back and check its behavior/feeding response. I'll only take them if I am convinced. 

 

Also, regardless of the tang police or not, pur yourself in the fish's shoes.... it seems stress related. Don't you think? Are there any signs on the bodies of the fish that died? 

 

if you want tangs, just get a bigger tank. if you can't get a bigger tank, get a poster of a tang, or a tattoo. Whatever you do buddy, just stop putting tangs in there.

We have very little information on his question. So, for now, I would say the same thing. Please stay away from them, or get a bigger tank. Agreed 120%, but I also find it interesting if you look at some other users on here. They have fish kept in a small tank, and when you look at the size, it can reach 5 to 6 inches. To me, that is still a large fish for such a small tank. So why not a small yellow or purple tang of one with no other inhabits for a short time either as a quarantine or clean-up crew? Again, I have seen no plan and never want to assume anything.

 

31 minutes ago, FishI said:

Agreed 100%

Agreed.

 

1 hour ago, mitten_reef said:

yes, a bigger tank, a much much bigger tank.  Any reference on keeping a tang will tell you that minimum 6 feet will barely be adequate.  

 

No, don't tell me that they live fine at LFS's holding tank.  because holding tanks are just that, temporary housing until someone purchase them to a, presumably, bigger better home.

Agreed as well, but if you are only buying one small one for a short time for being a clean-up crew and moving him to a bigger tank or selling it back to the LFS, there is nothing wrong with that. But we have no idea of his intentions here.

[Tang lover]

My intentions are to keep him for a month to six months maybe a bit longer then give him back to the lfs for a smaller one

[mcarroll]

4 hours ago, Tang lover said:

Hi I have a ten gallon 2 feet nano reef and I try to put tangs in there and they just die and you can’t say it’s the tank size because after two days to a week they die. The only thing I have successfully kept are clowns and damsels. What do you think I am doing wrong. My parameters are fine. Do I need some equipment that I do not have

It's not the tank size that kills them, it's the lack of living, sleeping and hiding space.  So "lack of space" can kill overnight if that's when the battle takes place which the loser fish can't run away from.

 

One Damsel would be enough fish for a 10 gallon tank.  Also, Damsels are a potential bully.

 

Two damsels (including the clownfish) makes it a packed tank.  The Clownfish is a potential bully.

 

Adding any third fish, unless it's TINY like a Neon Goby, is going to be a problem, or even multiple problems.

 

Making that third fish a Tang is just plain questionable on so many fronts.   IMO please stop trying.  

 

Just try to keep the two fish you still have alive.  Watch out for aggression (even after lights out) between them as well.  Separate them if needed.

 

It's not impossible that you introduced a fish parasite as well, so watch your remaining fish for odd behaviors over the next few weeks.  

 

Good luck!!

 

[Rhetoric]

[Coolbreeze]

17 hours ago, Tang lover said:

My intentions are to keep him for a month to six months maybe a bit longer then give him back to the lfs for a smaller one

I do not know what you are paying for your tang, but that would be very expensive for me.

 

The main issues here are water volume and hiding space, and I would say for the two days, it is hiding space, and mcarroll hit it on the head here. When I do not have enough food in the aquarium, they fight like cats and dogs. Even the clown fish goes after the purple tang, and he is about ten times their size. I also see that when she lays eggs (Clown), they get even more aggressive to other fish and me when cleaning the display. My IM30 is for quarantine only, and I will be moving them to different homes soon with more hiding space to keep them healthy, as right now, it is a lot of work to keep them this way.

 

I have to feed my fish twice daily and have a piece of green seaweed there to ensure no one becomes a bully. That would be a lot of food for your 10g to absorb. Just get a more prominent display if you have room and a budget.

 

 

14 hours ago, mcarroll said:

It's not the tank size that kills them, it's the lack of living, sleeping and hiding space.  So "lack of space" can kill overnight if that's when the battle takes place which the loser fish can't run away from.

 

One Damsel would be enough fish for a 10 gallon tank.  Also, Damsels are a potential bully.

 

Two damsels (including the clownfish) makes it a packed tank.  The Clownfish is a potential bully.

 

Adding any third fish, unless it's TINY like a Neon Goby, is going to be a problem, or even multiple problems.

 

Making that third fish a Tang is just plain questionable on so many fronts.   IMO please stop trying.  

 

Just try to keep the two fish you still have alive.  Watch out for aggression (even after lights out) between them as well.  Separate them if needed.

 

It's not impossible that you introduced a fish parasite as well, so watch your remaining fish for odd behaviors over the next few weeks.  

 

Good luck!!

 

Best advice so far 

[Tang lover]

What about Pygmy Angel 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

@EthanPhillyCheesesteak is that your alias? 

[Staticmoves]

this has to be someone trolling.

please tell me this is not a serious post. 🤣

 

[geekreef_05]

5 hours ago, Tang lover said:

What about Pygmy Angel 

No. Same deal. 

 

Consider it like this. 

 

People keep clowns and gobies in nano's because in nature they dont move much more than a few meters from the home anemone or goby hole in the wild. Even anthias and chromis basically live in the same sps structure their whole lives.

 

But angels, tangs, groupers and larger fish tend to travel from one part of the reef to another. They roam 10s maybe 100s of thousands of kms or miles in their 10 to 20 year lifetime. 

 

Even a baby hippo tang swims with the school. 

 

Doesn't matter the size. Tangs only belong in extremely large aquariums..

[geekreef_05]

1 hour ago, Staticmoves said:

this has to be someone trolling.

please tell me this is not a serious post. 🤣

 

If its a troll then id like to up the sarcasm level in my answer. 

 

"Dude all you need is a huge protien skimmer!"

 

"Forget tangs. Just put a baby shark in there"

[Tang lover]

Could an anthias go in there

[geekreef_05]

Not comfortably.  I probably should not have used Anthias in that example. 

 

Classic sites like Live Aquaria list anthias as needing a 70 gallon min aquarium. 

Here is Reef2Reef thread with the same question: Reef2Reef Anthia Question

 

Anthias, beyond space require many feedings per day. They are like hummingbirds. High energy and high food requirements.  And they like to be in a school. Pushing the space requires even further. In a 10 gallon they would be pretty squished and the feeding schedule would be overwhelming for the small biological load.  

 

Here are a list of 10-gallon appropriate fish. 

O. Clowns

Orchid Dottyback

Firefish

Sand Dwelling Gobies

Rainsford Goby

Clown Goby

small Damsel species (striped, blue-yellow)

Banggai Cardinal

 

Here are a list of fish you probably want and should not put in a 10 gallon: 

30-70 Gallon min, depending on configuration

Mandarin Goby 

Anthais

Chromis

Wrasse

Hawkfish

Large clown species (Tomatoes, Maroons)

 

6 Foot Reef Preferred:

Tangs,

Butterflys,

Angels

FoxFace

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

[Tang lover]

Okay I might get a purple firefish

[Staticmoves]

1 hour ago, Tang lover said:

Okay I might get a purple firefish

Excellent choice!

post some pictures.