Tang Police, Say no more!

[Funky_Fish14]

Howdy all,

 

So, today I was at the LFS picking up 2 blue-leg hermits and 2 turbo snails to put in my 20g High, because all I have is about 1-2lb LR in there at the moment(I still need to get most of the rock, but the stuff in there is out of a tank that was running for 5 months) and it also has a 2-3" sand bed.

 

Anyways, my mom decided to pick-up a sailfin tang for her tank....33g(I gave her my tank, lol, but I still kind of "dictate" what goes in it, and I get to put my corals in it, cause it has a 400W 10K MH)...yeah, wait before flaming. Its only about 1" long, and by the time is 2-3" I should have a coral prop system set-up and a 70 ish gallon sump for it, which is where the tang will go. I'll post pics of it in the next couple days.

 

O yeah, my mom's stupid bicolor dottyback is being as ass to it, its bigger than the tang, anything I should do? Thanks.

 

Chris

[666]

so the tang's going in the sump or your prop tank?

[reefer21]

There is nothing wrong with getting a small tang and putting it in a small tank, as long as you upgrade later to a larger tank before it gets too big for the tank it’s in currently. End of story.......

[Funky_Fish14]

666: Probably in the sump, as it will be bigger than the prop tanks.

 

reefer21: Yeah, I just didnt want to get flamed as I see it happen all to often to people who already stated they know the facts. Also, its just a thread where I will post a pic of the new bugger.

 

Chris

[BKtomodachi]

Eh, I'd take it back and get another when you are ready. I dont like how people are so ruluctant to just take a fish back.

[jenniebutterfly]

if you don't want to get flamed, you should not post about it in the first place, the people that get flamed are ones that really don't know better, kinda seems like you were out to get some negative response to your post.

[Jenn]

How long does it take a tang that size to grow?? I don't think I even notice my fish growing, haha.

[Funky_Fish14]

BKtomodachi: I think its wrong to think "Hey I can just buy this fish and just 'dump' it when im done." I believe in taking responsibility for one's actions, and knowing that you can and will be able to properly house an animal once you decide to make the purchase and not feel that its so easy to just dump it off.

 

Jennie butterfly, I have not gotten flamed so far as I explained everything clearly, and I also wanted to show a pic of the new addition in this thread.

 

I'll try to get a pic up soon!

 

Chris

[FAC_WNY]

Funky,

 

I believe BK meant to say to make sure that the shop will take it back. As a matter of fact, most shops don't mind doing just that....they can charge quite a bit more for a larger tang than a juvenile..and they didn't have to pay for it to get that size (feeding, care, etc).

 

I used to do almost the same thing with clams...I'd buy one or two 2" T. gigas and raise them until they were 5 or 6"...sell them back..and both the shop and myself made profits on the deal.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[bobioden]

Originally posted by reefer21

There is nothing wrong with getting a small tang and putting it in a small tank, as long as you upgrade later to a larger tank before it gets too big for the tank it’s in currently. End of story.......

 

Really, what reef world are you living in?

 

There are Min. tank sizes recommended for all reef fish. The smallest tank size for a Tang is 50 gallons and that is pushing it. Even if you get a "small" tang it will easily outgow a nano in a few months. They then become stressed, get ich, and infect the rest of your tank. If you want a Tang, get a bigger tank, but if you want a Nano, stick to fish that are more suitable to it.

[phergus_25]

A sailfin is one of the larger tangs I think like 2' so he will be too big in about 6 months

[Superdave]

I think your logic is flawed. The idea that since the tang is small, the negative of the situation is minimized is ignoring the fact that you are not dealing with the issue, in this case the keeping of a tang in too small of a space. Minimizing of the problem is not solving the problem. While the point of the tank is for your enojoyment, the livestock's well being should always take center stage.

 

I would however, like to give you some help along with my personal opinion/well-intended suggestions. I had a dottyback and it wouldn't give a damsel in the tank one bite to eat and coraled it into an upper corner. Dotties are aggresive, some more so than others. You may not be able to get to 'tolerate' one another. I eventually decided to remove the damsel.

 

Good luck!

[Withers]

I'm not gonna say that you can't keep the tang in a tank that small. I know it's possible, because my mom has a yellow tang in her 30 gallon (the tang is almost 2 years old).

 

I will, however, point out a few things that most people seem to neglect about tangs in small tanks:

 

1.) They poop A LOT, more than most any other fish that I've ever seen, they're up there with puffer fish.

2.) They get stressed out really easily, ESPECIALLY from being confined to a very small space. This can cause multiple problems, including ich outbreaks, carpet surfing, a tendency to stop eating, aggression, etc. etc.

 

 

Being placed in a small tank may not directly kill the fish, but it's side effects probably will. So, if the tang lives until you can move it to a larger tank, then I will be surprised, but I have seen it happen, so I know it's possible. Just my .02