75g Reef.. Shaken, Not Stirred..

[Gregcoyote]

They get a bit grayish, but mine still has the bright yellow rings around his eyes. They seem to handle tighter quarters without stressing out. But they still need sufficient room to swim, just a little less than a hippo or yellow tang does. But I'm on record as to my opinion of most surgeonfish in small tanks. I believe the requirements listed on liveaquaria.com are not just guess's but the result of a lot of hobbyists input. I go by those basic tank size requirements, but longer tanks are better than deeper with these fish. Please don't blast me with posts about how well your hippo tang is doing in your nano tank. I have argued the topic for years to not much avail.
Many of my tangs are full grown and over 10 years old. I lost plenty of them in the days when i didn't know their long term requirements. But in the end, it's your fish and these are just my opinions. Just do your research first and you'll figure out what works.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Good thing you confessed you lost lots of tang when you were still learning the hobby. Your advice becomes more compelling to the newbies.

 

[carey]

I doubt there is anyone who is keeping fish that hasnt lost some due to their own mistakes. I know I have. Its just part of the hobby, fish die and we learn from out mistakes and go on. Thast why there are so many people who come here for advice, alot of us have experienced many of the pitfalls of aquaria.

 

[Mebbid]

My thoughts about the yellow tangs tank size comes with live aquarias recommended tank size. Since that is pretty much the standard when it comes to tank sizes for fish it lists a 100g as the minimum size. I'm not aware of a company that makes a standard 100g but there are 90s and 110s which have the same footprint at 4' x 18" which is the same as the 75. The small amount that people agree on for tang care is that they don't really care much about vertical swimming room so it means the tanks are pretty much the same. That's the basis for my opinion on the situation.

However I will freely admit that I haven't owned a tang yet so I don't know personally how adequate of an estimate the tank size is for them. When in doubt I generally defer to Greg's judgement on things.

 

[Big Tex]

Btw acclimating them is very critical cause they easily get stressed out. I almost lost the blue cause he got ich but he survived after a quarantine with copper treatment.

They were about 2 inches (yellow and blue tang) when I got them and they are now 2x as big and they have been doing fine in a 60 gal 48 inch long tank.

They get a bit grayish, but mine still has the bright yellow rings around his eyes. They seem to handle tighter quarters without stressing out. But they still need sufficient room to swim, just a little less than a hippo or yellow tang does. But I'm on record as to my opinion of most surgeonfish in small tanks. I believe the requirements listed on liveaquaria.com are not just guess's but the result of a lot of hobbyists input. I go by those basic tank size requirements, but longer tanks are better than deeper with these fish. Please don't blast me with posts about how well your hippo tang is doing in your nano tank. I have argued the topic for years to not much avail.
Many of my tangs are full grown and over 10 years old. I lost plenty of them in the days when i didn't know their long term requirements. But in the end, it's your fish and these are just my opinions. Just do your research first and you'll figure out what works.

Good thing you confessed you lost lots of tang when you were still learning the hobby. Your advice becomes more compelling to the newbies.

I doubt there is anyone who is keeping fish that hasnt lost some due to their own mistakes. I know I have. Its just part of the hobby, fish die and we learn from out mistakes and go on. Thast why there are so many people who come here for advice, alot of us have experienced many of the pitfalls of aquaria.

My thoughts about the yellow tangs tank size comes with live aquarias recommended tank size. Since that is pretty much the standard when it comes to tank sizes for fish it lists a 100g as the minimum size. I'm not aware of a company that makes a standard 100g but there are 90s and 110s which have the same footprint at 4' x 18" which is the same as the 75. The small amount that people agree on for tang care is that they don't really care much about vertical swimming room so it means the tanks are pretty much the same. That's the basis for my opinion on the situation.

However I will freely admit that I haven't owned a tang yet so I don't know personally how adequate of an estimate the tank size is for them. When in doubt I generally defer to Greg's judgement on things.

wow i just typed a freakin novel for you guys and my server times out.. dang..

basically i appreciate all the advice, i take it all to heart, im going with a kole until i get a 6ft foot print tank, and you all are a great group of people, and i just wanna say thanks for all the advice and opinions you give on subjects, ill always come to consult you guys before i make decisions on things like this. thanks

 

[Gregcoyote]

I truly wish I had this forum when I started. It would have saved me thousands and limited my destroying fish and coral because of my ignorance. Having such a diverse group of folks pursuing the same goals gives you insight that few LFS owners can offer. And we don't charge anything!

 

[Big Tex]

very very true, what else do you guys think i should put in? i can swap out some fish if need be, i want some stocking opinions.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

All I know is that if I had a 75 I'd have a mandarin (favorite fish but don't want to put one in my nanos). What all do you have in the tank already?

 

[Gregcoyote]

Read up on Mandarines first, they are hard to wean to frozen food and in a small tank, it will rapidly exhaust the copeopods fast resulting in you having to buy pods or raise them in a separate system. Larger systems that have been setup a while do better, but still a fish that takes some work to keep fat and healthy. One of my favorite fish, I still have it on my do not buy list because of issues I have had with long term care of them.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Read up on Mandarines first, they are hard to wean to frozen food and in a small tank, it will rapidly exhaust the copeopods fast resulting in you having to buy pods or raise them in a separate system. Larger systems that have been setup a while do better, but still a fish that takes some work to keep fat and healthy. One of my favorite fish, I still have it on my do not buy list because of issues I have had with long term care of them.

As far as stocking, you can either go for a half dozen medium sized fish or 20 or more small fish. I would tend to like the variety so I would go with smaller fish like gobies, some wrasses, lots of cool shrimp, clown fish, fire fish, Chromis, etc.

The real reef is like this, from a distance you see the parrot fish and the tangs, but the real action is in that one foot square piece of reef that has a hundred different things living in it.

 

[Big Tex]

As far as stocking, you can either go for a half dozen medium sized fish or 20 or more small fish. I would tend to like the variety so I would go with smaller fish like gobies, some wrasses, lots of cool shrimp, clown fish, fire fish, Chromis, etc.

The real reef is like this, from a distance you see the parrot fish and the tangs, but the real action is in that one foot square piece of reef that has a hundred different things living in it.

Thats what I want, as far as big fish ill only have the kole and maybe a mimic lemonpeel tang since I cant have a yellow tang, does a Midas Benny count as a large fish? I have a six-line wrasse and a caramel clown that needs a mate, I wouldnt mind a school of firefish and blue reef chromis. I love the look of alot of activity. Also I have a snowflake eel.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I am sure you are aware the eel is a predator. Keep an eye on him, especially around little fish like fire fish that hide in holes that might have a eel in it. Midas blennies are cool, but also very territorial. I had a Midas yesterday kill a little cherub angelfish right in front of me because the angel got in his hole. I had never seen this behavior before, so now I know what not to mix with a Midas. A school of fire fish, or Chromis is a nice idea and not much money. Just beware the eel especially when he gets bigger. Which he will.

 

[Big Tex]

I am sure you are aware the eel is a predator. Keep an eye on him, especially around little fish like fire fish that hide in holes that might have a eel in it. Midas blennies are cool, but also very territorial. I had a Midas yesterday kill a little cherub angelfish right in front of me because the angel got in his hole. I had never seen this behavior before, so now I know what not to mix with a Midas. A school of fire fish, or Chromis is a nice idea and not much money. Just beware the eel especially when he gets bigger. Which he will.

Im aware, does he get less clumsy and better at hunting fish the bigger he gets? I think ill do that, a small school of firefish and blue reef chromis.

 

[Gregcoyote]

They are just near sighted. He can be plenty agile and they are very accurate jumpers

 

[Big Tex]

They are just near sighted. He can be plenty agile and they are very accurate jumpers

Well, all the more reason I have 1/4" glass tops on my tank plus a completely sealed canopy I just finished.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Be sure you can get some airflow going to help gas exchange. Sounds eel proof.

 

[Big Tex]

Be sure you can get some airflow going to help gas exchange. Sounds eel proof.

The toas have 3 fans each so they ventilated pretty well inside the canopy, I might cut some small holes on the very top to let gasses escape, thanks for reminding me greg.

 

[Gregcoyote]

That should do the trick. If you end up with ph swings, you will need that extra ventilation.

 

[Big Tex]

Anyone else have stocking suggestions? I've had some great ones so far!

 

[Darylb]

Foxface? I always liked them