How Big Is Your Quarantine Tank???

[Patroklos]

So, how big?

I ask because I have my eye on a Powder Blue Tang, the LFS just got three beautifyl 3 inchish specimens in and I have fallen in love.

So far I have stuck with Chromis/Damsels and they are pretty small and I have been using a five gallon bucket with heater/power head and daily partial water changes. Tangs and Angels, however, are listed as require 65-100 gallon tanks to be happy, so how am I supposed to keep it happy couped up for a month+ in something so small. ****, even a cheap twenty gallon tank would be a coffin to fish like that!

Bing a Powder Blue it is expensive thus I want it to not be stressed out, they are high maintenance enough as it is. Obviously you don't want to skip the quarrantine with a fish as fragile as this.

 

[Innovator]

A 20g should be fine with a sponge or mechanical filter, heater, and pvc hidings. The fish will not be growing up in this enclosure so throw the maximum growth out the window nor will a month of qt stunt the animal.

 

[Patroklos]

Are the partial water changes not sufficient for such a small tank and just one fish? How long does it take to get a mechanical filter going?

 

[Innovator]

1-3wks for seeding a mechanical or sponge filter. You can perform 25%-50% water changes daily to help prevent a drastic NH3 increase. You should be performing 25%-50% water changes at least every other day anyways.

 

[Patroklos]

Every other day? On the main tank? That sounds a little excessive, is that what people around here are doing?

 

[Innovator]

No, the qt tank

 

[Patroklos]

Oh, thank god! I don't think I could handle replacing 100g a week!

 

[lando]

I use a 20gal long for my QT.

 

[ccCapt]

I use a 20 long for my qt also. You tank is too small for that powder blue...if it's going in the 65 in your sig.

 

[Patroklos]

The various online vendors list from 50-120 for required sizes! You'd thing they could codify this stuff.

In any case, it looks like it takes the fish yeas to reach the one foot mark, this tank wll not be around for anything more than a year and a half (military, have to go back to sea). I've seen plenty of tanks in ther 65-75 range with happy fish supposedly to big for the tank, which makes me wonder where people get he minimum sizes from.

But I yeild to experiance. Do you know of any fish of similar awesomeness to replace it with. I have plenty of damsel size stuff in store, I want a larger centerpiece fish.

 

[melosu58]

Yellow eyed Kole tang would be a nice centerpiece fish.

 

[ccCapt]

Speaking of powder blues, I just saw a show the other day on DiscoveryHD. It showed a huge school, 100's, of convict tangs going thru the reef eating algae. They came across a section of reef that was territory to a bunch of powder blues....and the battle was on. The pbt's were probably out numbered 100 to 1, but they kept going after them until they left. It was pretty cool. The convicts were almost twice their size too. This shows how powder blues are very territorial and very mean.

Like Mike said, a Kole tang is a good 1. Just about any of the bristletooth tangs (ctenochaetus.sp) would be fine for your tank.

 

[Patroklos]

The Yellow Eyed Cole is a handsome fish, but not as flashy as I'd like. Oh well, no rush!