Kole tang and Damsel bestest buds!!

[vTEC]

I recently purchased a kole tang, and he's doing great in my tank.. My domino damsel had no idea what the heck it was, and now they swim side by side all over the place.

He's about 3 inches long give or take, and eating tonnes, I throw in some zucchini for him and he mows down on some pieces, and also frozen brine shrimp. He's absolutely adorable.

I will try to get photos soon. Oh and I added a few new additions other than my tang: two scooter blennies, and a HUGE brittle star... so far so good, and the blennies are all over the place.

 

[Hara]

I am glad your fish are getting along so well....just be careful adding too many too fast.

 

[lando]

I am glad they are all getting along, however, if you have this Kole in a 33gal it is way too small for it. You will eventually run into problems.

 

[vTEC]

Yeah but you guys always assume that I am going to keep him for the whole time...

it doesnt take 2 months for him to get HUGE... he'll only grow to about 4-5" in captivity...

he is about 3 inches ATM... so yeah... before anyone starts freaking out at me saying i dont know crap all... remember the fact that I work at an aquarium, and If i run into any issues, someone can be given back..



My tank is a 35 gallon (It was said to be a 33... but it is offically a 35)

 

[lando]

Yeah but you guys always assume that I am going to keep him for the whole time...

I did not assumme anything. I simply stated that a 33, or 35, gal tank is a bit too small for a tang. That is not an assumption. I think just about everyone on this site would agree with that.

 

[Hara]

I think just about everyone on this site would agree with that.

yes, but I, for one, have gotten tired of beating my head against a brick wall.

before anyone starts freaking out at me saying i dont know crap all

keep it civil

 

[StripesTheEel]

everyones just trying to help and give the best to our fish friends..! thats what the forum is for..

 

[vTEC]

I know.. and I appreciate it... I've just been harrassed (if that is fully possibly on a forum) for saying I have no idea what I'm doing.

I have tonnes to learn, and I guarantee every one here is more experienced than I will ever be right now.

But my common sense and I guess enough experience is good for now..

 

[bpeitzke]

Tangs & tank size

We recently got a tang for our 36-gal FOWLR tank. We pored over the fish compatibility tables and species habits, and settled on a Yellow Tang b/c it was the only one with min tank size anywhere near ours - 50-gal IIRC. All the other tangs were listed as 75-180-gal min rqmts.

So far so good, the tang is healthy & active; hangs around with our coral beauty a lot. He/she does periodically do abrupt pitching actions that could be construed as frustration.

We have lots of LR now; I hope that will make up for smallish tank capacity. Let's hope so.

I wonder if anyone has experience keeping tangs long-term in smallish tanks, and if so, what species.

Always interested too in what fish thrive in small tanks. I have dreams for a larger tank, but no time for it now - I'd have to build a custom size one for our space, along with stand & hood.

Bob Peitzke

 

[natman2]

I see nothing wrong with buying a juvenile species that will out grow a tank as long as when they do they are found another home. My lfs will take them and give store credit. These larger fish then usually find there way into large show tanks in hotel lobbies, airports, hospitals etc.

Its also good to hear someone say something nice about the much beleaguered damsels. They seem to have varied personalties. I would say the chances are 50/50 that any individual will wind up being good tank mates. This seems to directly correlate to the opinions of there human keepers. Half will say "no way they are too aggressive' and the other half will have a kinder opinion.

 

[bpeitzke]

Damsel aggression; tang in small tanks

Our experience with damsels was mixed. We had one blue velvet damsel that became aggressive when it grew larger. We returned him to LFS. Our other, a tiny blue one of whose species I'm not sure, has never become aggressive; nor has it grown any, though it's quite healthy & active. It likes to hide in holes in the LR.

How would we know when our yellow tang starts outgrowing our tank?