Tangs in 55 gallon

[Wolf]

Hi there, will a yellow tang be okay in a 55 gallon? It's 4' long, 21" high, and 12" wide. I plan to have about 60 lbs. of LR, lots of snails and hermits, a brittle star, ornamental shrimp, assorted corals and anemones, 2 occellaris clowns, 1 magenta dottyback, 1 pair of neon gobies, 1 pair of Randall's Shrimp gobies, 4 blue-green chromises, a lemonpeel angel, and maybe a six-lined wrasse or 2. Will a yellow tang be okay in this.? I would add the lemonpeel and tang last, too. Also what other tangs are okay in a 55 gallon. TIA

 

[quarryshark]

IMO a 55 is a little too small for a Tang. A 75 gal is recommended. Although there will be those who disagree. Mainly those that have a Yellow in a 55.
I believe you need to look at the adult size of a fish and I have seen Yellow 6-7" long. They need a lot of swimming room that a 55 gallon IMO does not offer an active adult.
Another potential issue is the Lemonpeel and a Yellow Tang may fight given the similar color.

 

[EL Diablo]

Many people have Yellow Tangs in a 55 and say they are doing fine,
IMO a 55 is a bit small for a full grown one.

a Recent post that may help some
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=36183&highlight=tang

 

[Wolf]

okay thanks Qshark. Are there any other tangs that stay smaller?

 

[Wolf]

and diablo

 

[quarryshark]

Sorry, a Yellow is the smallest one that I know of.
I hate to tell people these things....
Here check out our chart. May give you some new ideas.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/SWCompatibility.php

 

[Wolf]

Man I'm bummed, really liked the tangs

 

[saberry]

Even without the tang, it sounds like this tank might be overstocked. With that heavy a bioload in a 55gal, keeping a variety of corals is going to be difficult.

 

[Corty]

I'm keeping a Yellow in a 55, and he is doing just fine.. however he's only about four inches, and will be transferred into a 72 soon.

I do not have the experience to tell you how an adult Tang will do in a 55, but mine seems happy at 4", and most people have told me it's fine. However, I do suggest that you take a tape measure to your tank, and see how big 8" (adult yellow tang size) is to a 55 gallon tank.

Like all stocking, the end result is up to you. If I had to say yes or no, I would say no, just to be on the safe side. I would probably not have gotten mine had I known then what I do now.

I consider the Yellow Tang borderline, but I can give you a definite NO on the other Tangs.

Also be aware that Tangs are sensitive to water quality, and with that sensitivity in mind, more gallons are always better to less, especially when you're likely to overstock in your current plan.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I agree with saberry that is way too much bioload in a 55. If you had a large sump to add water volume you might be ok. The general "rule" in saltwater is 1 inch of fish per 5 gals of water(give or take a little)

 

[Wolf]

I probably going to have a 20 gal refugium and 20-40 gallon sump. Thanks alot everyone. I'm probably not getting the dottyback or wrasse, too.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

With that water volume you could try. I would suggest doing it slowly to allow your bacteria to catch up after each addition.HTH

 

[EL Diablo]

If your planning on adding corals you'll be taking a chance with the Lemon Peel
munching on them.

 

[luntiz]

Kole or Yellow Eye stay a bit smaller