Yellow Tang Requirements??

[Jake337]

I've heard that yellow tangs aren't supposed to be kept in tanks smaller than 100 gallons according to liveaquaria. On vividaquariums, they say 60 gallons? Both these sites obviously have marine experts helping out and stuff so my question is..Who's right? And would it be possible to keep a yellow tang in a 60gal if the tank is 4ft long?

 

[200 gallon reef]

With saltwater there are only guidelines. . . . Unfortunately there is no white and black. I have a yellow tang in a 54 gallon corner and has been great for 8 months. Another person can put one in their 75 gallon and it will get stressed out and die. in my opinion start with a juvenille tang and see how he reacts. Usually as long as there is plenty of food (algae) and enough hiding places a juvenille should do fine.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Jake there are alot of tangs that you can get, but a yellow tang is not one of them :/ in a 55 thats way too small for a yellow IMO. They need 6' tanks for sure

 

[danbstrong]

Jake there are alot of tangs that you can get, but a yellow tang is not one of them :/ in a 55 thats way too small for a yellow IMO. They need 6' tanks for sure

Ive had a yellow tang in my 55g for 3 years but keep in mind that at some point it will outgrow the tank

 

[Mr. D]

The yellow tang is probably the most controversial fish readily available in the trade from what I've read and IMO.

I've herd stories of yellows living for 15years with no issues in 55gl tanks and 250gl tanks but again this comes down to the fish itself and your commitment to your tank.

However, honestly IMO the minimum size tank should be a standard 75gl tank for a while but you should upgrade when it gets to be considered med/large size.

But your safest bet of a problem free fish for life is in a 5' (but very wide) tank or a 6' tank

I would not tell you not to get it or that it won't be fat and happy, just dont be surprised or be ready to upgrade or trade for $$$ or credit.

 

[crister13]

Absolutely.... NOT! 6' tank almost needed. 75 gallon MIN because of width. I wouldn't even think about ANY tang. Man, just get the dwarf angel and be nice to the fish.

 

[Jake337]

Thanks for the replies guys. I was just curious, maybe

http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=01-3929-S&Category=Fish:Tangs&SortBy=Price

Is a little inaccurate to they're customers?

 

[crister13]

Looks like they want some $$$$$$$.

 

[six2sevenproductions]

You should be fine. Eventually the fish will out grow the tank but you should be goof for at least 2-3 years. I would suggest no other tangs besides the yellow.

 

[Mudzie]

I have a yellow eyed kole tang in my 75, cool fish thats not supposed to outgrow it surroundings?

 

[cmor1701d]

In general Tangs are like the jet fighters of the marine aquarium. They are VERY FAST and cover long distances in an instant. That is part of the reason for needing a 6' tank at a minimum.
I have a 6' tank and wish it was twice as long so I could actually watch the tangs swim freely for more than a fraction of a second. (I have a Sailfin, blue, and a yellow).

 

[rupp3322]

Id say go ahead and try it. 4 ft is plenty if space for a small tang. You can always get a bigger tank or find a home for it when it outgrows it. There are no guarentees though. It might be stressful for him, but it might not. The important thing is abundance of food without competition And hiding spots. Of course i am new to this and have just done alot of reading. You will find 50% say one way and 50% the other with almost any topic in saltwater.

 

[kdpuffer]

Well the OP has reignited what is probably the largest debate in the salt water hobby. There are alot of factors in keeping tangs, tank size being the most important. Tangs do swim alot but that doesn't mean you need a giant tank to keep one. There are smaller varieties out there such as the kole yellow eye. These fish don't need as much room to swim but they still need room. A kole in a 55 or even a 75 is an ongoing debate. Your typical 55/75 is able to provide enough swimming lanes until you put your LR in. The thing to consider when doing this is keeping the swimming lanes open, this is alot more challenging in a 55 which is why most people say 75 minimum. If you are selecting your rock with this in mind it can be accomplished but will take more planning and tinkering. The key is to keep the rock away from the glass on all sides and place the rock in more of a tower configuration, the towers must be stable. This will allow the fish to swim the full perimeter of the tank and also give it paths through/around the rocks. If you pull up my thread on 55g reef build you can see what I'm talking about. Does this mean you should get a tang- no it does not but it's your tank and you can do what you want but if you follow these guidelines you will have a happier healthier fish and it may stretch out the time before you have to rehome it.

 

[crister13]

I completely agree that its also about rockwork. BUT that being said, if the tank is too small, than the tank is too small, and there is nothing you can do about it besides get a larger tank. Stick with the dwarf angel you want. It won't outgrow the tank, and it will be a great addition. A kole/tomini tang: min 75. Everything else, 6'. Sorry, but its the truth.

 

[Jlsardina]

I completely agree that its also about rockwork. BUT that being said, if the tank is too small, than the tank is too small, and there is nothing you can do about it besides get a larger tank. Stick with the dwarf angel you want. It won't outgrow the tank, and it will be a great addition. A kole/tomini tang: min 75. Everything else, 6'. Sorry, but its the truth.

Agreed. Tangs need the swim room. Too many chances to give these infamous fish for stressing out- the chance to get Ich and infest your tank. Play it safe with stocking and don't risk destroying all you have done and wasting all that money

 

[TheTodd]

There are other Tangs out there that are okay in 70g tanks. Seems that Koles and Tominis are always mentioned , but White Tail, Two Spots and Square tails are also okay.

It is not so much whether the other Tangs can survive in smaller tanks. They probably can. Will they be as healthy and stress-free? Probably not. You can keep a puppy in a kennel, never let it out to play or run, feed it and it will live. It will grow, become more cramped in its space and in the same scenario, will probably live. Doesn't mean you should though.

 

[Jake337]

I agree with you all, thanks for all the replies. I've never really thought about getting any tangs for my 55, but when seeing vividaquarim's Requirements for one I was pretty curious to see what other people really thought.

 

[MrPillow]

I am confused about this notion of a fish magically acquiring ich through stress. Where are we purporting that this ich comes from? If a fish is properly quarantined and treated before introduction to the final environment, there should be no problem with ich.

Unless the ich already exist in your main tank, which is a different issue altogether...


EDIT: Also just some simple math. Lets assume a yellow tang is 2" long when purchased as a juvenile, and has a generally documented adult size of 6-8" according to various semi-reliable sources on the internet. The recommend tank for this adult, 6-8" fish is 6ft long - 72". An 8" fish in a 72" tank is 1/9th the total length of the tank - 1/3rd the width and height if it is perhaps 72x24x24. That would be numerically the equivalent of housing a 2" individual in an 18" long tank that is 6" wide and tall. Whoa whoa whoa. I'm not master of physics and architecture, but I believe 18" is a fair bit smaller than 72". Hmm, it appears to be precisely around 1/4th, just as 2" is 1/4th of 8"....

Moving along...

What then, perhaps, when this fish grows to 4"? This magical 6ft rule (for an adult, 8" fish) seems to imply that a 3ft (36") tank is perfectly suitable for a 4" fish. How long does it take the average yellow tang to grow from 2" to 4" in captivity? I am not sure of this figure but I imagine it is at least longer than 24-48 hours.

So what does this say about a 48" tank? 48" is roughly (and by roughly I mean exactly) 2/3 the total length of a 6ft, 72" tank. So theoretically according to this magical fish-to-tank size ration, a 48" tank would be exactly capable of containing a yellow tang until it reaches the size of 5.34".

How long does it take this 2" tang to grow to 5.34"? Seeing as how it takes at least 48 hours to reach 4", I assume this 2" tang would have at least a weeks time in the 48" tank before it reaches the magical 1/9th tank length size that renders it instantly susceptible to depression and inherent death.


Now I will certainly be the first to admit there are those who know better than I, but if someone can please explain to me, in very concrete, verifiable, repeatable terms that a tang of ANY size is only capable of surviving happily in a tank of at least 72" in total length, regardless of proportion to the size of the fish, I will be more than happy to join the club of those who bring down the Tang hammer and hold up the 6 (foot) Commandments of inhumane tang opression.

 

[Animal-Chin]

Do a google image search of "50 gallon reef tank" and you'll see that at least half have tangs. Yellow, sailfin, Blue, almost every reeftank out there has a tang in it, all they all stressing and dying? I'm sure any fish will be happier in more fake ocean but other than people arguing on messageboards where is the proof? When I bought my 50 gallon I youtubed 50 gallon reef tanks to see lay outs and equipment. Almost every single tank had a tang, they also had comments down below of people mad at them for having tangs but if they are active and eating and not showing stress then why not?

 

[kdpuffer]

I am confused about this notion of a fish magically acquiring ich through stress. Where are we purporting that this ich comes from? If a fish is properly quarantined and treated before introduction to the final environment, there should be no problem with ich.

Unless the ich already exist in your main tank, which is a different issue altogether...

EDIT: Also just some simple math. Lets assume a yellow tang is 2" long when purchased as a juvenile, and has a generally documented adult size of 6-8" according to various semi-reliable sources on the internet. The recommend tank for this adult, 6-8" fish is 6ft long - 72". An 8" fish in a 72" tank is 1/9th the total length of the tank - 1/3rd the width and height if it is perhaps 72x24x24. That would be numerically the equivalent of housing a 2" individual in an 18" long tank that is 6" wide and tall. Whoa whoa whoa. I'm not master of physics and architecture, but I believe 18" is a fair bit smaller than 72". Hmm, it appears to be precisely around 1/4th, just as 2" is 1/4th of 8"....

Moving along...

What then, perhaps, when this fish grows to 4"? This magical 6ft rule (for an adult, 8" fish) seems to imply that a 3ft (36") tank is perfectly suitable for a 4" fish. How long does it take the average yellow tang to grow from 2" to 4" in captivity? I am not sure of this figure but I imagine it is at least longer than 24-48 hours.

So what does this say about a 48" tank? 48" is roughly (and by roughly I mean exactly) 2/3 the total length of a 6ft, 72" tank. So theoretically according to this magical fish-to-tank size ration, a 48" tank would be exactly capable of containing a yellow tang until it reaches the size of 5.34".

How long does it take this 2" tang to grow to 5.34"? Seeing as how it takes at least 48 hours to reach 4", I assume this 2" tang would have at least a weeks time in the 48" tank before it reaches the magical 1/9th tank length size that renders it instantly susceptible to depression and inherent death.

Now I will certainly be the first to admit there are those who know better than I, but if someone can please explain to me, in very concrete, verifiable, repeatable terms that a tang of ANY size is only capable of surviving happily in a tank of at least 72" in total length, regardless of proportion to the size of the fish, I will be more than happy to join the club of those who bring down the Tang hammer and hold up the 6 (foot) Commandments of inhumane tang opression.

Well said