Blue Hepatus Tang

[MommaFishels]

Hello! I received a 75 gallon aquarium (FOWLR) for Christmas. I have never had an aquarium before so I'm very new to the game but my boyfriend has had several large freshwater aquariums. I have had the tank set up for about 4 weeks and it has completed it's cycle. I have added a cleanup crew consisting of 6 Mexican red legged hermits, 6 blue legged hermits, 6 Astria Snails, 2 Emerald crabs, and 1 Mexican Turbo Snail. I have also added 2 O. clowns. I also have 3 Pajama Cardinals chilling out in my 20 gallon quarantine tank and should be ready for the display tank in 2 weeks. I have decided that I want a peaceful tank. I have been reading the Conscientious Marine Aquarist book and spent several hours of internet reading. (I still feel that I don't even know a dent of what I should). I have a really good LFS that I go to and they have also answered at least 1 billion questions. (poor guys). Hopefully I have been descriptive enough, if not, please forgive. oh, did I also mention that I am getting all babies/toddlers to keep the cost low and I love to watch them grow up.
So here are my questions.
1. I have heard that Blue Hepatus Tangs are very ich prone, is that true? I keep hearing so many different opinions about it and not sure if that would be good for a beginner if that is the case.
2. I have also read that you should simultaneously add all of your Tangs at once...well is that good to put 2 in a 20 gallon quarantine tank at the same time?
3. Would you recommend another fish for my 3rd batch instead of the Tangs?
4. oh, one more question..I have read time after time that you can only have 1 angelfish per tank but everyone keeps telling me that I can have more. I figure this (using a little bit of logic) the book/internet sounds right but just wanted to double check (out of curiosity sake)

I really appreciate all of you who run this site and help answer all of the questions that we have. There is so much to learn and so many contradictory statements that it is nice to go to one place who is just concerned with doing the right thing for the fish and the aquarist.

I will add all of my setup here:
75 Gallon Aquarium
80 lbs of CaribSea Live Sand
10 lbs of Fiji Live Rock
40 lbs Base Rock
Rena XP3 Canister Filter
2 200 watt Heaters (you know,,high availability)
Hydor Koralia 4 Power Head
GLO T5 HO 54w x 2 (1) Actinic & (1) 18K Lights
Aqua C Remora Pro Protein Skimmer

0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm Nitrite
10 ppm Nitrate
8.4 PH
1.024 SG Salinity

Thanks again!

MommaFishels

[JoshsReef]

Blue hippos are very prone to ich, tangs in general are prone to ich. I personally wouldnt quarentine 2 hippos in a 20 gal however someone who has had experience doing this may be able to chime in on that. That said, aside from being prone to ich tangs are imo very hardy and suitable for the begginer. Even if a small case of ich breaks out it is not the end of the world. Soak your food in Selcon and Garlic and the fishes immune system will be able to fight the ich off.

As far as the Angels go I think it is a very good idea not to put more than 1 in a 75 gallon tank. If you tried two you would mostly likely lose 1 of them at the hands of the other.

I would see about adding at least another 45 pounds or so of live rock. and maybe another box of base rock on top of that. Check out LiveAquaria.com for a 45 pound box of figi live rock for roughly 200 dollars after shipping and Petsolutions.com for a 50 pound box of base rock after shipping. Not to discredit your LFS but take everything they say into consideration bc many types they are just trying to make money. In the future I reccomend looking at the websites DRfostersmith.com , petsolutions.com, and EBAY to buy salt and supplies. (big savings generally on salt)

I would also wait at least another 4 to 6 weeks before I thought about adding anymore fish, exspecially if your going to add two tangs at once. Your tank is young and needs to mature and build a good bioligical filter - with only 10 pounds of lr it may be awhile before it gets that base rock colonized with bacteria. Two tangs in my opinion put in at this moment could very well trigger another cycle, which is something you want to avoid at all costs.

[melosu58]

I personally would not add 2 blue tangs to a 75 gallon tank. Why dont you try a yellow eyed kole tang instead as they are less prone to ick. Very nice lookig fish also. As far as an angelfish a coral beauty would be nice and is quite hardy. Of course these are JMO

[MommaFishels]

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful. I think I will just go with a Yellow Tang or the Yellow Eyed Kole Tang. I do not want cramped living quarters nor to push my luck. I definitely need to add more rock, I thought 50 lbs was a good but apparently I need way more.

One question I do have then, since the tank is new, If I get 1 baby Tang (let's say 2.5" or less) and I quarantine him for 4 weeks (and it will be another 2 weeks before my Cardinals are released into the display tank) so a total of 6 weeks, is that enough time to wait or should I wait a total of 8 or 10 weeks before adding the Tang?

Yeah, the LFS that I go to is very good with advice. They were the ones who instructed me that Blue Tangs are ich prone and maybe something I would not want to tackle right away. They did say that Yellow Tangs are hardy and less prone to ich than the Blue. They have also told me that I need to figure about 1" of fish for every
2 - 3 gallons of water. That was hard to swallow since I want every fish in the store. LOL.

[roka64]

Welcome to the site. It looks like you have a great handle on your tank and definitely props for the QT'ing of new fish. This will help you to identify if your new inhabitants are sick and can start treatment. The QT process is used partly to watch your critters and see if they need treatment, I would say after 6 weeks, if you don't see anything wrong with them, you can add them to the main. Once you add the Cardinals, another 6 week period will help your tank adjust to the new bioload just in time to add your new tang. (after QT, of course). The fish per gallon is a very loose rule. It really depends on the individual fish that are in the tank. If you have a bunch of messy eaters and a small amount of LR, you won't be able to get away with a lot of fish, just for an example. Good luck and keep the questions flowing...

[melosu58]

Yes the yellow tang and yellow eyed kole tang are more hardy and less suseptible to ick. They would be a good addition to your tank.

[MommaFishels]

Roka64 - Thank You very much for the welcome and all of the information. I am so excited to have a 'part' of the ocean in my house and I want to do it correctly. I will take some pictures soon and post them.

[MommaFishels]

Thanks so much Melosu58. Theory is great but real experience is always best!