Can a blue tang live in a 75g w/ a few other sm fish?

[Radioheadx14]

I am still a little ways off before converting my 75g into a marine tank. Im still trying to figure out which fish i want to get. I really want a blue tang (Palette Surgeonfish) but it says the min tank size is 70g at liveaquaria.com. Could this fish live comfortably in a 75g with a few other smaller fish like some o. clowns and a goby or two? I was also considering a humu trigger, but i don't know if a humu trigger and blue tang would work out well.

 

[tecwzrd]

A 75 would be pushing it when it's at adult length of 12" Also following the general rule of 1" per 5 gal giving you a total of 15" of fish you also are limiting the amount of other fish you could house with the Blue Tang.

IMO getting reef safe fish =<4" and not exceeding total adult length of 15" will make for a much more enjoyable tank.

If you overstock your tank you will constantly be fighting excess nutrients and algae.

 

[macman7010]

By a Blue Tang do you mean a hippo tang (Dory from finding nemo) or an Atlantic Blue Tang. A 75 gallon tank would be too small for an adult specimen of either. Although many Hippo Tangs are offered for sale at 1-3.5 inches in size. I would highly advise against getting one that is in the inch or a little bigger category as these animals often do not fare as well as larger specimens.

If you got a Hippo Tang that was several inches in length, perhaps three of four it would be alright in a 75 gallon tank likely for several years since tangs grow at slow rates. Just remember that either upgrading to a larger aquarium or giving the tang to someone with a bigger tank would have to take place sooner or later.

As for a Humu Humu Trigger that I would advise against. Triggers grow quicker then tangs, are aggressive and severely limit what you can keep in an aquarium.

 

[tecwzrd]

If talking about a Powder Blue Tang which gets to 9" it would leave you some room for 2-3 smaller fishes.

I agree the trigger would best be left for a larger aggressive tank.

IME tangs grow as fast as most other reef safe fish. My Yellow Tang has grown from 3" to 5" in the last two years.

 

[Radioheadx14]

this tang here... http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=330

i was thinking of getting as smaller one, around 3-4 inches. if i was to get a 20 gallon sump, so the water capacity would increase, would that help?... or is the physical swimming space the limiting factor?

 

[tecwzrd]

Physical swimming space in the main tank. Sump is useless in a power outage and an overstocked tank will deplete oxygen quickly.

As stated by macman7010 a smaller 3"-4" Blue tang would be fine for 2 years IMO with 2-3 smaller <3" fish but a larger home would be needed down the road.

 

[Radioheadx14]

ok thats helps, i guess i still have around a year or so to figure out so i will have plenty of time to decide what i want to do.

 

[macman7010]

Personally I would, unless you are a fairly advanced hobbyist scrap the idea of a Hippo Tang in a 75 gallon aquarium altogether. The added stress of the small tank is just going to instigate a parasitic outbreak in an animal already prone to them. Tangs are trickier to keep then most other marine fish because of their sensitive nature.

Dr F&S putting an easy rating on that particular fish is downright insane. Hippo Tangs are proverbial ich magnets second only, IME to the PBT and are very tough to keep without the proper qt and hospital tank set-ups to help manage their parasite problems.

 

[melosu58]

Hippo Tangs are proverbial ich magnets second only, IME to the PBT and are very tough to keep without the proper qt and hospital tank set-ups to help manage their parasite problems.

This is my thinking also esp in a 4 foot tank.

 

[Radioheadx14]

dang, i really like those fish... maybe in the future when i can get a huge tank.

 

[severum mama]

I agree with the others. Even a small hepatus tang is an extremely active swimmer. IMO (from working at an LFS) Live Aquaria's tank size is severely underrated as this fish is much better off in a minimum 6 ft, 125 gallon tank. :?

 

[Radioheadx14]

what would be some good fish to get for a 75g, i like the gobies and flame hawks, they have funny personalities, and i was thinking about clowns, but then again, everyone have clowns. what about dwarf angels? http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=444

 

[severum mama]

If you want to have a reef tank, dwarf angels can be risky. They may or may not nip corals... and even if they don't at the time, they can start at any moment! Just ask melosu58! In a FOWLR tank, they are fine. As far as tank size, a 75 is perfectly ok, but it's still not advisable to keep more than 1 dwarf angel together. Centropyge and some genicanthus angels stay small enough for a 75, but definitely avoid the pomacanthus species. They get big.

 

[macman7010]

How about a pair of Henny Butterfly's (aka the poor man's moorish idol)

 

[seaham358]

I know people who have had yellow, Scopus tangs in a 75 and I have had my Purple T for 2.5 years in my 55. Its not out of the question to have a tang in a 75, just get the right fish and get them small.
Like they said I would pass on the Hippo and look into other tangs or fish.
Keep reading up and asking questions..

 

[Radioheadx14]

I work at the Columbus Zoo and we have some Henny Butterflys in our giant reef tank, and they are pretty big. i don't understand how they could be suitable for a 75g, yet everywhere i look, they say they are fine for a 55g. Do they not require a lot of swimming room or something? Or does the zoo have huge fish since they live in a gigantic pool

 

[seaham358]

the books I have say 100+ gal tank for them and they need swimming room.

 

[macman7010]

The truth is there are very few fish in the Angel, Butterfly, or Tang families that, at adult size are suitable for a 55g or 75g aquarium. If you get a small specimen it may take several years for it to reach adult size which you would hope by then the aquarist has either gotten a larger aquarium or has found a fish shop or friend who could take the fish.

 

[Innovator]

Heniochus get large, eat plenty, and are very active so I wouldn't recommend one for anything less than a 125, preferably a 180g if you wish to have multiple. There are numerous species of angels and butterflyfish available if one takes the time to search fishbase and other random sites.

fishbase.org
reefkeeping.com
advancedaquarist.com
wetwebmedia.com
coralrealm.com
marinecenter.com

 

[Radioheadx14]

I think i am going to go with these fish:
Valencienna puellaris – Diamond watchman goby
x2 Amphiprion ocellaris – Ocellaris clowns
Amblygobius phalaena - Sleeper Banded Goby
Centropyge bispinosus - Coral Beauty Angelfish

Again, i still have about a year before i set up the tank, but i just like to have things planned out ahead of time. would i be able to fit all those fish in my 75g is i get most of them when they are smaller? the only thing i think there might be a problem with would be the dwarf angel, but i read that if you introduce them last and while they are still smaller, then there should no be a problem. Also, i don't plan on having any coral any time soon so i don't need to worry about it eating anything bad.