Am I getting near max capacity?

[ccCapt]

I also think your maxed out, but I'm not a paying member of the tang police association. Just watch your fish and keep an eye out for aggression as it will surely happen when they get bigger and want/need more room. Once that does happen it's up to you to make the right choice in the best interest of those fish.

As far as how big they can get, when I had my 50 gal(3'long) still set up I had a yellow tang in there for about 4 yrs. It got about 6" and was definitely cramped. I gave it to a friend who had a 120 and she put it in with her 12" naso. I would guess the yellow grew another inch or so. The 120 with a 7" yellow and 12"+ naso along with the other fish she had looked cramped to me. There was some aggression, but no fights to the death. Big fish simply need their own space.

With that being said, in my 75 I have a powder blue tang, coral beauty, pair of orange skunks living in a sebae, yellow watchman goby and a lawnmower blennie. I don't plan on getting anymore fish. I like the look of a few fish and lots of coral.

 

[Hara]

but I'm not a paying member of the tang police association.

Please do not be rude in reference to people that are giving good advice. Smart comments such as that do nothing but create a hostile environment and we won't have that here.

 

[ccCapt]

but I'm not a paying member of the tang police association.

Please do not be rude in reference to people that are giving good advice. Smart comments such as that do nothing but create a hostile environment and we won't have that here.

WHAT?????? Where did this come from? You are kidding I hope. Smart comments? Hara...I have no comment to that.

 

[cal91666]

ryguy, There are no hard feelings as far as I'm concerned and I apologize to you as well. I did feel attacked on my opinions and responded by attacking in return.

I am of the opinion that putting fish into an aquarium that have proven FOR MOST to not work is unethical. Yes I said unethical. Some don't agree and that is why we have these forums for discussion. Some have "37+" years of experience and an opinion too but even with that its only an experienced opinion. I am also of the opinion that fish can and will out grow their environment in the home aquarium. I have personally seen yellow tangs in excess of 5" in a 90 gallon aquarium, aquarium smaller, and larger too. I didn't like it then nor do I like it now. It's only my opinion and when ask again I'll tell anyone the same thing.

I think we all failed to ask for as much info as we could get from the original poster before answering and thus we have failed, to this point, to really help.

Gatorfreek, are you prepared to do what you HAVE to do when problems arise whether it be from aggression or size?

 

[zuzecawi]

Wow... what a thread. Seems like the flames are being self quenched, congratulations to all on that. In an aside... that yellow tang which killed my wrasse, it was around 7" and that was without its fins!!! I know the lady had it since it was a juvenile, and she only had it for 5 years. So that says it was either one hurking big juvenile or she really took care of it all until she "lost interest" (a side note, she's now breeding poodles.... people like that scare me.) So yes, fish can grow big pretty quick.

And an admission... I have a juvenile sailfin in my 58. It's only around 2-3" so far, but growing pretty quick, and is the main reason I'm upgrading to the 135. I also have the target mandarine which replaced my six line, and one sailfin/algae eating blenny. These are the only fish I feel comfy with in my tank, and my filtration is superb. I too like a tank with lots of inverts and only a few fish, but I plan to add some fire gobies and some blue green chromis to the 135. I won't, however, add any more tangs. I love them, they're beautiful, but I personally think one sailfin in a 135 is plenty. If I were to add another, it would be a kole tang, or a Tomini bristletooth. Both of which only hit around 5-6" max, and are much more mellow than the bigger surgeonfish.

And I thought the tang police comment was kinda funny. People need to maintain a sense of humor here... it really is too easy for everybody to gang up on one person when you don't ever have to LOOK at the person.

Cheers and good luck with those fish. I'd lose a tang before adding any gobies if I were you. Tangs make BIG poop!!!

 

[Fish Dude]

These posts have gone off topic and headed for personal attacks and ego trips. THIS IS RIDICULOUS...

 

[cal91666]

Tangs make BIG poop!!!

VERY true and thanks, this thread and I needed this bit of humor.

 

[ryguy]

These posts have gone off topic and headed for personal attacks and ego trips. THIS IS RIDICULOUS...

I think we've kept on topic actually quite well. Everything that has been discussed has been about what people consider "max capacity," as asked in the title. I'm sorry that you find an opionated discussion rediculous, but I do have faith that it won't result in intentional personal attacks and puffed out chests.

 

[lando]

I think we may be missing the point. The best way to determine if your tank is "over-stocked" is to turn to your water parameters. If you have consistatly good readings with a normal maintanance schedule chances are you are not oerstocked. This seems to be more of an issue with fish selection. Meaning, choosing appropriate fish for the appropriate tank. We all know that some fish require a lot more room then others and that some fish do not play well with others. This should all be factored in when making a descision on how to stock a tank. The problem is that it is very subjective. It is much harder to quantify this, as you can with NH3, NO2, NO3 levels. This is why we do rely on loose guidelines for stocking. Many on this dite do feel that three tangs in a 4ft 90gal tank is just too many (myself included). However, if you ask the LFS they will say you have room for more. We are here to offer advice, not set up, stock or clean your tank. Some choose to take it, others already have their minds made up and ignor it. Advice is all we have to offer. I do wish you success with your new addiions.

 

[Gatorfreak]

I created a monster with this thread.

Yes, if I see any signs of trouble I will do something about it. I take pride in keeping my critters healthy. If I'd asked this question *before* going to the LFS, I wouldn't have bought them. But since they're in there and still quite small, I'll see how it goes.

 

[zuzecawi]

Hey, just look at this as an opportunity to upgrade. Heh. That's what won the war in my house, I just said "Baby, isn't this a PRETTY fish? You know, it's gonna get bigger some day. I think it wants a three bedroom house instead of a shotgun cottage." And voila! I've got two acrylic tanks sitting in the other room and a pile of equipment amassing in the garage! (and a bunch of electrical engineering work for my sweetie)

 

[ellisz]

I have a YT in my 75 that is a good 4". I am looking for a 6ft tank to give him more room. For fish that are big tim swimmers, the more horizontal space the better. I don't think it would matter if you had a 90 gal or 120 gal, if it was a 4ft tank, you are limited a bit.

Not saying it can't be done but I think the fish would be happier with a bigger tank. You want the fish to live many years of a stress free life. Hopefully you won't have an aggression with the tangs as they get bigger.

Good Luck

 

[quarryshark]

And I thought the tang police comment was kinda funny.

I wear that badge with pride. Ohhh...don't get me started.

Also not to mention how tangs with start sparring with one another as they mature. Darwin's theory will come into play eventually in an overcrowded environment.

 

[fishfreek]

I have basicly read all the replys and I dont think this has been covered in them yet so Ill toss it out as a consiteration.

I must admit I knew someone whom had a 90 gal tank with several tanks, foxface and other larger fish. When I say several I am talking at least 4 tangs with a foxface lawnmower blenny a few clowns and some assorted inverts and corals. This tank was great and the fish got along fairly well except for feeding time while his pumps where running. regretfully he had some issues with power outages due to storms or tripped circuts on occasion. Every time this happend if he did not catch it within a few SHORT hours he would end up lossing nearly every fish in the tank due to suffication. An example of how short of an outage would be as short as a 4 hour period over night. The issue was that saltwater did not contain enough O2 in the water to support that load of fish during the inevetable power outage. While the pumps where running he was able to supply enough O2 to the fish. It was always the tangs that went first and often the smaller fish like the clowns would be the only ones to survive.

When sizing a tanks fish load capacity I also like to consiter the overall O2 capacity of the tank and the level of fish that the tank could support if all pumps where shut off for a period of time. Very few of us can say we live in a place that has never had a power outage. We can buy battery backups all we want but they may not hold and its good to feel confident that your fish wont die due to lack of O2.

 

[Gatorfreak]

That's an excellent point, fishfreek. Back when I had a FW tank with some large fish in it, the power went out for a bit one time and before long all the fish were gasping at the surface.

I've been noticing some aggression at feeding time, actually. Even if it didn't bother the fish, it's not relaxing for me to watch. I invented and built my first fish trap tonight. If it works, the Powder Brown will be going back to the LFS in the next day or so.

 

[cal91666]

I've been noticing some aggression at feeding time, actually. Even if it didn't bother the fish, it's not relaxing for me to watch. I invented and built my first fish trap tonight. If it works, the Powder Brown will be going back to the LFS in the next day or so.

Very sorry to read you are experiencing aggression but I must congratulate you on recognizing it and doing, IMO, the right thing by returning the fish to the LFS.

 

[AMANIQU77]

I've seen Yellow Tangs past 7 inches. I've seen Naso Tangs in the 13 inches, believe it or not.

In terms of Tang Police, in their defense, I do concur that we have to assume that when a question of "I have a 4 foot tank with 2 Tangs and a bunch of other stuff, am I overstocked?" by someone, it is obvious that the individual asking the question is either a Newbie or a Newbie.

So it's a responsibility of every one of us to create a bench mark for them in order for Tangs to be allowed adequate space. I guess once you learn more about how tangs are in the wild, you'd feel a sense of awe and compassion when you realize how terrible it is for these specimen to be contained. So we have to set a bench mark, that's all the Tang Police are trying to create.

With that said, I would make people shakey if I say that None of the people posting in this forum have a Tang or two in their setup that doesn't belong there ethically.

For the more experienced one, they are willing to go out of their way to protect the welfare of the specimen. But for newbies, they may not have that tendency yet. The benchmark will provide them an obligation to go out of their way in case they decide to defy the Tang Police principle.
Plus, you'll never win in forums. Not just this one.

 

[Gatorfreak]

I forgot to update. My trap worked wonderfully and the Powder Brown Tang is back at the LFS.

 

[cal91666]

I forgot to update. My trap worked wonderfully and the Powder Brown Tang is back at the LFS.

GREAT news!

 

[Nøjo]

I thought people that kept fish tanks were supposed to be mellow...