Yellow tang

[dominick008]

Can I put one tang in my 30 gallon it will only be him in their????

 

[carey]

That would be a big no. There are no tangs that can live in a 30g and do well.

 

[Sniperhank]

Sadly, most tangs need 6ft of swimming room. Even the small ones, as they are open water swimmers. It effects not just the amount of length they swim, but also how much they eat and how much they poop. Leads to issues in small tanks on several levels.

 

[dominick008]

Ty so much for your help Carey and sniper without you guys I would gone
Off and boughted one would of probably died thx again?

 

[baron1282]

I have a yellow Tang and a Yellow Eye Tang in my 55.

I have found from my experience the 6 foot in length rule is just the Tang Police being the Tang Police.

Now having said that, are my Tangs going to stay forever in my 55? That would be a BIG NO! I am working on a 120 (Long, 5 foot) gallon tank right now. A Yellow Tang only requires 100 gallons and a Yellow Eye Tang only requires 75. This is off the LiveAquaria not me!

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Yellow Tang - Hawaii

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Kole Yellow Eye Tang


My Tangs are healthy and swim actively, and I know when they get into the Bigger tank they will be even more happy. I got both my Tangs in bad shape as they were both in a 20 gallon tank to begin with. The Yellow Tang was in a 75 gallon, but was getting nipped on and all his fins were nipped off. They took him out and put him in a 20 gallon tank by himself. He was at the fish store for 3 months in that small tank, never growing his fins back and looking worse.

I bought the Yellow Tang and the Yellow Eye Tang because I know my 55 would be better than the 20 they were in. Today the Yellow Tangs fins are all grown back and he has grown bigger and fatter. He is eating, active, and just a lot happier looking. Both look happier than they did at the fish store.

I also knew I had a responsibility to get them into a bigger tank. So I did and I am close to getting it ready for them to go into.

My suggestion to you is NOT to get the Yellow Tang! Not in a 30 gallon tank! That is way to small. But if you ever get a 100 gallon tank, go for it! Many people think they got a 6 foot tank so they are good, but fail to realize all the decorations they put in (Live Rock) take up the swim space, so their fish suffers because they can't swim like they would want. So SWIM space is more important than the 6 foot rule. My 5 foot tank can have more Swim Space than a 6 foot because all my live rock will be spread out and on the bottom. Also remember to give your Fish hiding spots. My tank will have rocks in "V" Shape to form caves for all my fish to be able to hide when they want. My Yellow Tang now loves his little cave he has and it's his sleeping spot. LOL

 

[huma-huma]

you cant use swim space to judge a tanks capacity to handle a fish. it goes well beyond the physical open water space a fish needs to swim. you have to take into consideration the volume of water, the weight of rock (relative to filtration capacity). i can agree that the 6 ft rule seems a bit overly generalized, however its good for helping hobbyists understand that for the majority of tangs, they need a bigger tank.

 

[baron1282]

Huma-Huma

I agree filtration is a BIG consideration as well, but I was just throwing it out there that from my experience the whole 6 foot rule is not always the best advice for people that want Tangs.

I have seen people that have Tangs in a 125 or 150, but with a lot of rock and thus effectively leaving the Tang and the other fish with very little open water to swim in.

 

[huma-huma]

same here Baron def not trying to negate your info, just offering a different view of it
friendly convo lol

 

[baron1282]

I like challenging the status quo, especially since I am putting tangs in a 5 foot long tank because I want tangs. LOL

I was going to get a bigger tank but money restricted me. Once I get a Good job, I am only planning on having three tanks in total. I want one BIG tank and three smaller tanks.

I do agree that 4 foot is pushing it, but with maybe a Yellow Eye Tang, and a few smaller ones I would do a 75, but no smaller. If the original poster wants tangs, I would go with this group in a 75 gallon. No smaller than a 75 gallon and the 75 gallon tanks are what I would consider your starting point for some species of Tangs.

Surgeonfish: Tang Fish, Yellow Tangs and other Surgeons