Looking for a "center piece" fish

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How about a butterfly or achillies tang??? Depends on the type of corals you have for the butterfly usually

An Achilles tang would be an awful choice, not only do they get large and need at least a 6 foot tank but they are one of the harder fish to keep. Not to mention they are not cheap. I like kole tangs as a smaller tang.
 
An Achilles tang would be an awful choice, not only do they get large and need at least a 6 foot tank but they are one of the harder fish to keep. Not to mention they are not cheap. I like kole tangs as a smaller tang.

Agree kole tang, pretty hardly and beautiful
 
I picked up one of these:

Fijian Arrowhead Soapfish

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An Achilles tang would be an awful choice, not only do they get large and need at least a 6 foot tank but they are one of the harder fish to keep. Not to mention they are not cheap. I like kole tangs as a smaller tang.

I didnt think they got TOO too big

Hmm
The more you know lol

Kole tangs are also very nice we had one at our shop a while back, sold verrrry fast
 
I didnt think they got TOO too big

Hmm
The more you know lol

Kole tangs are also very nice we had one at our shop a while back, sold verrrry fast

Achilles can get 8-10" and have a very poor success rate In captivity. They are also my favorite fish and require more on the range of an 8 foot tank with a lot of current due to the surge zone habitat they come from off of Hawaiian coasts. 6 feet would be a bare minimum. Not a beginner fish at all. The best tang for 4 feet tanks are the kole or tomini tang.
 
Achilles can get 8-10" and have a very poor success rate In captivity. They are also my favorite fish and require more on the range of an 8 foot tank with a lot of current due to the surge zone habitat they come from off of Hawaiian coasts. 6 feet would be a bare minimum. Not a beginner fish at all. The best tang for 4 feet tanks are the kole or tomini tang.

+1 agree totally.
 
Achilles can get 8-10" and have a very poor success rate In captivity. They are also my favorite fish and require more on the range of an 8 foot tank with a lot of current due to the surge zone habitat they come from off of Hawaiian coasts. 6 feet would be a bare minimum. Not a beginner fish at all. The best tang for 4 feet tanks are the kole or tomini tang.
+1. there was an Achilles in a 10 ft 800g tank at the family owned fish store I worked at. it covered every last inch of that tank
 
Even though it is small, it is still a poor choice for that tank. Good luck with it, I hope you saw it eat before you got it
 
bribo12 said:
Even though it is small, it is still a poor choice for that tank. Good luck with it, I hope you saw it eat before you got it

+1. I believe achilles are listed as expert only on LA. They have a poor success rate in captivity.
 
Im not a rookie at this. Yes, it's not "ideal" to have one in a 4ft tank, however, I am gong over 200 gallons next year and therefore, he will be fine by then. Secondly, did he eat before I bought him? Do you buy a car without driving it? I am a proud owner of many rare and very hard to get fish that have survived and are thriving.

I apologize if I am coming off defensive, but the tang police bother me. I am not throwing in a hippo tang in a 30 gallon tank here.
 
Believe it or not, usually the tang police are in it to help the fish. I am a huge advocate for proper fish in the proper tank. An achilles is also a tough fish, which needed to be mentioned. There are hundreds of people reading these threads and I know with you being an experienced aquarist you dont want to send the wrong message. All those people who drop a blue tang in a biocube read or heard from somewhere that it was ok. You understand my point right? lol It's not bash you but to hopefully be helpful. :)

I hope your fish does well, alot dont but some do with the proper care. Just provide the care you can and it might be fine. I've battled the odds with several fish and have won a few and lost a few. Just how it is.
 
Im not a rookie at this. Yes, it's not "ideal" to have one in a 4ft tank, however, I am gong over 200 gallons next year and therefore, he will be fine by then. Secondly, did he eat before I bought him? Do you buy a car without driving it? I am a proud owner of many rare and very hard to get fish that have survived and are thriving.

I apologize if I am coming off defensive, but the tang police bother me. I am not throwing in a hippo tang in a 30 gallon tank here.

If the car was super nice and I had the money, yes I would probably buy it without driving it. A lot of people do the same with fish believe it or not. i don't know your fish background, sorry...I wasn't trying to bash you for getting it. I just don't get why people ask for advice, ignore it and buy a fish anyway. I was also not trying to be tang police at all, I just said it was a poor choice for that tank and wished you good luck with him.
 
I agree with Carey... I very frequently point out when people are considering putting a fish in a tank that is not appropriate. I do not care if it is a Tang or Angel or whatever. If that has some kind of negative vibe to it, then so be it. To simply not point things out seems irresponsible to me.

You are a brave soul, IMO. I have been doing this for a long time and I would never consider purchasing an "expert only" fish that stores warn should really not go in a home aquarium. Ive done "difficult", but that is a big step up, IMO. If I ever did, I would have the appropriate sized tank, proper filtration and flow, etc. That's just me though.

Best of luck to you and this fish. It's in there and I don't think anyone here is hoping the Tang doesn't make it.
 
This is the way that i look at it. You bought this insanely gorgeous fish, that is extremely hard to keep. You are gonna do everything possible to keep him alive, inluding constant water changes, buying higher quality food, upgrading equipment to better suit the task of caring for this fish.. And if you dont upgrade, youll have to rehome him and itll all be for nothing. All your hard work, time and extra money. Im not cpndemning you for purchasing him, and i understand you plan on upgrading, but more often than not our plans get cancelled or pushed back. Would hate to see you go through all that just to possibly rehome him down the road
 
I would rather see someone who is experience and wants to do his best to take care of the fish.rather than someone who just buys it and doesn't really no what to do. The lfs is not going to release it back were it came from if they can't sell it. Just going to die there. So good luck and I'm happy you found your fish.
 
Thanks everyone. Day 5 and no ich yet. He's picking on pellets and grazing on the rock. He also found the MP40 current and swims in it after doing laps. He's quite funny.
 
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