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Tang Care (1 Viewer)

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Mpolasek

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i keep looking at tangs and they are listed as expert care level yet some are marked as easy and i was wondering are tangs hard to take care of or difficult?
 

Tenny

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I don't think they are that hard...

I think what it comes down to is they require a big tank and they show diseases easily (like Ich). Of course these are general statements. Some are more difficult than others.
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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well for me is it that can i feed them base food(flakes, frozen, or algae) keep them in a tank healthy and peacefull. (not killing everything it can territorial is ok)
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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i don't mind extra work but if a fish needs 90-degree shrimp legs and is very aggressive that's too much i dont mind territory and stuff i get that and i try and keep that to a minimum and switch up foods every now and then
 

steveb

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acanthurus lineatus (clown tang) are very territorial. Really all tangs are but I think the acanthurus are at the top of the list.

You will need to feed nori for whichever tang you get or they will end up having issues. As you know tangs are notorious for being susceptible to ick/velvet, acanthurus I think are at the top of that list.

Several of the acanthurus tangs come from high energy reef zones (lots of dissolved oxygen, lots of current).

The two tangs you listed both grow to be > 12" so you will have to re-home down the road. I would look for 2" to 3" specimen.

Me personally - I would classify acanthurus as somewhat difficult due to their habitat requirements, susceptibility to disease and territorial aggression.

I believe the naso elegans would be a better choice from a territorial aggression standpoint.
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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oh ok now i see so to get these right diseases prone, aggressive, habitat, and special food. ok i haven't seen that yet that explains alot and yes i would need to resettle them after awhile i know that ok that explains the ranking of an expert so tangs are off the table for me now
 

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I spoke with a local LFS who has tended to give me great advice over the years. Apparently he doesn't carry Power Blues because you WILL deal with Ick at a certain point! Its too bad I would have loved to have had one, however I got the next best thing! A Dory!! Which I subsequently heard have the same issues :(. In my 180 I have the following tangs:

Blue Tang
Kole Tang
Tomini Tang
Sailfin Tang

My Blue Tang appeared to get a slight cloudy eye about 2 weeks back, I followed the advice on the forums and dipped my fish food and Selcon and just kept my nitrates low and that worked its self out. The others have been great! The Kole Tang is a big an A hole to my other Tangs, but nothing over the top. Yeah ... I might have too many for a 180g, but I really love tangs!! BTW I would label all of my tangs as easy to moderate (Maybe the Blue is a moderate, other people to have them here can chyme in bc I only have 2 months of experience with the Blue)

-Oscar
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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for me ich is a huge NO because of ich i lost a clownfish from my clown trio, i had to use copper, and i spent lost of money so that alone is a big reason why not to get a tang i will probably stick to planning a cardinal group of maybe 5 to finish my tank after i get some rock
 

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Yellow tangs are easy and had one for over 12 years... They like to swim so a big tank would be great. Blue or dori tangs can be rather hard even though I have had them last for many years. Nasos can be not too tough to keep but they need highly oxygenated water. Those are the main ones I have had over the years and what I have learned about them.
 

oguzman

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for me ich is a huge NO because of ich i lost a clownfish from my clown trio, i had to use copper, and i spent lost of money so that alone is a big reason why not to get a tang i will probably stick to planning a cardinal group of maybe 5 to finish my tank after i get some rock

That's fair keep in mind from what I understand only certain tangs are susceptible to ich. Outside of my blue Tang my other tangs are robust. Or so the experts tell me :). I've also had a yellow Tang for about 2 years no ich in my 75g.
 
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Tangs are relatively easy to keep. I have a Tomini, Hippo and a Purple Tang in a 75g and they all get along very well. My tank also does not have a speck of nuisance algae in it with those three in there. I do have to feed them nori daily, but I'm ok with that.

Keeping tangs.. Just be sure to have plenty of nori on hand for them as it makes up a large portion of their diet. Most are very active swimmers so a tank with lots of room as well as places to hide is essential. If you plan to keep more than one species, you will want to seriously consider adding them all at the same time to minimize territorial issues. As for pathogens, yes Tangs are more susceptible to Ich and other parasites, this is due to their having a much thinner slime coat than other species. Any risk of infecting your main tank can be avoided if you QT them in an observation tank for at least 2-3 weeks and be ready to treat with the appropriate medications, or utilize tank transfer methods and keep them out of the main display until they are completely free of the illness/parasite.

As for feeding I make up my own mix of food using raw oysters, silver sides, and various other meaty foods. I also prefer to use the Julian Sprung's Red Sea Weed by Two Little Fishes brand as it is whole leaf seaweed that has not been ground up. So it holds together much better and doesn't make a mess in the tank when my tangs go nuts over it.

Last thing to know is most Tangs do get rather large. So unless you have a 6' tank or at a minimum 75g with plenty of open swimming room, remember that you may end up having to pull the larger species of tangs out when they get 3/4 grown. Depending on the species this however can take a couple of years. A hippo will go from 1.5-2" to 3-4" in the first year then they tend to slow way down after that. The same goes for most other Tangs. So you can probably keep the larger varieties for a while before they need to be pulled out. Tomini's are some of the smallest varieties at 6-7" but are not as voracious eaters as say a Kole or Yellow tang, that get much larger.

Aggression in Tangs is well documented and some species are much more territorial than others. So research the species thoroughly before getting it, and remember that YMWV and the Tang you get may be a total butt-head and might have to be pulled out if they are very aggressive towards the other members in your reef.

In the end, tangs are enjoyable to watch as they are always on the move, and once they learn who you are will readily come up to the glass and beg for food.
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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wait quick question you have 3 tangs in a 75 how old are they or are they ok in the space because if I could deal with the ich which would be the biggest problem, and i just looked nori( EDIT: i just realized that is what I use in my tank I just call it algae but the packaging and product say it's nori) and i have no problem with that, and i have a strong water flow (maybe even a tab bit too strong ) but most tangs want like over 100 gallons and my parents dont want more than 75 gallons in the house (well i will fix that in a year or two)'
these sites say 180
 
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My tangs never beg for food there is usually something hanging around for them to nibble on. My Emperor Angel comes to the glass mainly first thing in the morning just to let me know he would like me to give him some food please :)
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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ha my clownfish come up the to the surface of the tank when i look from above
 

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One thing I diddnt see anyone else mention, if you do add tangs they should preferably be the last fish you add. Think real hard to make sure you don’t wanna add another fish that may be shy. Other than that I’m sure you will be set. Personally my dad and I love Zebrasoma genus fish. I have a yellow tang, and he has a purple in a 45 ( he getting a bigger tank in March 150g to be exact) he’s had that purple for 3 years! That purple has gotten ich 3 times gone within a week. Ich will pop up eventually, but it’s possible to get rid of it without out having to pull out the fish and treating them. Top tip Is keep the fish fat! With tang you just gotta make the decision to jump in. I’d recommend a yellow tang, they are by far the “easiest” tang I’ve ever kept. I’ve tried them all. From powder blue, brown, Hybrid blue, mata tang, kole tang, Atlantic blue tang, naso, clown tang, blue tang, regal blue. I think that’s all. I’ve spent atleast $1k on tangs and failed 90% of the time. But there’s been a few that lived and I’ve prob sold them. Now I have a yellow tang like I said. I have no desire to have anymore tangs I’m happy with my little yellow lol.
hope this helped a bit
 

Tenny

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One thing I diddnt see anyone else mention, if you do add tangs they should preferably be the last fish you add. Think real hard to make sure you don’t wanna add another fish that may be shy.

That's a good point. When I added my second tang (kole eye) (first was a Powder Brown Tang) I actually caught the PBT and moved them both into a spare tank together (seperated) for about 48 hours, then I put them both in the new tank at the same time so that there would hopefully be no "territory" that the PBT had. It worked out well. The PBT kinda does his own thing (he does laps 24/7) and the Kole eye sometimes swims with him, and sometimes just hangs out elsewhere.
 
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Mpolasek

Mpolasek

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my question is besides the yellow tang, or sailfin is there any tangs that would be ok in a 75 for a majority of their life, i have good water quality not perfect and a simmer (and some copper)
 
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