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just because you keep fish healthy and possibly happy does not take away from the ethics of keeping animals in glass boxes Weither there the recommended size or not to me it sounds like another justification I mean is there really a difference between keeping a tang healthy and happy in a 3' as in a 6'. Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like ur saying that there is a big diff in someone who keeps a tang healthy and happy in small tank compared to the guy with a tang in a 6' tank with bad husbandry

concidering a 40 is the min recomended size for a yellow tang thats being generious :mrgreen:

Steve

I agree. One could even argue that there is more stress in 6' tank than a 3' due to the added livestock and aggression that goes along with them. Fish-fish contagion is greater in a larger tank with more fish. The 3' tank may have one alfa male, while the 6' tank may have many competing for the position at the top.

I think tank size difference is negligible (within reason, and with some exceptions) for anything under 5,000 gallons. Whether it takes three movements or one to cover the length of the tank makes no difference in my opinion.

If you are breeding fish or trying to replicate their natural environment for a public display tank size may come into consideration, but for the most part, a glass box is a glass box.

I often read posts where some poor nano tank owner is being berated for having an ocellaris clown, meanwhile clown breeders use 5 gallon tanks because it is the ideal breeding environment.

Just to be clear I'm not trying to flame just stating that no one is better then anyone else as we all keep our awesome glass tanks in our little boxes on the hillsides

I mean we all know deepdown inside it's the thrill of playing god that's what were all addicted to hahaha

Ha your all going to hell well except me because iv acknowledged my sins rofl ;p

I think keeping a fish healthy and happy does mitigate the negatives of taking him out of the ocean. It doesn't eliminate them, and I'm not naive enough to think that it does. But I don't see the hypocrisy in saying I'm doing something destructive so I should do what I can to minimize the impact as much as possible. The person who crams 4 tangs into a 3' x 1' tank will likely kill them all and thus wasted a (diminishing) resource.

I think that there really is a difference in stress level for a tang in a 3' x 1' tank vs a 6'x1' tank. If no-one believed that the size of tank mattered we'd all be stuffing 10 gallons with all sorts of fish, when we get to the difference between a 5 or 6 foot tank then I think we're splitting hairs but definitely I believe a 3' x 1' tank is too small. A 3'x3' cube with the rocks set up appropriately on the other hand would probably provide lots of swimming room. In my own experience, a couple of years ago I had a 5'x18" tank and had a purple tang in there. It was a nice well behaved fish, I switched to a 4'x2' tank and when the move was made the tang became much more aggressive with it's tankmates. That said, he stayed healthy and didn't exhibit any other signs of elevated stress. Was a 4 foot tank too small for him, maybe or maybe not but for my own reference I feel that it would be the minimum size I would feel comfortable putting a larger fish like a tang in.

If a guy has a smaller tank and has a fish that's healthy and happy then the fish is better off there then he would be in a larger tank with bad husbandry. What I'm trying to say is that "Good Husbandry" takes into account all the factors that contribute to a fish's health and stress levels. This includes swimming area, water quality, food, etc. A fish that's in too small a tank will not be healthy and stress free. A fish that's in an enormous tank with crummy conditions is not healthy and stress free.

I wasn't trying to say the stress levels are diff and that justifies it just that it don't make it Right what we do and will continue to do. The point of this hobby is to one day stop taking from the ocean and trade with others am I wrong. Were all guilty of keeping glassboxs and just because there healthy and happy don't make it ok but are any of us going to go home tonight and shut our tanks down well no I doubt it but what I'm trying to say is the ends do not justify the means but we all love doing it so We are and forever will be guilty of playing god. I for one love it and will continue to do it

I just realized how far this topic has devolved from stress lvl of tangs to the ethics behind glassboxs sry OP back to the original topic.... Dam those tang police &$!@ it I'm getting a tang for my 20g prove all you wrong ;p there we go back to the topic at hand

I agree. Providing a good environment for our "prisoners" doesn't make it right, but it's the least we can do.