tang opinions
 

Hi, I have a 135 gallon tank (beginning reef) but right now FOWLR more or less. I already have a yellow tang in a friends tank. Any other comments would be great.

I couldn't vote, I'd go with a purple and a sailfin maybe, I'm just not big on yellow tangs, a fox face in my opinion is a better algae eater than a yellow tang. My fox face eats calupera, hair algae.... etc etc, if it's green the fox face eats it.

Doug

neither combanation will be good as they will all fight in most cases.

Steve

I would agree that they would probably fight. You might need a larger tank. Although 135 might be large enough for them to have their own territories. I am undecided. I have a sailfin which will out grown my 90 shortly so keep that in mind!

"none of the above"

like Steve said...

That's three Zebrasoma sp. tangs, I'd say that's pushing it unless you introduced them all at the same time and were there to ensure there were no problems... lots of hiding places would also be beneficial. Three tangs in a 135 gal seems like a lot anyways. I'd pick one of the three and then go with a rabbitfish like Doug suggested.

Threee??? :eek: :eek: :eek:

I thought you were wondering on a Sailfin or a Purple. I would definately stay away from three. Two max!! They're all nice though!

Tang
 

Someone once told me 1 tang to every 100g no more then that.

I agree with Stir Crazy.
In most cases you are asking for trouble by mixing these species in a 135.

The only reason that I was thinking about getting three tangs was so that the occasional fights would be distributed evenly. I don't know what happened but another option I thought I put down was the yellow and a regal tang but I don't see it.

What do you think if the 135? any thing about it you don't like? I may be having to go to a 135 rather than my short 120 that I was hoping for because of cost. The short 120 would need heavier glass so the cost would go up substantially. Ideally I wanted a 60x20hx24d.... got a final quote coming in sometime tonight I hope.

Doug

Regal and a purple would be very striking, the fox face is a great algae eater though. If I could I'd get a Red Sea Sailfin, perhaps a purple but maybe not, and two fox face. 3-4 heniochus and the rest of the fish would be gobies etc.. all small stuff.

Doug

I do like the 135's length a lot but if I had to do it over again I'd go for the 180 for the 6" more in width. My 135 has the thicker glass and it only cost I think about 60 more bucks. My tank is 72"x18"x24" in case you were wondering. Also I would perfer to just have the purple and yellow.

I already have the yellow though

I agree that 2 zebrasoma in one tank is too many. Maybe a regal or powder brown? A yellow and a purple will fight for sure.

You should alway mix the genus when keeping multiple tangs for best results, so none of the above.

yes I'd love the 180 but it's substantially more than the 135. I'm not sure what I'll do.

Doug

Yeah I paid about $650 for the 135 and I believe the 180 was about $900.

Oh sheesh the 135 is $380 and the 180 is $650 ... yikes, sad thing is .. the tanks are made in ... VICTORIA...

Doug

i will speak of my experiences only...

i had a 135, though mine was 24" wide and 18"tall, reeftank with lots of rock... i had a yellow, a similar sized red sea sailfin, and a smaller purple... the purple was healthy but otherwise very timid, due to the aggresiveness of the larger yellow... the yellow and red sea sailfin were fine together, though those 2 were about the same size... or i should say, the red sea sailfin, grew to the same size of the yellow! (the red sea sailfin and red sea purple were added at the same time, same size, the sailfin quickly put on size, while the purple did not, was still fat, just didnt gain the size)

i now have a 180, and still have the red sea purple... i have since added a slightly larger powder blue tang, and both are getting along fine. keep in mind these are different species though.

HTH

What size of tank are you talking about here Doug? Heniochus get quite large. WEM has some that are easily the size of a dinner plate. To keep two adult tangs, two adult foxfaces and four audlt Heniochus you'd need a lot of water.

I know I wont be able to keep them forever but, for a 120 to a 135 gallon.. .. I'm not saying I WILL get them.. just.. I'd like to.. the LFS is bringing in some Moorish Idols.. the real ones.. I may get one of them instead... have to see.

Doug

I had a yellow and a sailfin in a 94 gal, both were small and all they did was fight, I would not concider keeping two of the same genus in anything under a 200 gal tank again and even then I would have resavations.

Steve

First off, Doug that makes me want to cry (I could have had a 180 for the same price), where are they that much, and what brand (please don't tell me Sea Star eventhough I'm sure you are going to say it is) ? Second, I've been looking at RC and it seems like most people think that a 135ish tank is too small for a pac. blue tang. What do you people think about the blue and the yellow? Does't sound like I should get my purple :frown: . Also I really don't want a kole.

why don't you just pick your faviorite tang and get that, one tang no problems, there are lots of other fish you can get laiter that will complement your tang.

Steve

The problem is that I got the yellow tang that is in my friends tank as a present from my girlfriends mother. If I could I would have gotten the purple tang and that's it. Yellow's are not my fav. tang, I still do like them though. I also don't want to hurt anyones feelings by selling it.

ahh the curse of getting fish for presents, people meen well but are actuly doing more harm than good. personaly I would give it to another hobbyest and tell them it died. (I had to do that with one of the red tailed sharkes my dad bought my daughter for my tank. they were beating the hell out of each other as they are very teratorial so it would have died if I didn't)

Steve

Rover, yes it's a seastar. The LFS I buy from gets large discounts because of the number of tanks they sell. So, yes, the 180 is $650, heck I can get a 180 acrylic for $850. The 135 is $380, I just ordered a custom 60x20hx24 from them, it'll cost me about $400 with two holes and bulkheads. 1/2 inch glass on the bottom. I just don't have room for a 6ft tank, it would just be to tight a fit. I'll use my existing 90 as a FO tank I guess, probably not set it up for a while.

Doug

i had a yellow and a purple in a 120 and they didnt like each other......

JMO :mrgreen:


Mike

The yellow is about 2 1/2" long including tail, so what do you think about adding a small Regal at the same time or do you think my tank is too small? I only have about 70 lbs of LR but it is arranged so that there are many caves and such, also the rock isn't touching the back of the tank. So there is lots of swimming room. And no I don't have to worry about waste. I'm getting a sweet filter (I hope it is).