1 more tang...too many fish?
 

I have a 120gal with a 27gal sump, and I've got quite a few fish. 4 small chromis, a small yellow tang, an average sized kole tang, a small bicolor blenny, and a nice sized lawnmower. I had a naso tang before to control macro, but it died an unexplained death and now my macro is growing again. Would it be too much to add another naso to the mix? I'm running a pretty good skimmer (Canreef skimmer) and everybody else is doing fine. I know about the "tang police" crap. Opinions?


*Flame suit on....just in case :) *

Thanks in advance...

Just a bit more clarification. In my attempts to curb this macro problem, my tank also has an emerald crab, sally lightfoot crab, and a tuxedo urchin. None of them even touch the macro (grape caulerpa).

A better question may be....what else can I get to try to eat this stuff if another naso is too much?

I'm in the process of trying to eliminate the nutrients in my tank but it seems this caulerpa problem has haunted me since day 1 of my first reef tank about a year and a half ago.

Thanks again.

I found the same thing in that my SLF crab did not touch Grape Caulerpa. I have a fairly small patch in the corner of my tank. I have a Lemonpeel Angel who seems to beat the caulerpa down to size. It sure does not get a chance to spread. FWIIW.

Hi Mason,

I keep Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus) to control the grape marco-algae problem. When I first setup the tank, I also used lots of macro to help control the nutrient. (Titus can verfiy that!) The powder brown take care of that afterward.

Don't confuse this white-cheek powder brown with Acanthurus nigricans. The one I am talking about is a good reef fish (stay small, easy to keep), the other one is not.

Look here for details.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/GoldRimSs.htm

Bongy

Hmmm...looks like more fish options are now available :)

The lemon peel sounds appealing, do they all normally eat caulerpa?

The powder brown tang looks similar to the naso, i wonder if it gets as big.

Do you guys see a problem with overstocking my tank though? Or should I be ok to squeeze one more in?

Just an example that fish don't read these topics. I had an A. japonicus but it died. I now have an A. nigricans and it is doing very well. go figure :P

This isn't a flame but I'd think two tangs in a 48" tank would be plenty. If considering the lemon peel, keep in mind that it's probably the most notorious of them all for nipping. Numerous text examples are available. I don't know this because of experience, I took Tullock, Michael etc. for their word. Bob's success isn't long term yet (and believe me I wish you [Bob] the best luck) and is the exception rather than the rule.

what about a rabbitfish? I have a virgates and a foxface...I can't grow anything with them in there...they go crazy over any type of algae. They are also totally non aggressive with each other or other fish.

Brad,

Next time, you need to teach your fish.
"You have to eat well and behave well, it said so by Bob Fenner" :roll:

I guess that's the fun part with keeping fish, every individual fish is kind of different.

I have to agree with Troy, (and I am not a tang police supporter :wink: ) but I have a yellow in a 90 and I personalything a 120 would be the minimum size for two tangs...

Steve