Ultimatereef.com TOTM keeps a yellow tang in a 30gal...

[gobytron]

I just reread this whole thread...
couldn't really find anything personal?

lots of view points and some great discussion though...

[Zoaelite]

I find it interesting and a little disturbing that people are actually ganging up on the one advocating proper aquarium husbandry.

one is a mammal and carries significantly higher intelligence.

The other is a fish.

If care levels were indicative of intelligence then I would be treating some people on this board like my old tamagotchi pet . Why would you even factor that into how you care for something? Would it be acceptable to place everyone with Downs syndrome in a 5' by 5' room simply because there intelligence is lower than that of a regular person?

You have a larger tank.
If you observe a tang in a 3 or 4 foot tank swimming and than observe one in a 6 foot + tank swimming it is easy to see the difference. In the small tank the tang kinda swims around and in the longer tank he really motors from one end to the other.
Tangs are swimmers and need the larger room longer tanks provide. (A Kole tang would be an exception though)

The reason I'm on board with Naesco is specifically because of this, when I upgraded from my 4' 60g to my 6' 170g and watched my tang in his new home I finally understood why people highly suggest a 6' tank for tangs. It's hard to describe if you have never seen it but those extra few feet really brought out the life in my little guy.

Looking at the other side of the field though there are much more heinous things going on out there, all we can really do as hobbyists is advocate for the absolute best in hopes that people will avoid the absolute worst's.

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by zoaElite

... when I upgraded from my 4' 60g to my 6' 170g and watched my tang in his new home I finally understood why people highly suggest a 6' tank for tangs. It's hard to describe if you have never seen it but those extra few feet really brought out the life in my little guy.
...

That's a great observation and it's important to report those kinds of things as people notice them.

When "Finding Nemo" first came out, I remember seeing some aquarium manufacturer's reps appearing on a television talk show with a new 5 or 10 gallon aquarium that they immediately dumped in a "Dory" tang and a "Nemo " clownfish.

That tells newcomers to the hobby that that kind of setup is alright. It's not.
When somebody sets up what they saw on TV, it will ultimately fail due to stress/disease leading to dead fish.

It doesn't matter if it's a bored, barking, anxious dog, a feather pulling parrot or an ich covered tang. Stress will kill the animals that we are trying to keep.
It also can demonstrate a lack of respect for them.


Mitch

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by gobytron

it's actually not the same thing...

one is a mammal and carries significantly higher intelligence.

The other is a fish.

Also, I think the fact that this fish obviously looks healthy and is 5 years of age speaks for itself.


With all the problems the ocean and the environment has, this issue is one of the last things anyone who actually gives a $%*t should spend time and energy worrying about....IMO.

Think about what a crappy experience being caught and shipped is for the average fish we enjoy so much, if "best practice" was truly your monicher, you would have to only buy from proven and relaible breeders of tank raised species.

otherwise, this is just hypocritical nonsense....IMO.

Yes, if we wanted to be truly humane, tree hugging heroes... none of us would have fish in the first place. We also would be wandering around naked eating berries and grass and stuff. But I love my steak and leather jacket and fish tank so the key is to find that happy medium where we get to keep what we want in a responsible ethical manner.

But to say that taking the fish out of its environment is the worst part and that absolves us of any responsibility to provide a proper environment for it is beyond comprehension to me. The comparison to the dogs is perfectly valid, they are both living animals that become 100% dependent on us for their well being. I can't believe that is even up for debate.

I don't think anybody here is going around knocking on doors and demanding to inspect the living conditions of peoples fish, for better or worse people are generally allowed to screw up the life they are responsible for without being harassed too much, the issue here is this guy was honoured for keeping a fish in sub-standard conditions.

[Madreefer]

That's a really nice tank. I agree with both whatcaneyedo and naesco, there's not enough swimming room. I think that the tanks owner is full of chit. To me that looks like a juvenile tang. My yellow tang is about 4 years old and looks more like a full grown adult than that guys tang.

[reefwars]

loved the border colie comparison because it is the same, if we buy it its our responsibility to make sure it has everything it needs.

someone should start a poll asking if you agree with ultimatereef.com decision in honoring this person ??