Schooling Tangs

[mike31154]

I have one YT in my 4 foot tank, 75 gal and I tend to agree with Aquattro. We're not doing this for the fish's sake, but our own. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, but if it's true that a tang likes to swim 200 yds in one shot then even 10 feet isn't going to make a captive fish much happier in the long term. So unless you have an olympic size swimming pool for a tank, you're really not doing the fish any favour.

My YT appears quite content in the 4 foot tank, but sometimes I do wonder if I shouldn't free Willy? I purchased him for another reefer who shut down his 60 gal.... a 3 foot tank. He's probably the most well adjusted dude in my tank, doesn't pick on anyone unless provoked and even then he wags his scalpel just enough to get the point across, so to speak. People keep birds in cages with clipped wings and all, so I find it surprising that there is so much controversy among marine hobbyists regarding tangs and tank size.

[JDigital]

I do agree we aren't giving any favor to a Tang (or any heavy swimmers) we pull out of the ocean.. I think yellow tangs are more accepted in smaller tanks because they don't get as big as some of the big swimming tangs.... Untamed's tank is a clear example of why an Achilles shouldn't be in a 4ft tank... That Achilles SAILS thru a 400G tank without intrusion from rock walls and such. Even at 8 feet long, the tank is still 4 feet wide, so that tang is making big large laps, compared to the stop and go in a 4ftx20". Regardless, there are tangs that I am thinking about for my 75 that are recommended to be housed in 100-135G...