TOTALLY BAD IDEA? - Mixing Regal Tang and Powder Blue Tang

naesco · #1 03-25-2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seek828

Hi all,

Just came back from my LFS today and found that they have gotten some Powder Blue Tangs. They rarely get them.
They are slightly less than 3 inches long.

I was just getting ready to get my next fish for my 90G FOWLR and initially was thinking the Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus).

They also have one at around 3 inches long.

I really like both. But I know that with the similar color and body shape, there is a high possiblitiy that they will fight.

Anyone think there is any chance in the world that they will tolerate each other in a 90G? Anyone tried keeping them at the same time before?
What if I add them together at the same time?

Thanks for reading!

The powder blue tang is a very difficult fish to keep. Typically it does well for a while than gets sick and dies for no apparent reason often taken a few of the other fish with them.
He is a link about the powder blue
http://wetwebmedia.com/powdbluetg.htm

The regal tang is an ich magnet and gets to the size of a pie plate and IMO is too large a fish for a 90.

If you are set a getting a tang consider the kole or yellow for a 90 however you have a trigger already so you may have problems with adding any tangs in a 90

digital-audiophile · #2 03-25-2009, 06:51 PM

Agreed that regals get to be very large over the long term but although they seem to grow fast in the first year, it seems to slow down from there. After I lost mine to a nasty jumping incident I brought one home from a fellow canreefer and he is still pretty small about 3 inches and he is at least two years old.

christyf5 · #3 03-25-2009, 07:00 PM

I got my regal at about 5 inches or so. I'd say she's about 7 inches now and I've had her for 4 years.

dkcrx · #4 03-25-2009, 10:03 PM

I have had my regal for 8 years, got him at 6inch and is around 8inch now. seems to be the amount of food we supply is less then they would get in the wild due to us all wanting pristine water quality, maby a reason for the trend in slow growth. Not that i under feed, I go by belly size, if they start looking a bit on the thin side they get a large feeding for a few days then it's water change time.

Seek828 · #5 03-25-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naesco

The powder blue tang is a very difficult fish to keep. Typically it does well for a while than gets sick and dies for no apparent reason often taken a few of the other fish with them.
He is a link about the powder blue
http://wetwebmedia.com/powdbluetg.htm

The regal tang is an ich magnet and gets to the size of a pie plate and IMO is too large a fish for a 90.

If you are set a getting a tang consider the kole or yellow for a 90 however you have a trigger already so you may have problems with adding any tangs in a 90

Yes I know of the diffculty level of both fish and also their sizes. I have kept Regal before with some success in the long past but never tried PBT.
I do know that eventually they will outgrow my tank and I will need an upgrade in the future to house both of them.
I was, more or less, putting the whole issue about disease and size aside for now and was just thinking if their coexistent is even possible to begin with before I go into the disease and size issues.
But hey, thanks so much for the warning!

Seek828 · #6 03-25-2009, 10:28 PM

And also to everybody else, thanks so much for all the comments!

Seems like it is indeed possible to keep them together.

I noticed a lot of you ask your LFS to hold the fish for you. That sounds like a good plan. But how does it work for you guys? If the fish dies before the date you set to pick it up, do you still have to pay for it?

In my case I have a 45G QT with skimmer all ready for new fish.
Should I quarantine them by myself or ask the LFS to do it for me?

Also, if I ask the LFS to hold them, how long should I ask for?
I usually quarantine my fishes for 2 weeks if no disease is shown. Is that okay?

Thanks!!

parkinsn · #7 03-25-2009, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seek828

And also to everybody else, thanks so much for all the comments!

Seems like it is indeed possible to keep them together.

I noticed a lot of you ask your LFS to hold the fish for you. That sounds like a good plan. But how does it work for you guys? If the fish dies before the date you set to pick it up, do you still have to pay for it?

In my case I have a 45G QT with skimmer all ready for new fish.
Should I quarantine them by myself or ask the LFS to do it for me?

Also, if I ask the LFS to hold them, how long should I ask for?
I usually quarantine my fishes for 2 weeks if no disease is shown. Is that okay?

Thanks!!

When you see something you like ask the LFS to hold it they should do it for you. When fish come in they are stressed and they may not eat right away or at all, a good LFS will hold the fish for you until it is eating proper foods. Also a good LFS will not let the fish go if they dont think it will do well. Sorry about what im going to say retailers, but I would rather have the LFS take the loss of a fish than me, they can make their money back on something else to balance for the lost fish we cant. Ask your LFS to hold the fish till it is looking healthy and eating good, you can always ask them to feed it in front of you. For a PBT I would go longer than 2 weeks in QT as (correct me if im wrong) Ich takes 4 weeks to work its self out of the fish and PBT's are ich magnets. As for the fish dying before you pick it up some LFS will make you pay ahead of time and some wont, so keep your receipt and they will refund you or give store credit if it dies in their care.

Seek828 · #8 03-26-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parkinsn

When you see something you like ask the LFS to hold it they should do it for you. When fish come in they are stressed and they may not eat right away or at all, a good LFS will hold the fish for you until it is eating proper foods. Also a good LFS will not let the fish go if they dont think it will do well. Sorry about what im going to say retailers, but I would rather have the LFS take the loss of a fish than me, they can make their money back on something else to balance for the lost fish we cant. Ask your LFS to hold the fish till it is looking healthy and eating good, you can always ask them to feed it in front of you. For a PBT I would go longer than 2 weeks in QT as (correct me if im wrong) Ich takes 4 weeks to work its self out of the fish and PBT's are ich magnets. As for the fish dying before you pick it up some LFS will make you pay ahead of time and some wont, so keep your receipt and they will refund you or give store credit if it dies in their care.

wow great comment! Thanks!
ya I went back to the LFS today and the two PBTs I saw yesterday were already sold

However, the Regal is still there and I will talk to the manager tomorrow asking him to at least hold it for 1 week or so in the store for me. (He was not working today)

One more question though, I should still quarantine the new fish myself after asking the LFS to hold it for a while for me right?
Just want to make sure.

Trigger Man · #9 03-26-2009, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seek828

wow great comment! Thanks!
ya I went back to the LFS today and the two PBTs I saw yesterday were already sold

However, the Regal is still there and I will talk to the manager tomorrow asking him to at least hold it for 1 week or so in the store for me. (He was not working today)

One more question though, I should still quarantine the new fish myself after asking the LFS to hold it for a while for me right?
Just want to make sure.

For the most part when asking to hold a fish you don't have to say how long, just say you want to buy it and will pick it up when it starts eating well in the store. I have had fish that were good to be picked up a few days later, yet I've had fish that took over a month to be eating well and then I took them home.
You should still quarantine the new fish after picking it up at the lfs, as the lfs goes though a lot of stock and diseases are always being introduced into the water.

Seek828 · #10 03-26-2009, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

For the most part when asking to hold a fish you don't have to say how long, just say you want to buy it and will pick it up when it starts eating well in the store. I have had fish that were good to be picked up a few days later, yet I've had fish that took over a month to be eating well and then I took them home.
You should still quarantine the new fish after picking it up at the lfs, as the lfs goes though a lot of stock and diseases are always being introduced into the water.

Got it!
I'll talk to the manager tomorrow and see how it goes!
Thanks