Tang Police or Tang Nazis?

daniella3d · #1 01-07-2011, 08:45 PM

I had read it yesterday and that come right on time. I happen to have a small hippo, 2" 1/2 in a 75 gallons tank and was told the fish "would not be happy". He eats like a pig but does not roam the aquarium much and prefer to stay on the top part within my sps. I was again told it is because the fish is in a too small space and that was a sign of stress but after reading the article I have learned the truth...the young hippo tang does not roam much and prefer to stay within the same spot, so my fish has a normal behavior as it would in the wild. He can stay in that tank for a year at least before he outgrown it, then he would go into a larger tank but there is no rush.

It is true that taking a fish from the ocean with a living space of 20,000 gallon per fish and putting it either in a 90 galons tank or a 150 gallons tank is not going to make a big difference.

they also explain that the naso tang and one other are those that really need swimming space so there is a lot of myth and propaganda done by the unfamous tang police it seems.

For the stress level, I always thought that fish were more stressed in the wild because they constantly have to watch for predator and death is in every corners. In aquarium usualy the fish are well fed and safe. How stressfull can that be? at least if there is no aggression in the tank that is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

Interesting article in this month's Coral Magazine: It seems the "Tang Police" may have to hand in their handcuffs. Apparently, studies have been done to measure stress levels of fish kept in aquariums of different sizes. After acclimation, there was no difference is stress level between fishes in larger or smaller tanks. In fact, there was no difference in levels between captive fish and wild fish. The author of the article goes on to say that the Regal Tang, which many people consider to be one of the Tangs that require larger spaces are fine in a tank of 150 gallons, as long as a swimming area of 65" by 24" is available. The author also says Wrasses may require more swimming room than Tangs. Why are there no "Wrasse Police"?

Aquattro · #2 01-07-2011, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

For the stress level, I always thought that fish were more stressed in the wild because they constantly have to watch for predator and death is in every corners. In aquarium usualy the fish are well fed and safe. How stressfull can that be? at least if there is no aggression in the tank that is.

I don't think the fish know that there aren't any sharks behind the rock, so the normal stress of trying to avoid being eaten is still there.

daniella3d · #3 01-07-2011, 09:07 PM

nah...the fish are more intelligent than you think and they do learn to feel comfortable in an aquarium. My fish got the routine right and they pretty much know the feeding hours and come right at the spot to get fed. They learn to trust us, as well as they learn to trust their environment with time. That is if there is no aggressive fish in there that harras another fish to death, then the fish will be relaxed and learn that they can't be harmed there.

At leat that is from my own observation of my fish. At the begining they are scared and skittish but with a few weeks they get really relaxed. I think with time they get the idea and the stress of being eated goes away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I don't think the fish know that there aren't any sharks behind the rock, so the normal stress of trying to avoid being eaten is still there.

Magma · #4 01-07-2011, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

nah...the fish are more intelligent than you think and they do learn to feel comfortable in an aquarium. My fish got the routine right and they pretty much know the feeding hours and come right at the spot to get fed. They learn to trust us, as well as they learn to trust their environment with time. That is if there is no aggressive fish in there that harras another fish to death, then the fish will be relaxed and learn that they can't be harmed there.

At leat that is from my own observation of my fish. At the begining they are scared and skittish but with a few weeks they get really relaxed. I think with time they get the idea and the stress of being eated goes away.

I think the same way, when you put a new fish into the tank, they hide and dont show there face much, I put in a Royal Gramma and didnt see him for a week, but he slowly started to show his face more and more and now hes fine with me sticking my arms in tank to move corals or whatever needs to be done...

They get used to the captivity now if that lowers the stress of the fish who knows but I think its still there primal instinct to watch there back..