Tank size for Tangs? An evaluation...

[Canadian]

What's with the hang up on the whole "Tang Police" issue? Truth be told, I see a lot of problems with people having Anthias, Large Angels, Puffers, Triggers, and the list goes on and on. Tangs just happen to be one of the most commonly acquired specimens that are subjected to conditions that I feel are less than ideal (for a captive environment). Furthermore, the issues regarding water quality and so forth are moot. One should assume that, first and foremost, the basic care requirements such as appropriate water quality, feeding regimen, etc are invariably being met.

What about sharks (in particular Epaulette spp.) being kept in captivity? How many of you believe that they should be housed in very large aquariums, if kept at all? The people who most strongly defend the husbandry practice of keeping Tangs in "smallish" aquariums are typically those who are doing so - as is often the case with those people who choose to house sharks, large Angels, etc. Now, how many of you who have several Tangs in aquariums of 100g or less disagree with keeping sharks in your typical hobbyist's aquarium?

I agree that this thread is going off on a tangent. The "Tang Police" are generally people who are fairly conservative and concerned about the long-term sustainability of the hobby (that's not to say that the people who obviously have some serious disdain for the "Tang Police" don't also share the same concern for the sustainability of the industry/hobby). Perhaps my concern and strong stance stems from the fact that, as someone who worked in the industry for several years, I've seen countless people go to greater and greater lengths to cram more and more fish into their aquaria while viewing the fish as disposable, material possessions.

(P.S. According to my room mate's girlfriend - who has graduated from photography school and is a professional photographer - my calculations of the fish's length are valid. The ratio of the size of the tank to the size of the fish would presumably be constant unless the picture had been doctored in one way or another with something like Photoshop. And the picture was obviously not taken with a "fish-eye" lens or something of the sort that would significantly distort the aspect ratio.)

[ 23 September 2002, 23:26: Message edited by: Canadian ]