hey all. as some of you know im setting up a 120 gallon tank (dimensions 60" long 26"tall adn 18" deep) tank will be paired with a 100 gallon sump/fuge so its a 220 gallon system.

anyhow, tangs facinate me but i've been reading everywhere that you can only put one tang in a system, yet i see tanks with different species of tangs in them constantly, and was just wondering what tangs can be safe with another and safe with inverts/coral?? and if they cant be mixed with others, is there a possibility of pairing up one species.

sohal tang (Acanthurus Sohal)
Regal Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus)
Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens)
Achilles Tang (Acanthurus Achilles)

I have seen most of these in one tank (amphibious) and that got me to wondering.

So if anyone could shed some lights on this subject, or give me a basic tang guideline that would be great. Im trying to do my fish reseacrh be fore i get my tank going.

Thanks alot all

Do be careful, as Dick said, he has been keeping saltwater fish longer than most of us have been alive. The rule of thumb is that you can mix tangs that have a different body shape/color. In your tank I'd guess that you could do two but I think that you will shortly hear more expert advice on this.

the sohol and the achilles are two of the most territorial tangs you can get.

thnx alot you two, that really helps. And i payed attention to what dick said. I was just wondering for all of those people who haven't been doing this that long :p

Hey Small Fry,

Tread with caution on mixing Tangs. I took every precaution and ran into disaster. You obviously read my thread but I'm going to post a link here for new members - http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412

Tangs, besides being very territorial, are prone to diseases, especially when first acquired. Their dislike for one another is born out of compitition for space and food. To help ease the situation offer a variety of food very often during the day. Keeping them full of food eliminates or reduces one source of stress and helps calm them down leading to less stress and a beginning toward tolerance. (Hmm, maybe we should try this in the middle East.)

Getting all the Tangs at once helps. All will be new to the aquarium and not have established the entire tank as "their" territory. Getting all the same size helps, too. The most challanging part of finding all your Tangs at the same time is finding them in a healthy condition. I don't know if I'm the only one that knows this or not but about 95% of fish shops do noot feed their fish enough to get them into a healthy condition. They barely throw enough food at them to keep them alive. If you don't believe this then simply observe and compare fish at you LFS and fish kept by a hobbyist. You'll notice a vast difference. I could write a book about LFSs!

You should know, I'm a firm believer in UV Sterilizers and recommend buying a powerful one, not one that is sized for your aquarium but at least the next size larger. Reasons are given in my thread linked above.

I wish you luck in your Tang endevor but remember luck is 90% planning and 10% doing. If I can be of any help, just ask.

Dick

not that i could add more value than Dick, but i will stress the UV sterilizer and the feeding...

offer lots of food, and in multiple locations. so if you are using lettuce clips, use 2 or three, so they don't start competing over one clip.

for the UV, tangs are pooping machines, pretty messy fish, so having the UV will help alot in controlling the waste products and there effect on your system

offer lots of food, and in multiple locations. so if you are using lettuce clips, use 2 or three, so they don't start competing over one clip.Good point Rob and one I had in mind when I wrote the above post but failed to put down. Please do not offer Romain lettuce, Nori is a marine based veggie and the best choice for easy to get dried veggie. Fresh live veggies like gracilaria is better and available on line somewhere. Search for it.

yep, no romaine..

another feeding idea, instead of using lettuce clips, since you may not have 2 or three, is to use a small piece of PVC, and attach the nori sheet to the PVC and then wrap a rubber band around it, the PVC will anchor it down, and then you can poace this in the back bottom or sides of the tank where the fish might find it more comfortable.

sadly it will be a long time ( money hates me :) )before i can even think about what to feed the fish ( :( ) but this is great info for me to know nonetheles. So thanx guys.

but when it does come around to choosing fish i'll probably just stick it out with a regal tang, maybe even a yellow tang, i dont know, its all so tempting :p

thnx

Amphibious once again is absolutely right in his remarks and Rob's passion is always unquestioned.

however, i do want to point out that a general assumption that 95% of lfs does not take care of their livestock properly puts the 5% that do in a precarious position. i believe that the best source of livestock is still from your lfs. you just have to be educated in selecting the store that you wish to deal with. statements that imply that 95% of lfs just feed enough to keep specimens alive is misleading. are we to assume that online retailers are more moral? i believe that 95% of online retailers might be guilty of the same crimes. should not the correct statement be that 95% of RETAILERS? not just lfs?

I totally agree with you Wally but, failed to include the on-line sources. Thank you for pointing that out. What I've seen over the years of being in this business is enough to make a grown man cry. I've been in hundreds and maybe even thousands of LFSs across this country. Few deserve our business on livestock. Unfortunately, we have few other choices. The on-line sources could be your worst choice for livestock because you don't get a chance to observe the fish beforehand. They offer what appears to be generous guarantees, from "live arrival" to 15 days and sometimes more. Looks good right? Wrong!!! You'll find out none offer money back but instead offer credit on your next order. They hook you into repeat orders because they know most of us cannot stand to leave that money hanging out there in never-never land. After all it's our money and they owe it to us! Been there, done that, not going to do it again!!!i believe that the best source of livestock is still from your lfs. you just have to be educated in selecting the store that you wish to deal with.I agree here, too Wally. Not only do you have to educate yourself in selecting the store but, educate yourself in how to evaluate the specific fish, coral or invert you are considering buying. I tell people, learn how to look beyond the beauty and see the defects (diseases). Some are so obvious it's ridiculous and others are not so noticeable. Observe the behavior of the fish you want, overtime. It will show you whether it's healthy by it's actions. Ask the store employee to feed it. If they give you some lame excuse or the fish ignores food, you simply have to walk away. That fish is probably doomed. Let the LFS absorb the cost, not you. Also, sad but true, in most cases the LFS is the worst place to get accurate advice on marine aquariums. I can't believe what I've heard LFS employees tell customers. It's appalling.

When or if you are fortunate to find a responsible LFS then they deserve your business and you should honor them with it. You should consider yourself fortunate. You may pay more (none of us like having to do that) but in the long run you will come out better.

very good advice, i remember that we used to have a store (used to :p) that would get in some gourgous (omg so horrrible spelling) fish. Yet before i even considered giving them some business i'd wait a day or two, more often than not i would come back to the same fish i saw before, the fish i thought were the g-word (:p), floating belly up in their tanks, not taken out yet, with brand new fish put in there.

one time i snuck a tiny tupperware container in and snuck some water out of a tank, went home and tested it, ammonia and nitrite were off the charts. it was crazy.

i knew something was up when i got the "oh no, we just fed them a second ago" speech from the owner (was looking for a clown )

thank you Amp for the good advice and follow through. you and i think very similar, but you are by far more gifted with your communication skills.

thank you Amp for the good advice and follow through. you and i think very similar, but you are by far more gifted with your communication skills.You are welcome, Wally. I've noticed on several threads our "thinking" was quite similar. Thank you for the compliments.

Okay, on my other forums i know a guy that has four tangs (powder brown, blue,purple, and sohal)

and has had no problems i also know another guy with a tank same dimensions as mine, that has a yellow and a vlamingi tang. Is there a reason they have been doing this for years without consequence??? like one peacful other territorial??

In case you haven't guessed i like tangs :D i only want a sohal and regal :(

Okay, on my other forums i know a guy that has four tangs (powder brown, blue,purple, and sohal)

and has had no problems i also know another guy with a tank same dimensions as mine, that has a yellow and a vlamingi tang. Is there a reason they have been doing this for years without consequence??? like one peacful other territorial??

In case you haven't guessed i like tangs :D i only want a sohal and regal :( Hey Small Fry,

What tank dimensions are you talking about?

Well, there probably is a reason they've been doing this for years. It isn't impossible to house Tangs together. It's risky to attempt it without serious thought and preparation ahead of time. Knowing Tangs are very territorial and disease prone you have to take into account the size of the tank you are providing, the filtration system, UV Sterilizer, your commitment to providing the very best husbandry practices, providing the correct food in the amount that will keep them full and therefore a bit less territorial. They'll need lots of hiding spaces to dodge into to hide from the most aggressive buddies. They need time to adjust to each others presence.

My personal opinion is they need a big tank longer than 4', 6' being the minimum. These fish are used to living in huge shoals of the same species with little aggression shown to each other. then we house them in cramped tanks one of a couple of species at a time and expect harmony. Not realistic IMHO.

So, Small Fry, give lots of thought to providing what Tangs need and provide it. They may just reward you with a beautiful, relatively peaceful coexistence.

I like Tangs, too.

Sorry for the slow reply amp, but im talking about a tank 5' long, by 18" deep (front to back) by 26" high