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Thread: Beginner tangs

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    Beginner tangs

    Hey I have a 120 gallon reef tank (24 by 24 by 48) and I was wondering if any of you had recommendations as to what kind of tang I should keep. At first I was thinking yellow, but now I am thinking something else. Any thoughts?

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Most tangs do not do well in 4' tanks. In nature they are grazers and swim miles every day and a 6' tank is the minimum. With the width of a 120 you might get away with a kohl or mimic tang which are 2 of the smaller ones. I haven't kept either though so that is conjecture on my part.
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    ok, what are the risks with pygmy angels then? any recommendations?

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    They are beautiful and usually peaceful fish but are hit or miss as far as nipping at corals.
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    what do they mostly nip? soft lps or sps? and how would I get one out if it went awry? also carmie, what kinds of chromis do you have? And can liveaquaria.com be trusted?
    Last edited by Reefy Magreefy; 11-23-2009 at 12:51 AM.

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    It seems like what they nip is as variable as if they do. I had a cherub (C. argi) that liked pocillopora. I actually moved my colonies to the nano. If I had not been breeding the coral and didn't want them stressed I would have just kept the fish well fed and not worried about it.

    Try getting the fish used to eating food out of a net. Then if you need to catch one it may just swim right into the net for you.

    I had 3 blue green chromis. They were my first fish. The 2 biggest ones killed the smallest one. Then the biggest of those 2 killed the other one and eventually that one died too.

    I think that liveaquaria is a pretty good online vendor. You just have to remember that like other vendors their job is to sell you stuff. They know that more people have a 4' tank than a 6' so they downsize. Ask us first, we are not trying to sell anything.
    Last edited by CarmieJo; 11-23-2009 at 02:10 AM.
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    Any different recommended replacements? I am trying to keep a peacefull tank, here is the list, 1 algae blenny, 2 clowns, 3 zebra gobies, 2 neon gobies, 1 royal gramma, 1 mandarin, and 7 blue green chromis. I was thinking some kind of =wrasse, mccoskers maybe, but then I read that they can jump. Do you know if eggcrate will contain them?

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    You could use egg crate to prevent jumping although some fish seem to be able to go through cracks. Many wrasses like to snack on pods so you will probably what a refugium to make sure you have enough for both.

    What about something like a foxface?
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    I have a 30 gallon refugium, and are fox faces reef safe?

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Sounds good on the fuge!

    I have always thought of foxfaces as reef safe herbivores but many sites say with caution. I know a lot of people with the foxface lo and magnificent foxface in reefs. They are great algae grazers.
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    I decided to go with the kohl tang. Thanks.

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    You could try a Bristle tooth tang. They are small tanks that do not get more than 7 in.. They are very hardy as well.

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    Hi WVUreefer Welcome to TR.
    Ray or Raymond
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    Thankyou Looking forward to it.

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    I would stay away from mandarins and scooter blenny's. The need to eat pods to survive and unless you have them in your tank or either you are gonna have to buy them. The fish will not last long.

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    I have a refugium with all kinds of pods in a 120 gallon. The damage should be spread out enough to support him .

    Also AMAZING FIND! I went to the fish store that said they had kohl tangs. I bought one, then found out it was a lned bristletooth tang, which are apparently rarely seen in the aquarium trade! Not only that but I got him for 30 bucks!

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    just wanted to add my 2 cents here
    i have kept, palette, yellow, and kole tangs in my 48" tank (for years), just make sure you have lots of room in for them to swim around, by that i mean make sure rocks/coral arent stacked too high and such.
    Angels are generally to risky as they like to eat polyps as mentioned already

    As for fox face, they are very strict herbivores like tangs and usualy make very good tank mates, i have kept both the yellow (foxface lo) and the metallic (magnificent foxface) and never had any issues, just use caution around them as they dorsal spines are venomous
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    as far as the mandarin pod scare... I'll weigh in,

    with a 120, providing you have at least a pound of LR per gallon and a semi decent refugium you can easily support a pair of mandarins, with a little supplementation of microalgae you could support a pair of mandarins and a pair of scooter blennies. Just be advised that you cant add any other competition (wrasses, etc.)

    As a live food lover, I really do understand the stigma that Mandarins and scooters have, however I think people base the stigma off of a general rule that was written long before the hobbyists could obtain readily available microalgaes (ala Reef Nutrition or DT's) and of course run along the ultra clean tank method.

    I digress though, we tend to well avoid the swimming fish that take prepared foods. And my style of reefkeeping permits me to have many upon many little fat live feeders. The reality is mandarins can be trained to take prepared foods quite easily nowadays and so long as your conscious of the fish and give it away to a better environment when you see it get skinny, theres no harm in giving it a shot. Just be aware they are a pain to catch!
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