5 tangs in a 150 gallon???

[reefinginBD]

I've had a purple for years now. I have added fish with no aggression. But I have not added a tang with him.
I have added different wrasse, blenny, royal Gramma. Never looked twice at them.
I recently added 2 bellus angels but sumped the tang before adding. Waited a couple weeks before putting the tang back in the main. No issues with that either.

With Zebrasoma tangs, IMO, it's a roll of the dice. Again, IMO, best to add at the same time.

Ah I see, thank you for your reply! I’ll check it out then, if they have both the tangs of similar size at the same time!

 

[Cool tangs]

If added at the same time they will develop a pecking order.

If added at the same time they don't have established territories.

If added at the same time the other tangs will have to choose who to chase so one won't get the brunt of all the attacking.

More upside to adding at the same time.

Your first idea of putting the yellow in the sump is good while the purple is in the QT. Then to the display at the same time.

You are going to QT, right?

Or at least run a high quality UV sterilizer! Lifegard aquatics are great! Make sure it's sized correctly and correct flow rates running through it. Make sure you replace the bulbs every year and the quartz sleeve.Tbh though zebrasoma tangs are pretty hardy, yellow, purple, des. Acanthuridae can have it's challenges. hippo and tomini are relatively hardy of the Acanthuridae family. Hippo tangs can get nasty though and can also destroy corals if they don't like were you place them

 

[reefinginBD]

The tangs will have a growth spurt and then it will slow down. They kind of grow with the tank in my experience. So big tank, they grow quick. Small tank they grow slow. Purple, yellow, tomini all small tangs and should be fine. Sail fin and hippo should be fine for a long time in a 5 ft. Yes you can make it work by having a more open aquascape and more swim space. Give them lots of open spaces in the rocks so they have there own territory. Tangs are very territorial and I find having lots of spaces for them helps reduce aggression. I wouldn't be putting the yellow in the sump though for 2-3 months. The longer you wait to introduce all your tangs the harder it will be to add more as they will get territorial, personal experience. Although you can reduce the aggressiveness when adding a new tang by either adding another rock structure for them or by re-arranging the rock scape. You can also leave them in an acclimation box for a few weeks to see if they finally get over the each other. I honestly think those 5 tangs will be fine. I have 9 in a 6 ft tank and they seem fine. One lives in the sump, and has stayed tiny compared to the others. I really want him in the main display but 2x powders just don't always work. I'm going to attempt again once I get my new tank setup and probably introduce a powder blue along with the powder black and brown to disperse the aggression. The blue hippo is the boss though! They are a entertaining and weird fish to say the least

Edit to add more context, I've had most my tangs for almost 4 years and youngest 2 years. They are probably one of my favourite fish. Oh and bonus, they are awesome cleanup crew! I have no snails or crabs in my tank believe it or not, the tangs do a great job

Ah I see, how long would you say I should keep the yellow tang in the refugium? It’s basically a 15 gallon tank, and the fish is like 1.25 inch in size. Kinda scared to add it to the display until it reaches about 2 inches at least, preferably 2.5 inches. It’s not possible for me to rearrange the rocks unfortunately. And as for the tangs I’ll just be keeping the blue, yellow, purple and tomini then. Do you think I would need to rehome any of them in the future? The scape is kind of like an island so basically the fish has like 14 feet of uninterrupted swimming space.

 

[reefinginBD]

Or at least run a high quality UV sterilizer! Lifegard aquatics are great! Make sure it's sized correctly and correct flow rates running through it. Make sure you replace the bulbs every year and the quartz sleeve.Tbh though zebrasoma tangs are pretty hardy, yellow, purple, des. Acanthuridae can have its challenges. hippo and tomini are relatively hardy of the Acanthuridae family. Hippo tangs can get nasty though and can also destroy corals if they don't like were you place them

Yeah I’m planning on doing that but the thing is Im worried that it will kill a large amount of my pod population, what do you think? Also can you give me some tips to correctly size the chiller and also to find the flow rate as well as how long to keep it on for. The UV sterilisers available here are for freshwater tanks and ponds, I heard those are ok to use, let me know if they are or not! And to reconfirm, I have th change the UV light and Quartz sleeve both every year right?

 

[Cool tangs]

Ah I see, how long would you say I should keep the yellow tang in the refugium? It’s basically a 15 gallon tank, and the fish is like 1.25 inch in size. Kinda scared to add it to the display until it reaches about 2 inches at least, preferably 2.5 inches. It’s not possible for me to rearrange the rocks unfortunately. And as for the tangs I’ll just be keeping the blue, yellow, purple and tomini then. Do you think I would need to rehome any of them in the future? The scape is kind of like an island so basically the fish has like 14 feet of uninterrupted swimming space.

Oh wow he is tiny!!! Make sure you keep him protected from pumps and return pumps. They can get sucked up and damaged from pumps. When they small I'd only use a air pump and stone. He might take a while to grow, make sure it's eating as well. Maybe start with some mysis, tiny pellets

Rehoming really depends, you've got plenty of time to worry about that in the future, and you may end up buying a bigger tank anyway

 

[reefinginBD]

I’m really hoping he’s gonna be bigger, these yellow tangs are really rare here and I’ve already said that I’ll get the biggest one in the shipment. I’m just praying it’s around 2 inches in size. The bigger ones that are available, around 4-5 inches go for 1,000 US dollars now, and the one that I’ll be getting is 300 US Dollars :/

I’ll keep that in mind about the pumps and everything! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Cool tangs]

Yeah I’m planning on doing that but the thing is Im worried that it will kill a large amount of my pod population, what do you think? Also can you give me some tips to correctly size the chiller and also to find the flow rate as well as how long to keep it on for. The UV sterilisers available here are for freshwater tanks and ponds, I heard those are ok to use, let me know if they are or not! And to reconfirm, I have th change the UV light and Quartz sleeve both every year right?

Don't waste your money on the pond ones, they are not as good and garbage in my experience. You'll just waste your money, you need a high quality one designed for marine use and marine parasites. Lifegard aquatics have the size uv for the aquarium size and flow rates

UV STERILIZERS

LIFEGARD® Aquatics has been manufacturing UV Sterilizers since 1986 for various industries such as Aquatics, Aquaculture, Pool, Garden and Drinking Water. The original QL series from Lifegard was the only UV Sterilizer available in the US for many years for Aquarium industry and mainly used in...

lifegardaquatics.com

I've not lost any pod population. Pods life in the rocks, if they end up in the water column, they become fish food well before they end up in the sterilizer. Mind you I haven't ran mine now for 8 months and has been all good. But at the start of when adding new fish I would 100% recommend it if your not going to QT(I'd probably recommend even if you do QT). Also be patient and buy from a reputable store and if you can go see the fish in person, make sure they look healthy and they are eating. Fish can be hard to get eating if they don't eat in the store

I'd run it 24/7 the purpose is to kill off any parasites that spawn into the water column and reduce the numbers

Edit: and yes to confirm replace the UV bulb and quartz sleeve every year (12 months) it's an investment, but I good one in my experience

 

[Cool tangs]

I’m really hoping he’s gonna be bigger, these yellow tangs are really rare here and I’ve already said that I’ll get the biggest one in the shipment. I’m just praying it’s around 2 inches in size. The bigger ones that are available, around 4-5 inches go for 1,000 US dollars now, and the one that I’ll be getting is 300 US Dollars :/

I’ll keep that in mind about the pumps and everything! Thanks for the tip!

I feel your pain! I live in Aus and they are becoming more expensive then gem tangs! Super rare sight now days

 

[reefinginBD]

Don't waste your money on the pond ones, they are not as good and garbage in my experience. You'll just waste your money, you need a high quality one designed for marine use and marine parasites. Lifegard aquatics have the size uv for the aquarium size and flow rates

UV STERILIZERS

LIFEGARD® Aquatics has been manufacturing UV Sterilizers since 1986 for various industries such as Aquatics, Aquaculture, Pool, Garden and Drinking Water. The original QL series from Lifegard was the only UV Sterilizer available in the US for many years for Aquarium industry and mainly used in...

lifegardaquatics.com

I've not lost any pod population. Pods life in the rocks, if they end up in the water column, they become fish food well before they end up in the sterilizer. Mind you I haven't ran mine now for 8 months and has been all good. But at the start of when adding new fish I would 100% recommend it if your not going to QT(I'd probably recommend even if you do QT). Also be patient and buy from a reputable store and if you can go see the fish in person, make sure they look healthy and they are eating. Fish can be hard to get eating if they don't eat in the store

I'd run it 24/7 the purpose is to kill off any parasites that spawn into the water column and reduce the numbers

The lifeguard ones aren’t available here, it’s just boyu and sunsun you probably don’t know which brands those are tho. I’ve seen the fish store use the boyu ones.

The fish that I buy come pre-quarantined before being imported and then once they come to the store they are also quarantined again and solf after a few weeks of settling in. I also have a good look at the fish that I will be getting and also make sure they are eating properly. I also check all the other fish in that system and if any of them are sick I don’t buy that fish. They are one of the best importers in the country right now

 

[ZoWhat]

Yes. Not that its practical but I had 14 tangs in a 135g for about a year until current tank arrived. In this scenario, you want to maintain Good water quality and diet.

Listen and follow what @vetteguy53081 says. Master level knowledge and skills. I always follow his advice pretty close

 

[Cool tangs]

The lifeguard ones aren’t available here, it’s just boyu and sunsun you probably don’t know which brands those are tho. I’ve seen the fish store use the boyu ones.

The fish that I buy come pre-quarantined before being imported and then once they come to the store they are also quarantined again and solf after a few weeks of settling in. I also have a good look at the fish that I will be getting and also make sure they are eating properly. I also check all the other fish in that system and if any of them are sick I don’t buy that fish. They are one of the best importers in the country right now

What about aqua ultraviolet or Pentair? I've heard they are extremely high quality as well

Search results for: '' - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[reefinginBD]

Listen and follow what @vetteguy53081 says. Master level knowledge and skills. I always follow his advice pretty close

Ah I see thank you!!!

 

[reefinginBD]

What about aqua ultraviolet or Pentair? I've heard they are extremely high quality as well

Search results for: '' - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Nope none of those are available here, I’m half way around the world so can’t get it from bulk reef

 

[Cool tangs]

Yes. Not that its practical but I had 14 tangs in a 135g for about a year until current tank arrived. In this scenario, you want to maintain Good water quality and diet.

I'd also back what vettegiy said here, water quality is actually pretty important for tangs. I noticed this when I got to my RO/DI filter too late. TDS was a bit high and I noticed a huge drop in colouration. Thankfully I reversed it with replacing my RO/DI filters and lots of frequent water changes

 

[Doctorgori]

Ah I see, yeah from what I read and heard they said that the purple tang should be the last fish added to the tank as they can be major jerks, that’s what I’m planning to do basically.

Ooo I’ve never seen any Atlantic blue tangs before! That might be the case with your success! Would love to see a few pictures of them!

that stocking rule is probably correct …and also in my case the purple tang was the last and my particular specimen is kind of large … he is well behaved usually and was stocked with a Idol, Twin spot, mimic and scopas in a 200gal …
I guess fish aren’t machines and nothing is written in stone…

here is a Atlantic Blue, actually easily one of my favorite tangs

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

the tank dimensions are 5x2x2

Clownfish x 2
Purple Firefish x 1
Royal Gramma x 1
Midas Blenny x 1
Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse x 1
Yellow Wrasse x 1
Naoko Fairy Wrasse x 1
Red Head Solon Wrasse x 1
Earmuff Wrasse x 1
Ornate Leopard Wrasse x 1
White Leopard Wrasse x 1
Lyretail Anthias x 4 (1 male and 3 females)
Chromis x 6

So with the tangs (without the desjardinii), you're looking at 17 fish. That's already WAY too many IMO. Adding an additional 10 is out of the question. I currently have a tank larger than yours (60"x30") and have 13 fish - 3 of them being a YWG and a pair of mandarins. So 10 actively swimming fish. I probably won't add more than 1 or 2 additional fish... it already seems too crowded at times.

 

[Dburr1014]

So with the tangs (without the desjardinii), you're looking at 17 fish. That's already WAY too many IMO. Adding an additional 10 is out of the question. I currently have a tank larger than yours (60"x30") and have 13 fish - 3 of them being a YWG and a pair of mandarins. So 10 actively swimming fish. I probably won't add more than 1 or 2 additional fish... it already seems too crowded at times.

What's your whole list, just curious.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What's your whole list, just curious.

Foxface, betta, yellow tang, bristletooth tang, pajama cardinal, clown x2, bicolor blenny, Midas blenny, six-line Wrasse, mandarin x2, yellow watchman goby.

The FF and betta are both 6+ inches, the yt is 4". The ff and tangs zip all over the tank.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Hangover out behind the Rocks

and Corals

 

[Idech]

So with the tangs (without the desjardinii), you're looking at 17 fish. That's already WAY too many IMO. Adding an additional 10 is out of the question. I currently have a tank larger than yours (60"x30") and have 13 fish - 3 of them being a YWG and a pair of mandarins. So 10 actively swimming fish. I probably won't add more than 1 or 2 additional fish... it already seems too crowded at times.

I count 27 fish with the 5 tangs.