Small Tangs in Small Tanks

[Alanna102499]

Just going throw my 2 cents in here.. take it as you will..

When I got my tank, my wife was interested in fish I was interested in coral...

she wanted a Dory and a Yellow Tang..
I know I shouldn’t do it in the long run, but in the short run it was a getting her involved.

So I got a small Hippo and Small Yellow and introduced together knowing full well I will need to re-home.

In the meantime, I keep the wife happy get her interested in corals and Zoa’s and all... Now when I re-home I will potentially get corals.

I am watching the tank closely and feeding well... No other fish added except a small watchman Goby.. Haven't seen him in a month or so... I don’t know what happened there. Lol

 

[andrewey]

Really, any appropriately large reef safe plastic container will work. Stock tanks are often bought at agricultural stores (sometimes called feed tanks/containers/vats), but ultimately you're looking for something that is wide, long, and relatively shallow. Normally, a comparable container from home depot or a container store would be very expensive, but you can usually pick these up extremely cheaply- for example I helped a buddy use them as a sump and he bought two 300 gallon stock tanks off off of craigslist for $50 each. You can also buy new for a fraction of what glass would cost. Ultimately, I'm inviting you to think outside the box- it's not sexy, but as a thought experiment, there's no reason you couldn't use a large kiddie pool So long as the dimensions fit your budget, living arrangements and sense of decor, they might be the best option. If you want to see them in action, if you head over to some of the large tank builds, they are pretty commonly used either as sumps or hooked up to sumps as large refugiums or storage vats for live rock.

 

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Nice and how big was your system @Alanna102499

 

[Alanna102499]

Nice and how big was your system @Alanna102499

I believe the display is 55 Gallon with a 10 Gallon Sump. So far so good 3 months in.

 

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My LFS said I could keep both for a short period.

 

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I might try it

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

My LFS said I could keep both for a short period.

LFS is rarely the source to listen to. How long have you been in the hobby? I think you would be fine with a Tomini tang in that sized tank. Maybe a yellow tang, but they get pretty big. People do like to toss out rehoming fish once they’re too big but I think it’s more difficult than they make it seem.

 

[...]

I'm going to try it and if it doesn't work out and as soon as something happens it will be rehomed.

 

[andrewey]

Best of luck. Just a heads up- you may want to read up on ich and other disease management/treatment. Always helps to have in your back pocket in these types of situations

 

[MBinNY]

Are any of these tangs good to go in a 3 foot 40 temporary?

Achilles
Powder Blue
Powder Brown
Sailfin
Blue
or Gold RImmed Tang?

Maybe the sailfin while small.

 

[salty150]

My LFS said I could keep both for a short period.

LOL, of course they did!

 

[njreejer]

My little squad of tangs in my 90g

 

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OMG so many people here,

 

[...]

OKAY, since I love these animals and don't want to stress em out I will not do a tang and just add a YWG and Lawnmower Blenny.

 

[Calebb8133]

OMG so many people here,

I got an email and am always entertained by how crazy the "tang police" r when someone says they want a tang in a smaller tank. Its cute

 

[Kaboobie]

I would say if you absolutely will get a bigger tank or re-home it there is no reason you can't get a small tang and start it in that tank.

 

[...]

Its like 'Help My Tank is Crashing!' - 32 People
'My Blue Tang in a 70 Gallon!' -1 Thousand People
Lol, this isn't actually statistics but very accurate.

 

[Gernader]

OKAY, since I love these animals and don't want to stress em out I will not do a tang and just add a YWG and Lawnmower Blenny.

Glad to hear it . I know you want some tangs, but just be patient and you may get a bigger tank in the future! As for the lawnmower blenny, check out a starry blenny instead. You could also pair a pistol shrimp with the goby too.

 

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Can I get both a starry blenny and lawnmower?

 

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We Aussies cannot even get Starry Blennies,