Tang addition

jjmuesch · Mar 3, 2022

Hi guys I am finishing up stocking my 210 gallon reef tank qnd I am ready to add my tang gang I had planned on adding 3 of them but can't decide on the mix so I am looking for personal opinions on what has worked for you to avoid aggression. Trying to decide on a tomini, yellow, purple, desardjini sailfin, powder blue, blonde naso or blue hippo.

Tank details
210 gal display 6 ft length. 30 tall and deep about
40 gal sump
Separate 20 gal refugium

Current fish
Clowns x2
Firefish x2
Zebra barred dartfish x3
Lawnmower blenny
Magnificent foxface
Bluethroat trigger
Mckoskers flasher wrasse
Flame angel
Coral beauty
Azure damsel
Springeri damsel

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Mostly would a yellow and purple be ok together if introduced at the same time. And would the larger species get to large since the tank is 6 ft long. Thank you all

nereefpat · Mar 3, 2022

As a general rule, I don't recommend the big tangs for 6 foot tanks. This includes either of the 2 sailfins, any Naso, or the big Acanthurus like A. dussumieri.

In general, I tell folks that want multiple tangs to mix from different genera, rather than trying to mix a yellow with a purple for example. So something like yellow, kole, lavender...or purple, tomini, regal. Rabbits are tang-like fishes as well.

Hope that helps. I voted purple & tomini.

Sean Clark · Mar 3, 2022

I had a yellow and purple together for several years with out aggression. I added the purple after the yellow was already established. Your mileage may vary.

jjmuesch · Mar 4, 2022

Thank you guys. the blonde naso is my favorite fish but it sounds like it isnt in the cards at this time. if i were to get a tomini, and either a yellow or purple what would you guys suggest as a 3rd tang? would a blue "regal" tang work out in my tank? or should i do a second bristletooth tang

nereefpat · Mar 4, 2022

jjmuesch said:
would a blue "regal" tang work out in my tank?

Probably okay. They *can get big. I don't see specimens grown up in a tank that get bigger than 8-9" or so, which is big. I usually tell people that 180-240 gallons is okay, depending on dimensions of tank/rockwork/tankmates. Some folks I'm sure will have a differing opinion.

jjmuesch said:
the blonde naso is my favorite fish but it sounds like it isnt in the cards at this time.

I wouldn't, but it's up to you. Blonde Naso or standard lipstick Naso is much better than the others in the group.

jjmuesch said:
either a yellow or purple

You can try both too. There is just some risk. The right yellow or purple can be really mean.

jjmuesch said:
or should i do a second bristletooth tang

Same as above. Tomini seems to be pretty easy going. There are reports of some mean koles.

i cant think · Mar 4, 2022

jjmuesch said:
Thank you guys. the blonde naso is my favorite fish but it sounds like it isnt in the cards at this time. if i were to get a tomini, and either a yellow or purple what would you guys suggest as a 3rd tang? would a blue "regal" tang work out in my tank? or should i do a second bristletooth tang

Personally I wouldn’t try mixing bristletooth in only 6’ of length. I also wouldn’t try mixing PT & YT in a 6’ tank because they can get rather large in size. Obviously tangs is just about opinions over anything and many people will disagree with me when it comes to the size of a YT & PT. But if I’m the wild you can see 1’ long YTs, and in captivity you only see 4-5” ones, doesn’t that say a lot? Similar thing with PTs, in the wild you can find 8-9” ones but in captivity they’re only 4-5 inch.

Id stick to the tangs you have on the list. I wouldn’t add any more, stick with:
- YT or PT
- Bristletooth spp

This will also let you have more fish that aren’t quite so big in the future.

nereefpat · Mar 4, 2022

i cant think said:
But if I’m the wild you can see 1’ long YTs, and in captivity you only see 4-5” ones, doesn’t that say a lot? Similar thing with PTs, in the wild you can find 8-9” ones but in captivity they’re only 4-5 inch.

You've seen a foot long yellow tang? The biggest I've ever seen on record is about 7-8", TL.