REEFJUNKIE Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Wanted to ask everyone's opinion on their tang experience. I am in the process of setting up a new tank, 240 (72x24x31), and I am thinking about doing a tang dominant set up. I have kept several tangs in the past but never more than 2 at time. With the new 6ft set up I will have plenty of swimming room. I have been researching quite a bit but wanted to ask you guys as well. My budget is a concern but I know there are a ton of beautiful tangs out there that are under the $100 range. I am also wanting to keep the hardier species because I really don't want to kill anything for lack of knowledge and of course the fact of wasting money, see previous sentence. So with all that in mind, I want to try and keep at least 5 if I can. Here is a list of potential tangs I am looking at keeping. Any experience or advice would be greatly appreciated. List of wanted tangs: Tomini (best tang I have ever owned) Powder brown Whitecheek Sailfin Kole Scopas (aggresion issues, I have had 1 in the past) Yellow (if I have to, lol) List of wanted but probably won't/can't get: Clown (I think I have decided against after reading all the threads on RC about them) Purple (I don't think I will ever own one bc of the price is out of my budget) Achillis (sensitivity & price) Powder Blue (sensitivity) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Hey Reefjunkie, having a nice collection of tangs is always a sight in reef tanks. Tomini - agreed, one if the best tangs out there as far as cost, looks, and demeanor. The powder brown and white cheek I'd stay away from if you're looking for hardy. They are very similar to requirements needed for a powder blue tang. Sailfin is hardy as you can get but they'll get really big. Good for a long time in a 6' tank but waaaayyyy in the future, you may need to upgrade or rehome. We're looking at at least 4-5 years before that is needed depending on the size you start with. Great fish but slightly territorial so you'll probably want to add as a smaller specimen or the largest but last. I've never had a kole tang and yellows are so common I tend to stay away from them. Plus, the craziest tang I ever had was a yellow so I didn't feel the need to stock another one. Some other hardy ones to look into are orange shoulder tang (cough cough, I have a large 6" one I'm rehoming), hippo tang (cough cough I have a yellow belly one I'll be rehoming), chocolate tang, lieutenant tang, tenneti tang, naso, and chevron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEFJUNKIE Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Yes, I agree the Yellow is so common that is actually the last on my list. I was trying to stay away from Naso bc they get so big and somewhat of their price. The chevron is gorgeous, but also it is $199 for a small/medium. I will do some research on the others you suggested. On level of hardiness, how is the orange shoulder? Also, as far as aggression, are there any in your suggested list that might be the tank bully? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Kole, chevron, yellow eye, blue eye, white tail, and tomini and any other bristletooth, there's probably at least a dozen in this family, are going to be identical in care and temperament, chevrons get much larger though, yellow eye's are the best looking ones IMO. They're all in the same family. Very skittish in my experience but as long as there are other tangs of foxface, or open swimming fish, mine have stayed in open areas. Least aggressive tangs by a long shot in my experience, but pretty much worthless for algae control. Yellow, scopas, black, gem, and purple are going to be very similar. Temperament is really dependent on the fish, some are very passive, I've seen some like the one Ty's talking about that are psychotic. If you don't want a common yellow one, I've seen good deals on purples. The price for the gem and black ones is in the $800 - $5000 range... I haven't had a tank large enough to keep any of the larger Acanthurus such as the orange shoulder, achilles, clowns, etc., but from reading and observation, it's definitely the last one I'd add if you do get any of them. Own the tank seems to be a commonly stated phrase... No experience with naso's so wont even comment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Yes, I agree the Yellow is so common that is actually the last on my list. I was trying to stay away from Naso bc they get so big and somewhat of their price. The chevron is gorgeous, but also it is $199 for a small/medium. I will do some research on the others you suggested. On level of hardiness, how is the orange shoulder? Also, as far as aggression, are there any in your suggested list that might be the tank bully? Can't kill the orange shoulder... they are bulletproof but like Jestep mentioned, he will own the tank so probably the last addition, especially if you get a larger one. They are considered one of the more mild acantharus though.Same with the lieutenant, tenneti, and blue hippo if they are bought as the larger fish in the mix. The chocolate tang was always cool with everyone and the adult coloration is just stunning in a subdued way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 10 different people 10 different answers. Every fish is different, and will act different in each tank. My Yellow was crazy in a small tank but is now tame. The Yellow Bellied Blue (now Tys) was crazy in the big tank, but gentle in Tys. Just try what you want and be prepared to remove. Also don't listen to same body type vs same body type arguments. Most aggression I've had is different body types vs different body types. Tomini vs the World and Chevron vs Gem. Bristletooths seem most territorial and aggressive to me. Currently I have a Black, Yellow and Chevron. I tried to introduce a Gem after quarantine and acclimation to no success. He's been in acclimation forever now while an Achilles, Achilles Hybrid, Yellow and Black Hybrid are in quarantine. They were all going to be introduced at the end of the month with the Gem, but now a Zebra has come up and they'll all need to wait 6 more weeks after he comes (waiting on permits). I'll introduce all 6 new tangs to the established 3 and hope for the best, but I know I might need to remove some... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 IME a lot of the aggressiveness issues are due to food limitation. There are a few exceptions, like the Powder Blue, Clown and Sohal Tangs that will do what they're going to do anyway. Right now I'm feeding 1g of seaweed every day to five 3-5" tangs. I will probably double that by next year. The more tangs you add the better your filtration has to be so you can feed them adequately. The Powder Blue, Powder Brown and Whitecheck are all going to be similar in care and susceptible to external parasites. If you are ruling out the blue, then you should rule out the rest as well. The only difference between them is the aggression level. I find them very hardy if you feed an insane amount of algae, but that doesn't help aggressiveness. I never had a problem with Ich, but the blue would harass everything, even chromis. Scopas Tangs are nearly as aggressive as Purple Tangs. They're supposedly very good grazers, but there are less territorial grazers that look better. All of the tangs in the Ctenochaetus are excellent at grazing, attractive, under $50 and less aggressive. I have a Blue Eye Bristletooth that never stops eating. I can only speak for the Blue eye, Square Tail and Kole, but I've never seen them nip at any other fish. Convict Tangs are also excellent grazers and the least aggressive tang on the market as they have the smallest caudal spine. Sailfin Tangs lose their color above 6" unless you feed color enhancing food; every one I've seen GE 7" is super faded. Atlantic Blue Tangs also grow circular like a dinner plate and they're super active. Every one I've seen darts from end to end like Sohal Tangs and never stops moving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 For what it's worth my Scopas and purple are very calm only occasionally quarreling with each other. My white tail bristle tooth is small and a jerk. Boils down to the fish and their personality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasReef Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I think a school of yellows is awesome if the tank is big enough. Now a hybrid achilles/goldrim has got on my radar but I just can't see paying that much for a fish, beauty though. FWIW, I have a yellow, blond naso, sailfin, kole and a foxface that get along pretty well. The yellow tried to pick on the sailfin at first but the sailfin had none of it and now they are chums. I feed nori everyday and they all love the hikari large pellets, I think that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Achilles Hybrids are getting cheaper. Black Hybrids are now going for more than Blacks lol I've spoken to a guy that's had 12 Sohals. 9 calm, 3 jerks. I don't think any fish is more likely to get parasites. Parasites don't pop out of thin air, if you QT correctly you'll be fine. If ich is in your system, all your fish have it. Achilles for example are very high stress fish, they just fall victim to succumbing to parasites since their immune systems are normally lower due to higher levels of stress. Don't buy tangs based on aggression... you'll more than likely have different results. Buy what you want. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEFJUNKIE Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Yes, I think a school of yellows would be the only way a yellow would enter my tank, idk why, they are pretty but I just think they are boring. The convict is now on my radar, their different coloration pattern would be a nice addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Aggression comes with age. Its easier to get juveniles together, but they some times snap later. That's the tough part about asking for opinions. There are a lot of details and circumstances. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 FWIW, I've never run a school of tangs but recently ol' aggies trio of yellow tangs he's had since juveniles for years now turned on one of them and beat it up pretty bad. So that adds evidence to the aggression with age thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 As pointed out above individual personalities trumps. Your best bet for long term success will be to have different genus together. Acanthurus spp. are notorious for being easily stressed in shipping and aclimating. Keeping several species in the same genus can work for a while but as they become sexually mature you are more likely going to see territory issues. It's harder to find older mature specimens but mixing older with younger helps when establishing a stable group. If you want to keep several specimens of the same species together I would consider it essential to get a wide range of ages. As noted above feeding is a big issue. For one just like with mammals that are herbavores you want to choose foods that are lower in protein. You also want to feed multiple times a day. A autofeeder feeding algae pellets (Spectrum algae pellets are my favorite and I use eheim feeders set to feed 8 times daily) or flakes then feeding hand feeding frozen and dried algae to keep them socialized would work well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEFJUNKIE Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Has anyone had any experience with the Atlantic blue? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthurus_coeruleus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Has anyone had any experience with the Atlantic blue? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthurus_coeruleus Kind of a hard species to acclimate from what I heard but no direct experience. Supposed to be a lot hardier once you get it past initial acclimation though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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