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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / September 2003Power Blue Tangs or Blue Tangs
I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting enough algae? Powder blues, I have one, should only be kept by themselves, sans any other tang (unless of course you have a really big tank and start them all off at the same time. If you add one you will see why :)(think ferocious cichlid). Best, MFR > I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a > Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting > enough algae? I tried to add a powder blue to my established tank this year. None of my fish including my Yellow tang are aggressive. The blue did not make it. It died the next day. I think it is just a lot harder to introduce new fish to an established reef. I have tried several times over the last year to add something new but have not succeeded . I'm a little gun shy to try again. I think I will wait until I start my new tank sometime next year. That way the surroundings will be new for all enhabitants and there will not be any turf wars. Todd >Powder blues, I have one, should only be kept by themselves, sans any other >tang (unless of course you have a really big tank and start them all off at [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Have you quarantine the fish for a couple of weeks after you take it from the store? Maybe it was just big transportation stress or cyanide? Usually it is better to the fish to recover transportation stress in the QT, without other fish in the tank. When you buy a fish at LFS you do not know if this fish is not after a long trip from the ocean. Weak and hungry. Sometimes it is just too much for a fish to handle if you drop it to the comunity tank with established hierarchy - even not normally aggressive fish could become aggressive then. I tried to add a powder blue to my established tank this year. None of my fish including my Yellow tang are aggressive. The blue did not make it. It died the next day. I think it is just a lot harder to introduce new fish to an established reef. I have tried several times over the last year to add something new but have not succeeded . I'm a little gun shy to try again. I think I will wait until I start my new tank sometime next year. That way the surroundings will be new for all enhabitants and there will not be any turf wars. Todd tropheus wrote: Powder blues, I have one, should only be kept by themselves, sans any other tang (unless of course you have a really big tank and start them all off at the same time. If you add one you will see why :)(think ferocious cichlid). Best, MFR I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting enough algae? > Have you quarantine the fish for a couple of weeks after you take it from the store? > Maybe it was just big transportation stress or cyanide? Powder blues are NOTORIOUSLY famous for ich problems. Mike > > Have you quarantine the fish for a couple of weeks after you take it from the store? > > Maybe it was just big transportation stress or cyanide? > > Powder blues are NOTORIOUSLY famous for ich problems. Have you read this: "I tried to add a powder blue to my established tank this year. [...] The blue did not make it. It died the next day." I doubt fish can be killed by ich in one day or two. I have hepatus tang and it got ich last year but it not only survived but it was fighting disease for weeks. When you put a fish stright from the store to your main tank and it dies you have no idea what killed it. It could be one of the tank mates, but it could be transportation stress or just unfortunately common cyanide poisoning. By quarantine you can eliminate tankmates and feed the fish until it gets stronger after the shipping - it will have more chances to survive. >> > Have you quarantine the fish for a couple of weeks after you take it from the store? >> > Maybe it was just big transportation stress or cyanide? >> >> Powder blues are NOTORIOUSLY famous for ich problems. > Have you read this: Yes; it was posted here. > "I tried to add a powder blue to my established tank this year. > [...] The blue did not make it. It died the next day." > I doubt fish can be killed by ich in one day or two. Any fish can die in a day, and powders already start out infected by ich. > I have hepatus tang and it got ich last year but it > not only survived but it was fighting disease for weeks. I have a powder blue which lived for two years; that doesn't make it the rule. Mike Power Blue Tangs or Blue Tangs Group: rec.aquaria.marine.reefs Date: Tue, Sep 23, 2003, 11:23pm (PDT+7) From: markwco*remove to reply*@comcast.net (MarkW) I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting enough algae? **************************************************** I would recommend the Royal Blue (Hepatus Tang) but get a larger one (if it looks good) to stand up to the bullying its going to get, when initially introduced, or a smaller one, that can hide. If you get the Powder Blue, expect major battles, for a long, long time, if not forever. I kept a Blonde Naso, a Hepatus Tang, and a Gold Rim Powder Brown for many many years together. The feistiest was the Gold Rim, but the Naso soon became 'King of the Hill'. When I had my Powder Blue, it wouldn't tolerate any other Tang! You needs lots of supplemental green stuff to keep Tangs happy. Mine all 'loved' Romaine Lettuce and algae based flake foods. I also increased lighting to _encourage_ algae growth. The Hepatus loved that 'black' blue-green stuff that grew on the substrate (plus my Annularis, too) my Gold Rim ate the brown, red and green algae that grew on the glass, and the Naso went wild for the hair algae growing near the water line. HTH http://community.webtv.net/deflizard/doc regards, John [...] > Mine all 'loved' Romaine Lettuce and algae based flake foods. What are pros and cons of feeding tangs with land-plants like lettuce? I have read one should feed only marine plants to tangs... Re: Power Blue Tangs or Blue Tangs Group: rec.aquaria.marine.reefs Date: Wed, Sep 24, 2003, 10:00am (PDT+2) From: Pszemol@PolBox.com (Pszemol) "Def Lizard" <deflizard@webtv.net> wrote in message news:21452-3F70F0EC-31@storefull-2334.public.lawson.webtv.net... [...] Mine all 'loved' Romaine Lettuce and algae based flake foods. What are pros and cons of feeding tangs with land-plants like lettuce? I have read one should feed only marine plants to tangs... ****************************************************** I learned of the practice of feeding terrestrial plants (romaine lettuce and spinach leaves) from reports from public aquariums (pics) that had shown them feeding heads of romaine lettuce weighed down so it sank to the bottom of their tanks. I believe that was the Shedd Aquarium. I kept SW fish for over 25 years, and fed Romaine to all my Angelfish and Tangs, which all grew big and fat. I did buy my romaine from health food stores, that was organically grown (so they said). Several of my Angelfish had to be given away because they had reached adult size, and were too big for my tanks. Two were French Angels, (at different times, one went to the Shedd Aquarium, the other went to the Steinhart Aquarium) one was an Imperator (it went to SeaWorld in San Diego), and the last one was an Annularis Angel (it went to another hobbyist's 600 gal tank), all reached adult size, on Romaine. Of course I fed my fish a variety of other foods. Triggers will also eat Romaine. My Blonde Naso would eat the stalks down to the base, after eating all the leaves! When I got him (he had streamers) he was 6 inches long. When I gave him away (3 years later) he was ten inches long, fat, and still growing. My longest lived fish was a Gold Rim Powder Brown Tang, that was 12+ years old when I gave him away to my LFS. Ciao! http://community.webtv.net/deflizard/doc regards, John Mark, I recently read that PBTangs are very very prone to ich, and if you really want to get one, you MUST quarantine it for 4 weeks or more before introducing it to your tank. Even with a 125g, which is great btw, you may still not be successful. I had some Tang keepers point out to me that if you introduce a new one, it must be the same size as the ones you already have. I read an article yesterday in August's "Aquarium Fish" that Tangs of similar shape will be aggressive toward one another, because they'll feel the other is competition for the food it eats. If you do introduce it, you have a few options that might help. Feed your tangs before the new one goes in, to help avoid aggression. Putting a mirror in the tank for the original tang to do battle with ... may help protect the new arrival. Adding it at night when the other fish are tucked away to sleep is another option. Rearranging LR to give the tank a "new reef section" appearance can help. Even pulling out all the tangs and adding them back in one by one can work. There simply are no guarantees. Marc > I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a > Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting > enough algae? -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com If I'm right there is a blue tang, not the same as the powder blue tang. I'm not sure if this is the same as the Regal Tang but are these any safer to add than the Powder Blue Tang? From what I've read I'm definitely staying away from the PBT. I had a Blue Atlantic Tang (check the pictures on my 55g Reef page) that was very pretty, very fat, and very aggressive. He killed a brand new baby yellow tang, before I knew to add one that was equal size. Marc > If I'm right there is a blue tang, not the same as the powder blue > tang. I'm not sure if this is the same as the Regal Tang but are > these any safer to add than the Powder Blue Tang? From what I've read > I'm definitely staying away from the PBT. -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com I left this out as well but how safe would it be to add a purple tang? The purple tang is the most aggressive, according to the books. However, several members in my club disagree with the books, as do their tangs. Everyone does agree that the Purple Tang is the last to go in the tank. Marc > I left this out as well but how safe would it be to add a purple tang? -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com IME the purple is second in line to the PBTang for aggressiveness. your yellow may or may not take kindly to the addition of the purple as they are very similar in shape and color (tail and fins on the purple are yellow). and as Marc stated the PBTang as well as the Achilles have a softer skin and are more prone to ich and bad water quality. it takes pristine water quality to keep either of these two tangs. the Achilles is a very beautiful fish and if you have the water quality to keep it then it would be a choice worth looking into. they are very peaceful and ignore all other fish in the tank and just cruse the tank and eat all day. I have a yellow and purple who live together in my 180 happily now (along with an Achilles and Sailfin). the yellow was in my 75 for 2 years before I introduced the purple in with him, at first they swam like best buddy's but after a few months I started to get tail swats from them on occasion. it got worse as time went by so I moved them up to the 180 when I finished it up. they are again best buddy's hopefully they will remain that way as I'd hate to move one of them to a different tank. they aren't the easiest things to catch out of a reef tank. kc > The purple tang is the most aggressive, according to the books. However, > several members in my club disagree with the books, as do their tangs. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com Two words for ya...ICH MAGNET > I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a > Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting > enough algae? About a month ago, I was looking at some pictures taken about 8 months previously of my 150 gallon reef tank. I had forgotten how beautiful a powder blue tang looked, since the PBT that had lived in the tank for about 4 months unexpectedly died. Well I got the itch (not ich) again to try to introduce a powder blue into the tank even though I have a yellow tang. The yellow tang is the oldest surviving fish in the tank, so it is aggressive toward other fish similar in appearance. Anyway, after debating the options of getting a PBT either significantly larger than the yellow, or significantly smaller, I opted for the smaller option (less cost if it died). On the first face to face confrontation, the PBT simply laid on its side as an apparent sign of submission to the larger Yellow tang, and did not try to swim away. This strategy apparently has worked since the Yellow tang does not aggressively chase the PBT, and only occassionally raises its fins as a sign of dominance when near the PBT. A week has passed and the PBT is feeding well with no sign of ich. So far so good. Timothy Tom the spell checking police said.. > Well I got the itch (not ich) Then he said.... > A week has passed and the PBT is feeding well with no sign of ich. If you're going point out my missed keys, try not to make the same mistake yourself.. It really decreases your credibility. To whomever "hairy" is, I apparently somehow insulted you by my previous post. Apparently you think I was trying to make fun of a misspelling you may have made in your post on this topic by my play on the word ich and itch. Firstly, I don't know who you are. Secondly, if you did make a spelling mistake, I did not notice it. Thirdly, if you did take my post as a flame, my apologies; it was totally unintentional. Regards. Uh...if you didn't notice, you wouldn't have pointed it out in the first part of your previous post, so don't blow sunshine up my a.s. As far as flaming, I didn't take it that way. I just thought that it was funny that you made a specific point to point out that I screwed up and missed a keystroke, then you did the exact same thing. As far as an apology. None needed. This is the wonderful world of the internet. If that is the worst thing that is said to me, hell, I got it easy. > To whomever "hairy" is, I apparently somehow insulted you by my > previous post. Apparently you think I was trying to make fun of a [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Regards. |
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