Powder Blue Tang Question

[duane9]

I have a Powder Blue Tang that does laps around the front glass of a 48" 75 gallon tank. He looks like an olympic swimmer doing sharp turns, swimming back and forth for several minutes at a time, both with the lights on and for a while after the lights are off. Is this normal for them?

Also his colors seem to be washed out some. He is eating frozen brine shrimp and blood worms aggressively and picks at the algae constantly, so he/she seems to be eating well. Should it be fed anything different to help with the colors?

It hangs out pretty much all day with a maroon clownfish.

[Mavrk]

How long have you had him? Did you QT first? How big is the tang? What is your salinity?

[Ambition]

Originally Posted by duane9

I have a Powder Blue Tang that does laps around the front glass of a 48" 75 gallon tank. He looks like an olympic swimmer doing sharp turns, swimming back and forth for several minutes at a time, both with the lights on and for a while after the lights are off. Is this normal for them?

Also his colors seem to be washed out some. He is eating frozen brine shrimp and blood worms aggressively and picks at the algae constantly, so he/she seems to be eating well. Should it be fed anything different to help with the colors?

It hangs out pretty much all day with a maroon clownfish.

The PBT is starting to show signs that it needs more room. Powder blue tangs need at least a 6ft long tank to meet minimum requirements, but an 8ft tank would be even better. Tangs normally swim around a lot, but in your case it seems excessive. The behavior isn't normal at the level your tang is pacing. I highly suggest finding it a home in a larger tank, or upgrading to at least a 180 (IMO a 125 is too small).

Brine shrimp and blood worms don't have much for nutritional value to the fish. Start to switch over to mysis shrimp, Nutramar Ova, finely chopped oysters, clam, table shrimp, fish (what ever you can find fresh and on sale), squid, and other fresh sea foods. No additives to it, must be fresh. Also, you should be putting nori in the tank daily for it to graze on, the algae on your rock work isn't going to be enough veggie matter for it (they are classified as a herbivore, but they naturally get lots of pods in the mix in the wild).

[altolamprologus]

Powder blues are surge zone tangs. They need high flow, lots of room to swim (150 gallons at an absolute minimum, 240 or more is better), and food 24/7. Without all three, they die. No exceptions. IMO you should upgrade your tank or find him a more suitable home.

[Chihuahua6]

Originally Posted by altolamprologus

Powder blues are surge zone tangs. They need high flow, lots of room to swim (150 gallons at an absolute minimum, 240 or more is better), and food 24/7. Without all three, they die. No exceptions. IMO you should upgrade your tank or find him a more suitable home.

They die, no exceptions? So without a 150 gallon tank they die? Without food 24/7 they die? Not true at all.

To the op yes the pacing is a sign of stress. Can you kick up the flow a bit? Is he new to the tank? If so the pacing could subside. If it doesn't in a couple of weeks then it might be time to pass it on to a bigger home. try increasing the flow first.

[altolamprologus]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua6

They die, no exceptions? So without a 150 gallon tank they die? Without food 24/7 they die? Not true at all.

To the op yes the pacing is a sign of stress. Can you kick up the flow a bit? Is he new to the tank? If so the pacing could subside. If it doesn't in a couple of weeks then it might be time to pass it on to a bigger home. try increasing the flow first.

Oh jesus chill out. The point is that I have never heard of a single person who has been able to keep PBTs alive in small tanks with once or twice daily feedings for any substantial amount of time. The majority PBTs brought into the trade die from either a lack of swimming room, too few feedings, or both.

[duane9]

The tang has been in the tank about 3 and a half months now. It has grow a little, about half an inch. It has just recently started this swimming behavior. For now I will add another powerhead, it seems to like swimming against the current then let the current take it back, then swim into it again.


We'll change the diet too, I guess I'll have closely watch the nitrite, po4 levels then.

[h20poloman2]

I've successfully kept PBT's for years including my current one that is in a standard 120g but I will be ultimately moving it into a 250g. Of course, I couldn't keep it with any other tangs and even new fish outside of tangs are potentially an issue due to how longs it's been established.

I would agree that the bigger the better and 75g is pushing it depending on the size of your PBT. Agree with previous post that the food you are using isn't what I would recommend, especially for a tang. They are herbivores and need some vegetation to their diet. In addition to nori, I'd recommend Emerald Entree by SF Bay Brands and Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp. I also use prawn eggs, mysis (PE, Hikari are my fav) and oyster eggs.

[duane9]

I ordered some copepods to increase their level in the tank, we just added a mandarine and was wondering if that had something to do with it.

If I add fresh clams, how should it be prepared so as not to foul the tank?

[duane9]

How about growing and adding artemea?

[duane9]

Originally Posted by altolamprologus

Powder blues are surge zone tangs. They need high flow....

What do you mean by surge zone tangs?

[duane9]

Originally Posted by h20poloman2

...... They are herbivores and need some vegetation to their diet. In addition to nori, I'd recommend Emerald Entree by SF Bay Brands and Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp. I also use prawn eggs, mysis (PE, Hikari are my fav) and oyster eggs.

Can I find these foods online somewhere, I don't think my LFS carries some of these things

[reeferstace]

The best thing to do for this fish is get him into a suitable sized aquarium.

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by reeferstace

the best thing to do for this fish is get him into a suitable sized aquarium.

+1

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by duane9

What do you mean by surge zone tangs?

It's the zone of a reef that is heavily influenced by wave action.

[Hodge1995]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

+1

I would agree, he is stressed which is never good for a tang.

[duane9]

I have attached a picture to make sure that this is indeed a powder blue, that is what it was listed as at the lfs, I think it could be a Purple Emporer Tang. If so are keeping them the same?

[billsreef]

Your LFS is clueless, and if you paid Powder Blue Tang prices for a White Cheek Tang, even worse Though sometimes White Cheek's do get sold as the very similar looking Powder Brown. In any event, care is much the same as the related Powder Blue.

[duane9]

Thanks Bill for the id, you're right about the lsf being clueless, they seem to mean well, but unfortunately they are the only game in town unless I drive 50 minutes or so to another store.

[jasonrstewart79]

Originally Posted by Ambition

The PBT is starting to show signs that it needs more room. Powder blue tangs need at least a 6ft long tank to meet minimum requirements, but an 8ft tank would be even better. Tangs normally swim around a lot, but in your case it seems excessive. The behavior isn't normal at the level your tang is pacing. I highly suggest finding it a home in a larger tank, or upgrading to at least a 180 (IMO a 125 is too small).

Brine shrimp and blood worms don't have much for nutritional value to the fish. Start to switch over to mysis shrimp, Nutramar Ova, finely chopped oysters, clam, table shrimp, fish (what ever you can find fresh and on sale), squid, and other fresh sea foods. No additives to it, must be fresh. Also, you should be putting nori in the tank daily for it to graze on, the algae on your rock work isn't going to be enough veggie matter for it (they are classified as a herbivore, but they naturally get lots of pods in the mix in the wild).

Tang police, in da hoooouuse! LOL No, I'm kidding actually. Tangs do need more room than most people give them.

[Ambition]

Originally Posted by billsreef

Your LFS is clueless, and if you paid Powder Blue Tang prices for a White Cheek Tang, even worse Though sometimes White Cheek's do get sold as the very similar looking Powder Brown. In any event, care is much the same as the related Powder Blue.

Looks like a powder brown or white face (A. japonicus) more than a white cheek (A. nigricans) to me. If you can note the whole face being white as opposed to only the "cheeks". Even so, care should be quite similar to the powder blue.

The fish is stressed. It needs a bigger tank, adding powerheads really isn't going to help much if any. They need a lot of flow and a lot of space. I highly recommend finding it a new home in a properly sized tank as well as feeding better quality and a larger variety of foods in the mean time.

[Re_Run]

Originally Posted by ambition

looks like a powder brown or white face (a. Japonicus) more than a white cheek (a. Nigricans) to me. If you can note the whole face being white as opposed to only the "cheeks". Even so, care should be quite similar to the powder blue.

The fish is stressed. It needs a bigger tank, adding powerheads really isn't going to help much if any. They need a lot of flow and a lot of space. I highly recommend finding it a new home in a properly sized tank as well as feeding better quality and a larger variety of foods in the mean time.

+1