Do I have too many fish?

[silverfly]

OMG
He said hes gonna upgrade!
IF we cared so much about each other as we do fish ,i'm sure we'd have a better world to live in.

[jbird69]

Originally Posted by silverfly

OMG
He said hes gonna upgrade!
IF we cared so much about each other as we do fish ,i'm sure we'd have a better world to live in.

Statement of the year right there!

[ctniners]

Ok, thanks for all your inputs.
This whole thing reminds me of people that love to eat beef and chicken but can not stand the thought of a slaughter house or a chicken farm......if you are going to keep wild caught animals, dont criticize how others keep them, its not like I have a full grown tang in a 30 gal tank like the LFS, I know I am not the only person in this hobby that spends hours upon hours and lots of money making sure our pieces of echo systems we have put together are able to thrive, if I tell you I am planning to upgrade is because that is what I am planning to do.....
The purpose of the blenny is because I think they are very entertaining animals, I do not have an algea problem, but that is an additional benefit.

Thanks for your inputs guys.

[paraletho]

One of the last additions in our 125 was a Yellow-eyed Kole Tang. A very peaceful tank as a whole so I couldn't figure out why the Kole didn't like the Lawnmower. After watching the other tangs it became apparent. The Orange Shoulder and the Sailfin like to nip at the rocks and the OS also likes to eat sand and deposit all over my corals like a #&*@ parrotfish. The YKT on the other hand likes to find flat surfaces covered with film algaae and kiss it off exactly what the Lawnmower prefers to do. The other evening the YKT must have caught the Lawnmower feeding high up on the back glass and rushed him from underneath. RIP LMB he went up and out the back of the tank. I don't have any personal experience with Hippos and Yellows, but watching others that have them I don't think you will have a problem. Feed some sheets of Nori every once and a while and the blenny will pick up the small scraps that get away.

[tkeracer619]

The blenny should be a good addition. Also look at starry blennies. They are really cool as well. The tangs will be fine as long as they are small.

I think when someone mentions that you have a tang in too small of a tank through the internet a lot is lost in the posting. Yes those fish are too big of a species for a 75g tank. Saying they are not is arguably false but some will argue till the end of the day that it is fine. Both sides use statements like "we took them from billions of gallons so a 55 is no different then a 2000" or "would you like to live in your bathroom your whole life". In the end you still have a large fish in a small tank. It is more then just size constraints when choosing minimum sizes for fish. You have to be able to feed them and not crash the tank. You have to leave room for aggression. The heavier you stock the more prone you are to disease and tangs happen to be disease magnet.

When you post in a public forum you should expect some of this but it doesn't mean that person is right. What it means is someone is passionate enough about the animals they keep to speak up in public forum when someone keeps them in a tank that as a whole is too large for a species. The fish in question might not be too large but eventually, if it lives long enough, it will outgrow the tank. I have a blue tang in a 20g nano. Is this wrong? No its not. Why is it not a problem? The fish is the size of a dime. Will it live long in that tank, nope it is just temporary and once it reaches a little larger size it has a 1500g tank to go in.

A ton of people never upgrade that say they do. The proper way to go about it is to purchase and QT the fish after you have the setup. Sometimes we don't do things in the proper order but as long as it works for us and we don't kill fish due to improper setups then everything is fine. The real problem you created for yourself is not that you have a powder brown in a 75 but that you already have your last addition to your larger tank before you own it. Once you add the PBrown to the large system and give it a chance to hold territory odds are it will try to kill any tangs you add after. That type of tang needs to go in last as they can be very aggressive.

Originally Posted by silverfly

I know you tang guys mean well but next time you look at your tang swimming up and down your 12ft 1000 gallon tank think to yourselves-you used to live in a 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000g tank didnt you?

Actually they seem to be very comfortable in a 1000 gallon aquarium. They get fed heavy and have zero predators. Once you get to that size the rules start to change.

[ctniners]

Geez, I dont want to make this a tang Thread, but your logic really isnt right, if somebody tells me can you live happily for the rest of your life in a mansion with few friendly people in a 1,000 acre space, and never have to do nothing I may say heck yes, but if you dont give me an option and you come with the cops and one day you just put me there I dont think I would like it very much, they are animals I know, but you are removing a life from its natural habitat, his school of fish, his home, and you are shipping him and send him to a whole different system.....we do not have pieces of the ocean in our home, we create our own eco-systems and we try to simulate the ocean to our liking as much as possible, the rules dont change just because its a bigger tank, either speak out for the species and dont collect them as trophies or dont criticize other people......instead, go out there and complaint about the collection of these animals, dont keep them unless they are tank bread.....regardless......I'd say only about 2% of the people here in RC can say they have a 1,000 + gallon Aquariums......thanks for your inputs, no matter how much we know about this hobby its always good to get inputs.

[silverfly]

Well said.
Hope you enjoy the blenny!

[Imzadi]

I have a cow and a horse and a donkey in my New York apartment... should I buy a hampster?


lol, jokes!

[firedude33]

I think a lawnmower blenny would have no problems in there. As long as all your water perams stay fine, add what you want.

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by firedude33

I think a lawnmower blenny would have no problems in there. As long as all your water perams stay fine, add what you want.

One of my fav fish in my 55g tank. I have a sand-sifting, and a lawnmower. One keeps the ground clean, and the other keeps the grass cut. I don't have a clean-up crew, I have a groundskeepers! lol

Serpent Star to keep the septic system, and a Orange Star on the windows.

I ain't a reefkeeper... I run a maid service here!

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by silverfly

OMG
He said hes gonna upgrade!
IF we cared so much about each other as we do fish ,i'm sure we'd have a better world to live in.

And I said I was going to upgrade 5 years ago, and it still hasn't happened. Life will often get in the way.

Unless you have the bigger tank in your place, but not running yet, you should only stock for what you currently have.

[TorisFishes]

Add the blenny, keep tangs if your upgrading to at least a 90 gallon imo

[nikon187]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

And I said I was going to upgrade 5 years ago, and it still hasn't happened. Life will often get in the way.

Unless you have the bigger tank in your place, but not running yet, you should only stock for what you currently have.

too true.. Hopefully the upgrade is within a year

[ctniners]

ok I learned something else today, they always say dont talk to people about, religion, politics and sports because there will always be conflicting and never ending opinions....I think I can add "tangs in a tank" to that list......thanks for all the inputs everybody.

[Sardaukar]

Originally Posted by ReefJerk

Just throw a Naso and a Vlamingi in there while you're at it. You'll upgrade soon, so may as well. And, large Angels are so pretty. Put a Majestic, Blue-Ring and a Queenie in there... All of you bashing PHurst know good and well there is no way that noob should have those fish in a tank that small. Come on. And, that Live Aquaria "buy this fish from us no matter what size tank you have" link is useless.

He already has the fish and if his worst husbandry crime is keeping 2 small tangs in a 75 gallon tank, then he will be doing better than 95% of newbies and you know that. Its not a good long term home for them, and many people plan an upgrade and can't follow through, but this setup is hardly a lasting crime against the natural world. At least he is concerned about his fish stocking level before he has 40 fish in there.

Add your lawnmower blenny, enjoy the aquarium and if you truly care about your fish, start plans (such as putting 50+ bucks away every month) for a larger tank. Sites like cragslist are a good place to find large used tanks - I see used 6 foot 125gallon/180gallon setups on in the bay area several times a month for very reasonable prices.

[silverfly]

Good post. Was this thread about tangs anyway? I thought there might be some input about blennies. I have a midas and LOVE mine! Great fish. He's a very active little guy. He has his little hole in a piece of live rock but is usually out swimming with the rest of my fish. I think the midas is the most beautiful of blennies.

[silverfly]

Originally Posted by jbird69

Statement of the year right there!

Thanks jbird69!

[jbird69]

dont forget that there is another option besides upgrading. You can remove the fish. What percentage of fish that are sold by retailers do you think go straight into an "apropriate" size tank. I would bet less than 1%. I would bet 99+% of tangs in home aquaria are in too small a tank according to the "experts". The fact is, here we have guys learning good husbandry practices by being a part of this great forum and there fish are better off because of it, whether theyre in a 75 or 1000.

Bottom line, if your tangs get too big and you just cant upgrade, give em to someone with a big tank. Until then, enjoy em and take good care of em.

[ctniners]

so just wondering before I go ahead and buy it (getting a great deal on it) is 125 gal tank a good tank for tangs or not?

[dh350twin]

Originally Posted by phurst

OK, I'd like to apologize to the OP and everyone else in this thread. This has been something of a sore subject for me lately. We have a new member in our local club who has a 29 gallon tank, and in it there is currently a foxface, a yellow tang, a powder blue tang, a gold rim tang a pair of clowns and a variety of chomis and damsels. In the last 3 months he has also had a different yellow, a powder brown, a naso, a kole, 2 hippos, a sailfin and is currently looking for an achilles or something. He refuses to listen to club members or anyone else, and just keeps replacing tangs. He insists to texting me whenever he gets a new (usually grossly inappropriate) fish, and it has me really bent out of shape. I'm sorry I took my frustrations out on other people. I promise, I'm not usually one of those 'tang people'

FWIW, I agree that the tank is not overstocked, and the blennie would be a very cool addition. Just make sure you get one you see eat at the LFS. Lawnmower blennies are one of those fish that occasionally refuse to eat in captivity.

Imo you really shouldnt apologize again,you already apologized for being rude in the way your first post was.I think by him asking advice is a sign he is concerned.Its our responsibilty to share information we have learned through experience.

If i would have seen this thread when it was first started,i would have posted something like"Imo i think getting a blenny would be fine and planning on upgrading your tank size for your tangs is a very good idea and i bet your fish will really appreciate it"something like that.

TANG POLICE are probably good people who think there doing the right thing by bashing us for putting a yellow tang or hippo in a 55 or 75 gallon,but odds are more then half of them if not all have probably done the same thing in there reefing career,and probably been bashed for it.

Goodluck and happy reefing!!!

[dh350twin]

Originally Posted by ctniners

so just wondering before I go ahead and buy it (getting a great deal on it) is 125 gal tank a good tank for tangs or not?

I bet you already know the answer to that question.............

[lougotzz]

Originally Posted by luther1200

Really? Because thats exactly what you did on your very first post in this thread.

No he did not.

[lougotzz]

Originally Posted by phurst

OK, I'd like to apologize to the OP and everyone else in this thread. This has been something of a sore subject for me lately. We have a new member in our local club who has a 29 gallon tank, and in it there is currently a foxface, a yellow tang, a powder blue tang, a gold rim tang a pair of clowns and a variety of chomis and damsels. In the last 3 months he has also had a different yellow, a powder brown, a naso, a kole, 2 hippos, a sailfin and is currently looking for an achilles or something. He refuses to listen to club members or anyone else, and just keeps replacing tangs. He insists to texting me whenever he gets a new (usually grossly inappropriate) fish, and it has me really bent out of shape. I'm sorry I took my frustrations out on other people. I promise, I'm not usually one of those 'tang people'

FWIW, I agree that the tank is not overstocked, and the blennie would be a very cool addition. Just make sure you get one you see eat at the LFS. Lawnmower blennies are one of those fish that occasionally refuse to eat in captivity.

Why are you apologizing? You didnt do anything wrong.

[sdc19982002]

Tell me why you see tank of the month pics and so many other posts here with tangs in smaller than 75 gallon tanks and they dont get reamed. Is it because they have a high post count and it makes them immune? I dont get it.

[dh350twin]

Originally Posted by sdc19982002

Tell me why you see tank of the month pics and so many other posts here with tangs in smaller than 75 gallon tanks and they dont get reamed. Is it because they have a high post count and it makes them immune? I dont get it.

Because its usually the guys asking if they have to many fish,,,,,lol