Powder Brown Tang or Not?

[HidingReefer]

Hey guys,
I have a 90 gallon reef tank, with two fish in it a melanurus wrasse, and a small yellow tang. I wanted to add a powder brown tang, but I am not so sure I should. I don't think tank size is a problem, or is it? I'm also really worried about ich, I know these things attract it easily, and I'm worried considering I have another tang in the tank.
Should I add this thing, it is one of my dream fish.

Any ideas would help

Thanks

[nereefpat]

I would not. The yellow and powder brown will probably have a turf war resulting in one of their demise in a 90.

I had a yellow kill a powder brown in a 125.

[HidingReefer]

I see.. my yellow tang is peaceful/passive, it actually gets bullied by my melanurus wrasse, so I don't think it would fight another tang, but hey I don't know that yet because I haven't tried another tang in the tank. I thought tangs only have problems with tangs that look like themselves, like powder browns and powder blues, or purple and yellow tang.

[Taahirs]

I would say a 90 is too small for a pb and yt

[HidingReefer]

Any other tangs I could put in, any other ideas on active fish (like tangs) for a 90g?

[scooter31707]

I only recommend 1 Tang for a 90.

[GimpyFin]

I think you'd be best just staying with the YT and passing on the powder brown. Maybe add another smaller, cool looking fish instead? Some of the fairy wrasses are good options. I have a male flame and he's one of the most active fish in the tank.

[HidingReefer]

Ya alrigt I guess I should just stick to getting more wrasses,

[BillHicks]

The problem I've found with asking about tangs on the internet is all the [removed] you'll encounter.

I've had 2 tangs in a 75 with a Trigger and mixed corals. In my experience, tangs won't fight if they don't have the same body shape, and if you keep the same species you need an odd number to keep the peace. I should also add that I always had plants, macro, or seaweed for them to graze on.

I just restarted my 38 gallon tank, and I'll be adding a (small) Kole tang soon. I do plan to upgrade tanks in less than 12 months as well.

[HidingReefer]

Well bill i actually kind of agree with you, I'm just trynna get input from others

[Sapelo]

I'm just trynna get input from others

No, you're trying to find someone who will agree with you.
Buy fish for the tank you have, not the tank you plan to have, and buy them responsibly.
A PBT has no place in a 90 gallon and especially not with a YT.
Do your own research and know that you will always find someone who will agree with you but that does not make it the right thing to do.

[OrQidz]

I agree with Sapelo and the others ^^^ it's not a good setup for another tang, even by itself it doesn't have enough swimming room. Kind of like keeping a big, active dog in a small kennel all the time. Yes, it can live in there....but should it?

Besides, wrasses are prettier anyway!

[Coralfuture]

I would say save your money on PBT my system is also a 75 and I put him in he was good for a while with the Sailfin Tang then just went crazy one day swimming into corals and rocks(no signs of stress prior)...never found the body and I moved all the rocks in my tank that day to find him.

The fish in my tank would make most people go crazy I've decided but at the end of the day its my tank and I have already purchased 2 upgrades 1 cycling 150gal display/200gal ref to keep the fish and corals happier and have ordered for next year my 500Gal tank...details on refuge undecided.

My clowns in my MD outside the SFT are the most active with the Swallowtail Angels being #2

[BillHicks]

Most fish shouldn't be in a home aquarium then, if we're going by these standards. Comparing a fish to a large dog in a kennel? Come on now...

If it has food, no natural predators, and a healthy environment, I'm pretty sure 9/10 tangs interviewed would choose to be in a home aquarium. That might be a Fox News statistic, but I'm sticking with it. =P

[CStrickland]

Originally Posted by BillHicks

The problem I've found with asking about tangs on the internet is all the "Tang police" you'll encounter.

Welcome to the forum. [removed] is bad form, it's much better to just say your own experience and opinion and abide that others will have theirs. Preemptively dismissing anyone who disagrees with you with a pejorative doesn't promote good discussion. I could easily call people who ignore best practices developed by experienced reefers and actual biologists "fish hating scumbags" but I would never, because I'm polite and more interested in helping others than bragging and arguing.

[BillHicks]

Originally Posted by CStrickland

Welcome to the forum. "Tang police" is bad form, it's much better to just say your own experience and opinion and abide that others will have theirs. Preemptively dismissing anyone who disagrees with you with a pejorative doesn't promote good discussion. I could easily call people who ignore best practices developed by experienced reefers and actual biologists "fish hating scumbags" but I would never, because I'm polite and more interested in helping others than bragging and arguing.

Thanks for your guidance but I did nothing but offer my opinion. You don't like it, and think it's bad form, it's just an opinion from my own personal experience. "Scumbag" was no where near the same implication.

Not interested in bragging, or arguing. I offered my personal experience. Telling someone how to speak, is literally policing.


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[scooter31707]

Originally Posted by BillHicks

Thanks for your guidance but I did nothing but offer my opinion. You don't like it, and think it's bad form, it's just an opinion from my own personal experience. "Scumbag" was no where near the same implication.

Not interested in bragging, or arguing. I offered my personal experience. Telling someone how to speak, is literally policing.


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Well you are giving bad opinions to new hobbyists, making them wonder what they are doing wrong and discouraging them from the hobby.

[BillHicks]

Originally Posted by scooter31707

Well you are giving bad opinions to new hobbyists, making them wonder what they are doing wrong and discouraging them from the hobby.

I gave my experience with tangs, you think my experience was bad, but my personal results say otherwise. Not a single thing I said should discourage one person from the hobby - not sure how you read it like that.

Let them know how my experience, or "opinion", was wrong or bad. Just saying it's bad doesn't make it so.


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[Taahirs]

Because few people (like you) have had 'success' tangs in smaller tanks.

However, you're trying to pass it off as the rule. How do you know this guy will have the same luck?

Many thousands others have also had tangs and based on the behavior of the majority, they have come up with suitable tank sizes for certain fish. And also how many of these fish per x size tank.

Maybe the op will have some luck and they get along. But if he/she wants to be certain there won't be any stressed fish he/she should have a look at some smaller fish, like wrasses.

[Mussin]

Try a kole tang with the yellow. I had them in my 90 with no problems

[BillHicks]

Originally Posted by Taahirs

Because few people (like you) have had 'success' tangs in smaller tanks.

However, you're trying to pass it off as the rule. How do you know this guy will have the same luck?

Originally Posted by BillHicks

I've had 2 tangs in a 75 with a Trigger and mixed corals. In my experience, tangs won't fight if they don't have the same body shape, and if you keep the same species you need an odd number to keep the peace. I should also add that I always had plants, macro, or seaweed for them to graze on.

Please let me know any word in this quote that makes it seem as if I'm passing it off as a "rule". I'm not trying to be argumentative, but it seems people are reading a lot of extra things from my post ("scumbag" earlier) that I didn't actually say. I even added "In my experience"...

There is a lot if misinfo in the aquarium (fresh & salt) hobby, and I'm certainly not trying to add to that. I just offered what worked for me, whether it has worked for a majority of the reefing community is not my concern, and often leads to the misinfo problem. For example: There are tons of people on RC that advocate "Never have a refugium", and there are tons of people on RC with the opposite opinion. You can take sides in that debate, but to claim one side is "bad info", especially if it's based on experience, is a bit pretentious.

Anyone that wants to discuss it further is welcome to inbox me, I really am not trying to hijack the OP at all, so maybe that'll avoid it.

[Goldenshark14]

I'd pass on the powder brown in your position as they need a huge amount of space to thrive. It's about 50/50 on whether the tangs will battle, but any powder tangs are ich magnets.

[aznflyfisherman]

I would pass too they are too ich prone..

[JoeTSI]

The key to introducing a PBT (Brown or Blue) is to minimize stressors and keep them WELL fed. I use garlic enriched seaweed on clips on BOTH sides of my tank, one for my Powder Brown and the other for my Tomini. When I introduced my first PBT it died due to ich, but I was only feeding seaweed every other day and traveled for work extensively. My current PBT I kept fed at all times and he is plump, healthy, and good natured.

[conan75]

I have one each about the size of my hand in my tank, but my tank is 300 gallon and 10 feet long...and they sometimes chase each other aggressively...