will they get along

[zoalover34]

im pretty sure they will but i just thought i would ask real quick.. but for my next 2 fish i plan i getting i wanna yellow tang and a Copperband.. they should be ok together right? i have read about the Butterflys being kinda hard to get eating and everything. when i do go to get one ill make sure its eating at the pet store a few different times.. just because they eat once don't mean they always eat! when i ask to see them eat should i see if they take frozen food or what's best for them to eat because right now all i have is 4 kinds of frozen.. thanks in advance!
~ Jim

 

[OCCFan023]

I would hold off on both for the moment as I feel that would push the bio load a bit to far. WIthout a skimmer and a copperband which are notoriously (sp) known for ich and the like I would be afraid of risking it. I would hold off on both for the moment and choose one

 

[fish outa wata]

Hey Jim is your tank a reef or fowlr? I thought that you had a reef. Copperband butterflys can go about the reef nipping at the corals. Be aware of that if you do have a reef. Both of those fish can also get fairly large and they like their swimming room.

 

[zoalover34]

u think the bioload will be to big? i only have 3 little fish! i do about 10-15 gallon water changes every week i was hopin that would take the place of the skimmer since im puttin in so much new water.. all my tests are good not showing up anything in the water.. thanks for the suggestion ill keep it in mind.. maybe i can find a cheap skimmer

 

[zoalover34]

Its not really a reef lol.. i just have a few small corals that im testin out to see how they will do.. i just have a xenia, a little bit of gsp i just got and a kenya tree (small) other than thats its a Fowlr lol

 

[fish outa wata]

that's right, you had the vid of xenia, very nice by the way, I was seriuosly envious of that. I went to my buddies and asked if I could borrow his vid. camera, we'll see maybe this weekend. Yeah but you got the reef itch.

How big is your tank again? I would def. reccomend getting a skimmer, find an AquaC on ebay, I bought a pro model for 120 delivered.
Bioload is a concern, big fish produce a lot of waste compared to little ones. There was an amzing post about bioload once, I'll try to find it. I was just wondering because of their overall size. You'll probably be fine, I was just making a comment.

 

[zoalover34]

ill look into gettin one off of ebay right now.. i don't plan to get both fish at the same time either just to clear that up.. my tank is a 55.. yea kinda got the reef ich lol .. i don't want tons of corals i think i like the look of a few here and a few there just to break things up a little ya know? lastnight when i was trying to catch my damn shrimp i ended up taking all my rock out to do it and re-did the whole aquascap i think it looks 100% better! my batterys are chargin on my camera but ill put pics up soon! think u guys will really like it.. opened everything up alot IMO. thanks for the comments!

 

[fish outa wata]

This is from reefland.com...my second favorite site.

The myth that there is a "rule of thumb" is perpetuated by LFS employees who have no idea what they're talking about.

The reason it doesn't make sense is obvious. For example: One 6" koi has 10 times the mass of a 3" koi and one 12" koi has 10 times the mass of a 6" koi or 100 times the mass of a 3" koi. I use koi only because I'm familiar with their mass-to-length ratios. Obviously one 12" koi represents a lot more bioload than four 3" koi, which is why any "rule of thumb" based on so many inches per gallon is a joke.

In a marine tank, a single 9" tang represents many times the bioload of say three 3" dottybacks. In other words, you can away with a lot more small fish in a 100-gal tank than you can fish that are >6" TL.

Besides bioload, you have to take into consideration the fish's natural behavior. Is it an active swimmer or one that stays put? Is it an aggressive, territorial species or a docile fish that hides out all the time? A 100-gal tank is a great size for a Royal Gramma but marginal for any tang and much too small for the larger tangs.
__________________
Ninong

This is what I was saying but this guy has like 60 years experience I have like 1, I'm not a dumb-dumb but ya know...

 

[Lorna]

Jim if you are thinking of these two fish.....both would probably be too much in a 55, especially for a copperband who are finicky......if you did, you should intro together or at least add the tang last. In adding any fish I would suggest the tang as the last fish as they become somewhat territorial. Mine needs to show any addition just who is boss everytime I add a fish. just words of caution....and after seeing what bioload that tang lets loose with I would not even think about it without a skimmer and more rock. Iwish I had gotten my remora pro via ebay......as I shelled out abot $225. If you can find one under that snap it up you won't be sorry......worth every penny and about the cost of those two fish combined........

 

[zoalover34]

don't snails help with the bioload as they eat waste?

 

[Lorna]

not especially......in a perfect world it remains suspended in the water column and is removed by the skimmer. Bacteria break it down eventually some clean up crews will remove some too.....I just saw a remora skimmer on reefland.com for $150

 

[kevin4052002]

If you want to save your investment, especially before it grows larger, you should get a skimmer. You don't even need a in-line with sump, just a simple HOB skimmer. They help a lot more than you might think, and changing out 25% of your water per week sounds kinda crazy. IMO, it shouldn't be that much effort.

In your tank, DEFINITELY add the tang LAST. Copperbanded B/Fs are gorgeous, but their difficulty outweighs this. There are many nice fish that you can have in this tank, its just that they might not all be 7". I would let the tang be the biggest fish, maybe check out a type of blenny, goby, or fairy wrasse.

Good Luck.

 

[Lorna]

I love my midas blenny. He lives in a hole in the front of the rock face and watches everything that goes on, he comes out swimming like and eel.....he is about 7 inches long and swims around alot.....active and interesting....