i was thinking of maybe trying a saltwater tank in the future, but one thats not too big because i have VERY limited space. i really like yellow tangs but i have seen mixed opinions of the amount of space that they need. ive heard they need a tank at least 48" long, but in the saltwater profiles someone said it is ok to keep one in a small tank as long as you have a powerhead. i have also seen many small tanks, about 20 gallons, with yellow tangs in them, and they seemed pretty happy! so i am very confused on this subject. :-/ can anyone give me their opinion? i would love to have a yellow tang, but like i said before, i just dont have room for anything bigger than about 30 gallons. *twirlysmiley*
yellow tang confusion
- Thread starter jlp0017
- Start date
I would say that 99% of the people will not put a yellow tang in a 30 gallon. It's just too small of a tank.
A small number of people will put them in a 4 foot tank and are happy with it.
However, if you go to some boards, the tang needs a minimum of a 6 foot tank and possibly greater than 100 or 150 gallon depending on the tang.
I wouldn't recommend a tang for a 30 gallon.
A small number of people will put them in a 4 foot tank and are happy with it.
However, if you go to some boards, the tang needs a minimum of a 6 foot tank and possibly greater than 100 or 150 gallon depending on the tang.
I wouldn't recommend a tang for a 30 gallon.
i don't know, jlp, i've heard both opinions as well. even though i have also seen a lot of small tanks with yellow tangs, personally i don't think i would put one in a small tank. but i really don't know that much about them, i've never even kept a saltwater tank before! just telling you what i've most commonly heard. *thumbsupsmiley*
oh yeah i thought you might also want to know that i know a guy who has a yellow tang in one of those 46 gal bowfront tanks, says he's doing fine! so im not sure what size would be big enough, there seems to be a lot of opinions about this too. maybe clear some more space in your house or pick smaller fish. i believe that a larger tank would be easier to keep stable, especially if you haven't done saltwater before like me!
The larger the saltwater volume the easier it is to keep water chemistries stable, and that usually translates in fish lingo as "easier to maintain." 30 gallons is way small for a beginner to the marine hobby, but it is not impossible.
Smaller tanks require a lot more reseach and a lot more maintance. Here is why:
1) Smaller tanks require more frequent water changes to keep them clean and stable. This could amount to 4 gallons 2x a week on a 30 gallon tank, including gravel vac and filter cleaning depending upon the fish species.
2) They do not have enough volume for dilution, small changes to the tank (temperature, chemical, salinity etc) mean major stress on your fish. Salt makes any chemical placed into your tank 10X more toxic to the fish than if the same amount were placed in a freshwater tank, that includes ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
3) Most marine fish, when properly cared for and thriving, will outgrow a small tank very quickly.
4) Most marine fish, along with their larger size, have larger attitude problems, which means battles galore if thankmates are not choosen carefully or decor not properly arranged.
5) Most LFS employees know next to nothing about marine aquarium maintance let alone about the specific biology of each fish they sell. So that leaves a lot on the shoulders of the would-be marine aquarist to learn on their own. Marine fish are expensive, so trial-by-error is strictly prohibited against.
But if you are truely dedicated to your 30 gallon marine tank, go for it. I too have had various success with yellow tangs in such size tanks. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Yellow tang do get very large, they are also a very nervous, swift swimming fish. In small tanks they tend to bash themselves against the glass every time someone in the room sneezes, and this is definately bad for their health. More than one yellow tang in such a small volume is to spell disaster since they will battle each other to the death. I have even seen yellow tangs go at each other through glass tank seperators. Even though they couldn't get at each other, it still drove them crazy to be within sight.
~~Colesea
Smaller tanks require a lot more reseach and a lot more maintance. Here is why:
1) Smaller tanks require more frequent water changes to keep them clean and stable. This could amount to 4 gallons 2x a week on a 30 gallon tank, including gravel vac and filter cleaning depending upon the fish species.
2) They do not have enough volume for dilution, small changes to the tank (temperature, chemical, salinity etc) mean major stress on your fish. Salt makes any chemical placed into your tank 10X more toxic to the fish than if the same amount were placed in a freshwater tank, that includes ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
3) Most marine fish, when properly cared for and thriving, will outgrow a small tank very quickly.
4) Most marine fish, along with their larger size, have larger attitude problems, which means battles galore if thankmates are not choosen carefully or decor not properly arranged.
5) Most LFS employees know next to nothing about marine aquarium maintance let alone about the specific biology of each fish they sell. So that leaves a lot on the shoulders of the would-be marine aquarist to learn on their own. Marine fish are expensive, so trial-by-error is strictly prohibited against.
But if you are truely dedicated to your 30 gallon marine tank, go for it. I too have had various success with yellow tangs in such size tanks. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Yellow tang do get very large, they are also a very nervous, swift swimming fish. In small tanks they tend to bash themselves against the glass every time someone in the room sneezes, and this is definately bad for their health. More than one yellow tang in such a small volume is to spell disaster since they will battle each other to the death. I have even seen yellow tangs go at each other through glass tank seperators. Even though they couldn't get at each other, it still drove them crazy to be within sight.
~~Colesea
Chuck a couple ClownFish in there.. they are cute to watch.. and are cool bright colored fish to look at.. well. the False Perc I have is .. I know some of them can be kinda dull colored.. anyways.. I always thought it would be neat to have a yellow tang aswell.. but being I only have 20 gallons of water this isnt gonna be possible at this moment of time.. when I upgrade to a 55 then it may be a possibilty and you gotta keep these fish stress free and keep water parameters in check.. otherwise you will have a very sick Ick infested Tang.. and they like to eat lots of veggies to so I have read..