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Subpar water quality and organics and hormones released by fish has a lot more to do with it.
Marine fish produce and subsequently secrete cortisol, which inhibits growth.My understanding is that saltwater fish do not release that growth inhbiting hormone. Freshwater fish release it to stunt growth in dry seasons where the fish are in shrinking water supplies. Fish in the ocean don't have to worry about that. I'd be interested to find out otherwise.
Otoh, I've never seen a tang achieve 14" in a 55-gallon tank.
He should be fine.I have a 4' long 75 gal bowfront. I was looking at a Tomini. I see on the list that it is recommended as 80 gal 4'. I am not going to have but 3 or 4 other fish with him. 2 blue green chromis, a bleeny and maybe a wrasse. Do you think he will be ok? He's about 2" right now.
thank youHe should be fine.
He should be fine.
Are the Bristletooths less active for a Tang? Can they live in a 4’ tank 75 gallons and up for the duration of their lifespans?
I couldn’t agree more. With regard to swimming room, a 300 gal tank with an old school rock wall and 2-3 pounds live rock per gallon and 200 pounds of sand filled with corals really doesn’t have much more room than a 150 gal minimal aquascaped tank. Swimming space and territory “hiding areas”. Sometimes the valuable area of the tank for the fish is about the empty spaces it contains. I’ve seen a foot long hippo tang in an 8’ 240 gal that could barely turn around because of all of the rock and corals in it. So even though the tank was big enough,the fish would have been better off in a 120 or 180 with a more open aquascape.My tangs live in a 300 gallon, they average 7-8 years old. I have found over 30 years of keeping surgeonfish that managing stress is the key. That means decent swimming room, holes for sleeping and for escape when chased. All these things, plus good diet reduces stress and that in turn reduces or eliminates disease. This approach is far superior to UV sterilizers and other mechanical/chemical attempts folks make to try and keep tangs healthy.
I agree. I have a 320 gal tank and the largest fish I am going to keep in it is a PBT and Purple tang. They grew fast and doing great.It’s not the volume of the tank but it’s tank shape and the environment that tang evolved in. Some tangs are from the surge zone and require turbulent, highly oxygenated water. Some are long range browsers that fly over the reefs all day long. They all need hiding holes to escape aggression and to rest.
My tangs are up to 22 years old. To say you had one for a few years is not a success. The rule of thumb is not to put a fish that grows to 8-10” in anything less than a 6’ long tank, and that’s a minimum. Replacing them as they die without any attempts at longevity is what gets collection areas closed to reef keepers. Lots of fish do great in confined spaces, tangs are not one of those. Call me “tang police.” I know what I’m talking about.