Tang Capacity in a 210

[shallowreef]

Hi Steve,

I have a 210 that i'm sure you've seen pics of at one time or another (if not check my sig for a link) and i have a blue tang in there and that is the only tang. He is about 5" long. I would like to add ore or two more blue tangs and a convict tang. Is this possible? I was going to go with a variety of tangs at first but now i think that a few blues would look much more exciting to me.

 

[shallowreef]

Anyone have a clue?

Ron?

 

[spongebob lover]

i don't know if adding 2 more blue tangs would be good as i think they'd fight but i think the convict would be ok.

I hope Steve or anyone can tell you a little bit more dood .

 

[shallowreef]

Well i ask "Ron?"

Because i know he keeps two in i believe a 150 and they seem to do okay so i want to know if three is possible in a 210.

 

[spongebob lover]

Well i ask "Ron?"

Because i know he keeps two in i believe a 150 and they seem to do okay so i want to know if three is possible in a 210

i don't remember but didn't him introduce them all together dood?

 

[fload]

If your gonna try 3 you'd have better luck if you get three all at once otherwise the one that's already in there is gonna always try to dominat, blue hippos might be different but for the most part when introducing same species fish to a tank its best to do it all at once, I have a hippo and a scopas and a unicorn and my hippo is twice the size of the other two tangs and does not bother them....

 

[shallowreef]

Well i talked with my LFS and he said to introduce the others at the same time and get the smallest ones possible. I believe by getting them small they will pose little to no threat to my large Blue tang.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Maybe, maybe not. The smaller hippos might be easy targets too...

 

[spongebob lover]

The smaller hippos might be easy targets too...

yeah that could happen.... how about getting your tang out of the fish tank and re introduce him with the rest at the same time?

 

[fload]

Just be sure to keep an eye on them whatever you do... don't wanna buy your fish an exspensive meal

 

[shallowreef]

Well i thought about doing that gabby and well if i did pull my BT out which is going to be damn neat impossible. When i go to introduce him again unless i change the aquascape around i believe that he will still be territatorial.

 

[spongebob lover]

Well i thought about doing that gabby and well if i did pull my BT out which is going to be damn neat impossible. When i go to introduce him again unless i change the aquascape around i believe that he will still be territatorial.

dood you get to do two things at the same time...reaquascape AND catch your fish.
Unless Steve has a better idea

 

[steve-s]

I'm assuming we are discussing Paracanthurus hepatus, the Regal and not Acanthurus leucosternon, the powder blue?

Well i talked with my LFS and he said to introduce the others at the same time and get the smallest ones possible. I believe by getting them small they will pose little to no threat to my large Blue tang.

At the very least they'd have better chance of hiding.

In all honesty though, a large blue (Regal?) tang like that is going to be a very obnoxious bully. It's a fairly large tank and there is a possibility it could work though. Introducing these types of fish simultaneously is the absolute best method. Anything else is a risk, some more than others. If you introduce new conspecific's as things are now, the chances are 50/50. If you remove the big one and acclimate the new ones after they are QT'd, give them a chance to settle and then re introduce the incumbent, the chances are greatly improved but a risk is still present. You can gain some insight to the current Regals behavior by how it reacts in general to new additions.

If these are Acanthurus leucosternon, then just stick with the one and don't add the Acanthurus triostegus. Few tangs are conspecies accepting and even those that do still fight to some degree.

Now the other thing you need to ponder is do you really want/need 4 9"+ fish in a 210? Does the tank meet the needs of the species chosen in general, yes. Does it meet the needs of 4, not so much.

 

[shallowreef]

Steve,

Thanks for the help and advice. I think i will try it just to see what happens. If it doesn't work out then i will bring them back to the LFS. I am just curious if i can get this to work or not. Its something i want to try for myself and witness my own results. What are your views on the Convict tang though? Is this a decent tang to add to the tank or will fighting be an issue as well?

BTW it is a Regal tang.

Thanks again.

 

[spongebob lover]

i hope they get along dood ...just watch out of the ich .
i like convict tangs they're very kewl fishes dood .
well if it doesn't work out you can always have fish for dinner :lol: .

 

[steve-s]

What are your views on the Convict tang though? Is this a decent tang to add to the tank or will fighting be an issue as well?

The convict is usually an "unassuming" type. Neither aggressive or passive. It will stand it's ground (depending on challenger) but will typically not be the aggressor.

This is why I was asking how your current tang reacts in general to new fish additions. Since the convict is a different genus, the odds are in favor of it being a possibly uneventful addition. If your current tang bullies all new additions, this will be no different.

 

[ronj]

sorry Nick, i am in Florida for Valentine's..i haven't been on here alot the past week!!!!...i actually have 4 hippos, a powder brown, and a yellow tang in my 125g....one of the hippo's is pretty big, then i have one just under that, and two that are about medium sized...they all get along great..i was uneasy about adding them, but they swim together all day..i put the 2nd largest in first..i left him for a few weeks and added a small one...about 2-3 weeks later(i think), i added the big one and another small one...they were all fine from the get-go....i don't see any aggresion at all between them..i am not saying that it won't happen in the future..i will most likely have to get rid of one or two of the blue's in the next few years...they are growing pretty quickly...i don't want them to get too crowded and turn aggressive...hope this helps!!! don't forget to qt!!!

 

[fload]

sorry Nick, i am in Florida for Valentine's..i haven't been on here alot the past week!!!!...i actually have 4 hippos, a powder brown, and a yellow tang in my 125g....one of the hippo's is pretty big, then i have one just under that, and two that are about medium sized...they all get along great..i was uneasy about adding them, but they swim together all day..i put the 2nd largest in first..i left him for a few weeks and added a small one...about 2-3 weeks later(i think), i added the big one and another small one...they were all fine from the get-go....i don't see any aggresion at all between them..i am not saying that it won't happen in the future..i will most likely have to get rid of one or two of the blue's in the next few years...they are growing pretty quickly...i don't want them to get too crowded and turn aggressive...hope this helps!!! don't forget to qt!!!

Sounds like a lot of fish poo those blue tangs take huge dumps you must have a good skimmer!

 

[shallowreef]

Thanks a lot Ron!

 

[ronj]

Sounds like a lot of fish poo those blue tangs take huge dumps you must have a good skimmer!

i have to do large regular water changes to keep the water quality up, but i do have a pretty good skimmer as well...