165 Gal (Tangs)

[CoachD]

I am setting up a 165 gal reef tank with a 55 gal refuge. The tank is 84 inches long. I think that this a great tank for tangs due to the length. Anyway, I am wondering how many tangs can I reasonably keep in it.
Here is what I am wanting to stock
Naso Tang
Sailfin Tang
3 Yellow Tangs
Blue Throat Trigger
5 Green Chromis
Maroon Clown (already have)
Some type of Fairy Wrasse
Flame angel or Flame hawkfish
Mandarin Dragonet
Lawnmower Blenny
Neon Goby
Cleanup crew


Please let me know about what you think about the stocking list
Too many tangs?
Too many large fish?
Too many fish total?

Thank you for your help

[dobejazz]

Welcome to TRT ! Sounds like this will be an awesome set up. I'm not a tang expert but I think there may be a problem between the sailfin and yellow tangs

[Loverotties]

Welcome to TRT! and I agree with Kelly!

[ChrisPrusha]

First off, welcome aboard!!! w000000000000000000t!!!

I don't think I would put more than two tangs in a 165. And I don't think you want more than 10 fish in there, either. But I am on the conservative side on this issue.

I don't know much about triggers, but I wonder if he will be problematic with some of the other fish on your list.

Finally, we are going to need pics, and lots of 'em, when you get set up!!

[Hendersonracing]

I have a 9' naso and a 9' yellow 1 blue tang and another small yellow...which is 4 total tangs. in my 220!!

[CoachD]

Thanks for the replies. Couple of questions.

1. Why would a Naso or sailfin not work ?


2. I have been told that you can keep one tang or three of the same species , but not two.

3. I always thought the biggest drawback for tangs were the length of your tank, that is why I thought that a tank of this length it would be able to handle four or five tangs.

I am fairly new to the hobby and wanting to get my stocking list correct before I start introducing fish. Sorry for so any questions.

[ChrisPrusha]

Questions are good, CoachD!

I'm goofy about tangs, so I am not the person to ask. Hopefully others, including greenbean, will chime in soon.

[motorslave]

With tangs as well as many fish, they can tend to fight with others of the family that have similar or like body shapes. Your right about providing spoace for the tangs but consider the territorial issue that will arrise with many species. Tangs are a touchy subject with many folks. They can do okay in somewhat smaller tanks but this would require less crowding. IMO, there are too many tangs on your list for a 165. I will have 1, maybe 2 in my 150 but probably just 1.
Another issue I see is some aggresive fish on the list that couold create iisues for the inverts and more docile fish.
Just be sure to do as much research as possible on every fish you want, then ask here just as you are doing! Be prepared to have to change ideas here and there as some fish just dont mix. The time invested before purchase will pay off in the long run.

Robert

[CoachD]

Thanks for everyone's replies.
I have just started putting water in the tank , so I have some time to come up with a final list, I would like to have one once it cycle so that I know that everything is compatible and that I do not change my mind later and have a fish that is not compatible with what I want. Anyway I have thought on my list and come up with a revised list. Please let me know what you think.

Naso tang
Yellow tang
Hippo tang (hopefully this are better choices, because they have different body types)
Blue Throat Trigger (I have read alot on this fish, and believe it is reef safe)
Marron Clown (already have in QT tank)
Some type of Fairy Wrasse
Flame angel or Flame hawkfish
Lawmower blennie
Neon Goby (cleaner fish)
Possible 3 Green Chromis
Clean up crew ( possible without shrimp,because of trigger and hawkfish)

Once I finalize my list, then I am wondering on which order to put them in.

Thanks again for any advice.

[CoachD]

If I do not go with the Naso tang, but go with the Yellow tang, Hippo tang, and blue throat trigger could I add one more fish that would spend a lot of time swimming around the tank and not in the rockwork. Something from maybe 6 to 12 inches and that would work with my revised list. If so, any recommendations.

Thanks

[Nyles]

I keep naso, blue and yellow in my 155 bow. They all get along great. The naso will get 14-18" long so keep that in mind!

If you keep them, its a good idea to make the rockwork have lots of openings.

[Scuba_Dave]

Very large tanks can have multiple tangs of the same species without a problem. Some research was performed on smaller tanks, and they came up with a "solution" top the problem. They put the tangs in a donut shaped tank. For some reason as long as they can keep swimming in the same direction without finding an end point - they do not "claim" territory as their own

From personal experience I can tell you a YT & Sailfin will not get along
I picked up a 7" sailfin from a reefer who was moving. My YT ended up in the basement for now. I'm upgrading to a 180 from the 125g, and a 325g is ready once the addition goes in

A 7' tank is nice for swimming length, but what is the front to back measurement? An 8-10" fish will need 2x that to turn around in
I will be reducing the rockwork when I upgrade to the 180g to increase swimming room

I also recently removed a Very Large Devil's hand & 2 Very Large Toadstools to allow more swimming room. My tank is viewable on 3 sides - 2 of which are the long sides. So they can swim around in circles the way the rock work is setup

I do have a small 3" Hippo in with the sailfin. The Hippo tries to be agressive - the Sailfin ignores him. The sailfin will eat out of my hand & does hog the Nori whenever I feed

All the rest of my fish are small:
Mated pair of True percs
Bird wrasse
Lawnmower blennie
Twinspot hogfish

I prefer more smaller fish then the larger fish

[sharks4u]

I've introduced tangs into my tank before but at the same time with simular body shapes. Tangs do stick together in the wild but in a confined area they can get teritorial. If you want to do a sailfin and a yellow, put them in together and at the same time. This will help with aggresion. As far as the naso goes in a 165, start off around 4". He will be fine for a couple of years but will need to upgrade later. Good luck!

[creativereasons]

well my experince with tangs and triggers is not very good my yellow tang killed my pineapple trigger in a matter of days and i tried everything possible to get the tang to leave the trigger alone but no luck. i would say if u introduced a trigger into the tank i would put it in the tank before andding any tang.i would say a week or long just to let the trigger gain his territory so when u do add the tangs they shouldn't bother him.

[gwaco]

i like your second list much better . i was glad to see the mandarin removed . for some reason i have more of a problem with people keeping the mandarins than the tangs . i also believe that how many and what you keep is more dependent on how much waste you are able to export . the blue throat will eat alot ! the tangs can forage all day long on any algae in the tank until feeding time . also while some of the tangs get very large its not like it happens over night ! it takes years and usually by then you will have figured out when its time to remove them .
for the record according to the tang police i would now be in jail !
1. yellow tang 3yrs old
2. hippo tang
3. naso vlamigii
4. an orphaned purple tang
the yellow and purple get along great (so far )even though the purple is larger than the yellow , everything i read put the purple as the bully ! but this one is quite timid. we can control lots of things but not a fishes disposition . thats why you hear so many different tales .
my tank is not much bigger than yours (180) ! good luck .....