Hyposalinity in a 72 Gallon

[tman23]

I thought powder brown's were a minimum size of 75. Don't know if 3 gallons hurts I know fully grown sailfin and hippo don't belong in a 72. Also, my hippo is smaller than my clarkii clownfish.

[jenglish]

I'm not a tang keeper myself but I think with the minimum tank size is for one. Tangs tend to be territorial critters since in the wild they need large tracks of reef to produce enough algae. It is a matter of burst swimming space, enough room to lower aggression and ability to handle the bioload of 3 tangs, who are messy eaters and poo quite a bit. I don't know how long 3 small tangs could get along and be handled in a 72, but it wouldn't be forever

[tman23]

My tangs are not as similar to each other as they could be...

Hippo tang --- Paracanthurus hepatus
sailfin tang --- Zebrasoma veliferum
powder brown --- Acanthurus japonicus

The third may not be a powder brown, it may be a gold rim, which is also an Acanthurus


My hippo is small, and my sailfin is small compared to how big I have heard that they get... but currently they are getting along well together in a 10 gallon hospital tank

[Doug1]

Hi Tman, of the 3 tangs you now have, the Acanthurus whatever is the smaller when adult also the powder tangs and goldrim are on the more difficult to keep list compared to your others, but they are all fish that need quarantined, they are easily stressed, high strung, and have pretty specific needs re: diet and territory. While they may get along for a while, as they grow these needs are going to become more and more important. It's probably a big factor in why tangs as a rule are known as ich magnets in the hobby. Successfully keeping them depends on picking health fish to start, quarantine before releasing them into an established, stable tank, with plenty of proper food and as little stress as possible. Good luck with yours

[tman23]

thanks, man. I appreciate the advice