Blue Tang Question

[Gforce3s]

Hey all...question about a blue tang. My girlfriend really wants to add one to our tank...but i dont know much about them. My tank is a 75gal reef, only occupants are 2 perc clowns and a reef cleaner crew of snails and hermits. Would a blue tang be suitable to my tank? Any precautions? Anything i need to know, help me out. Thanks,

Greg

[wannareef]

are you talking about a pacific blue tang? they can be prone to ick, but some people have great luck with them. almost all tangs are tricky. its rated a 3 out of 5 by scott michael on aquarium suitability. i usually stay away from anything less than a 4

[Gforce3s]

Blue Hippo Tang i meant..sorry i didnt specify

[wannareef]

i think they are the same fish just another nickname for it

[Gforce3s]

no they are different, blue pacific is lighter in color. Blue Hippo is also known as the regal tang...its darker and color and has the yellow on its tail. Its the fish from finding nemo, the girl fish i dont know her name my girlfriend does hahah. she wants one in the tank and they are a very beautiful fish in my oppinion

[wannareef]

so this fish? here is some info www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=330

[Gforce3s]

" It is more susceptible to lateral line disease, fin erosion, ich and other skin parasites than many other fish. "

Hmmm thats kinda no good...

Also it says it can grow to be 1' in tank....but only needs a 70 gallon...

So according to this site, since it is reef safe and can be good in a 70gal it should be fine in my 75gal reef...

[Tim224DT]

Like all tangs need lots of dry seaweed or nori as some call it to for their diet. You have a 75 gallon tank which will be good for that tang. Just keep your water quality stable and he will do fine.



on another note did you ever get that other powerhead?


Tim

[Gforce3s]

My LFS had the maxijet 1200 for $45 and i said nooo, so i ordered it from dr foster and smith online, for $22 so its on its way. Cant wait for it to come really cant stand seeing that film on the surface.

Guess the blue tang will be my next livestock addition in a few weeks!

[Tim224DT]

Blue tangs are nice! I was going to get one but then i got that chevron tang really really cheap but now he is dead from a disease that killed most of my fish.

Just make sure you get a feeding clip to hold the dry seaweed that he will pick at. Do you have a glass cleaner on your tank like a mag float? If so you can take some super glue gel and super glue the feeding clip to it so you don't have to stick the clip on your glass with a suction cup.


Tim

[Gforce3s]

What about the whole "prone to disease" as compared to other fish. I dont have a quarentene tank as of now...maybe i should get one before this fish?

Great idea with the feeding clip and the mag float!! Im going to have to do that!

[Tim224DT]

Yeah i learned my lesson the hard way......Just look for a thread titled 2 fish dead may be a lot more soon in the general reef area.

It is smart to quarantine your fish before they go into your main tank.

Tim

[Gforce3s]

Well i have an extra 10gal around, ill have to go get a little wal-mart filter or something.

But since the girlfriend wants it, and it seems safe minus the prone to disease part...but that can be taken care of, looks like im set with it!

Any reccomendations as to other livestock additions for the future? Just for fish, corals i think i know what i want.

[pballer]

maybe some shrimp(idk if u have already b/c they arent mentioned.) I personally like the fire shrimp there very active and will clean of your fish

[Gforce3s]

i actually just got a fire shrimp as a hitchhiker on an anemone i purchased from the lfs. the anemone was so attached to the rock, they just gave me the rock, which included about 8 hermit crabs, and the fire shrimp. Its a decent size liverock too, about 6lbs! So i got 6lbs of liverock, 8 hermit crabs, a fire shrimp, and a BTA for 49.99!