minimum tank sizes

I've heard people suggest much longer tanks than the minimum for tangs because they like to dart from one side to the other very quickly. As in a 75 bow front that is shorter is worse than a 75 regular for a tang because it has less horizontal swimming room. Am I clear? Well it works in my head haha.

 

I would say 75gallon is the minimum tank size for any marine or reef, and longer tank is better yes

If you add tangs, i would say 150 gallon or bigger.

 

while I'm still pretty new to the hobby, I don't believe 75 gallon is the minimum for any marine aquarium...I've seen too many 55 gallon and even smaller to believe that. just depends on what you stock in it......right??
if thats the case I might as well fill my 55 up with freshwater and put goldfish in it. lol

 

Technically there is no minimum and maximum. You can setup a reef in a 0.5 gallon glass flower vase if you wish.

I say 75 because i like to give the fish room to swim. If you like to live in closet sized house, thats your choice.

 

dusty
a 55 gallon tank is suitable for a number of marine fish species, that are not demanding in terms of swimming space (so that rules out large fish, tangs, Angels etc etc)
certain species of fish are very territorial , so you have to research, check compatibility charts when considering which fish are going to be suitable
certain fish may get on great in a 100 gallon tank, but not tolerate each other in a smaller volume of water

when checking fish suitability, allow for adult size of fish rather than the size they are when you buy them - leave space for them to grow into

for a 55 I would look at species like
clowns
Damsels
firefish
gobies
Royal Gramma
cardinals
dwarf angels ( although with care if you have corals)
firefish
blennies

and loads of others I cant think of just now

Steve

 

well I don't plan on having a reef yet. its either going to be fo or fowlr. and no I wouldn't like living in a closet sized house...thats why I'm doing research. my 55 gallon tank is 4 feet long....for a fish that is about 6 inches long that would be like me living in a house thats 36 feet. thats a little bigger than a closet. if you want to get technical about it. :

 

Actually, thats not a proper analogy. You have to compare the space that a fish has in a reef vs the space in your fish tank.

It would be like you living in your car lol

What i'm saying is that 75 is what i recommend, doesn't mean its technically correct.

 

gotcha