Tangs not getting along

Your responsibility is to keep these fish in a tank that is as comfortable and stress free as possible. In my opinion, a 75 gallon tank does not meet this requirement for a Naso. This is not repeating what others have said. This is from observing the two tangs that i currently have in a 135 which i feel is too small. Unfortunately, this is not a risk that YOU take. It is a risk that is forced on the fish. Since you have vented about your pet peeves about posters on this thread, I will mention one of mine. I HATE it when people mention the price of the fish as if that should play a factor in the care or sense of loss when that fish dies. This hobby comes with a lot of responsibility and if we choose to place one of these living creatures under our care, we owe it everything we have to provide it with the proper environment regardless of the price tag that humans choose to place on it.

 

My dog would be happy to be able to roam the city at large, or even more perhaps, (if city ordinances allowed) but he is kept in the house and fenced backyard, with daily walks beyond that territory.
How happy would the dog be if I kept it shut in a closet? I can feed it and keep it alive maybe, but the stress might also cause the dog to suffer in other ways, including getting sick from something due to being run down from stress.
With my fish, the ocean would be the preferred thing for it's habitat, and if I keep it in a very small area compared to it's normal territorial size, it promotes the same stress with the same possibilities of problems.
A good keeper will provide the appropriate size tank for fish they wish to keep.
While a clownfish doesn't need a lot of room, tangs swim miles every day and to keep their stress level down you need a larger tank than for a clownfish.
Now, to take their personalities into consideration, you could shut two dogs in a closet also, but how long might that last without problems between them?
You don't know, but the odds are that it will happen sometime.
The same two dogs in a house/yard could handle the situation much better.
Same with putting tangs together. While each tang individually needs a certain space, and it might not be the same amount for each, but together, they need much more because of overlapping territory.
IMO, it will boil down to how responsible a keeper one is as to what one will do.

 

well, after reading everyones ideas.. here's what im going to do ... just got the time to do the aquascape work ive been wanting to do for a while, and with the naso in QT, im going to re-aquascape, and let that go for a day then tomorrow night im going to drop her back in if i cant get a good deal on a trade for sweet reef safe angel or something otherwise shes going back in and maybe this time she will be a little nice since her time in detention!!! lol

 

That is a terrific comparison! Puts a lot into perspective from a different point of view.

 

Excellent debate!!!!! It seems that the debate sways toward sticking with the recommendations, however, I was just speaking from my own experiences. Maybe I have just been lucky!!! I have had some really tough beginnings when I add a new tang, but after the initial aggressiveness, (sometimes up to 3 weeks) They went on to live in harmony for many years. Thanks for all the great opinions!

 

Not trying to be a bragger but for me many years is alot longer then 4.They can live for as long as 40.There has been research conducted on some Tangs that suggests they can live up to and even beyond 40 years in the wild.
Fish do not age like mammals do. They do not senesce (meaning they don't stop growing or show signs of age per se). A second note on the subject... fish never really stop growing. I have known some clownfish to survive for 30+ years (seen them personally my Goldstriped Maroon Clown was at least 21 years old when he died) under good conditions.

I would imagine a tang is much the same way if given good conditions and space to breath.

 

Whaaaat 30 years a clown!? That's crazy long iv read true perculas in captivity live on average about 4 years. Would love my little guys to hang on longer

 

Very interesting! I will have to do research on that. Thanks for the input. I don't post these things to start controversy I think it sparks great debate, and from debate comes learning!!! Thanks again for your post!!

 

FWIW, I've been reefing for 19 yrs and have a perc that I got long enough ago that I don't remember exactly when, but it was before I got into seahorse keeping almost 11 yrs ago.
My powder blue tang was purchased years before the clown.

 

Awesome!!!