Which New Tang for Reef - Powder Blue or Blue Hippo

[idrum]

I'm planning on adding my new (and last) fish to my 72 reef.

Debating on either a Powder Blue or a Hippo (probably around 3-4")

I currently have:

- Yellow Tang (3.5")
- Redmargin Fairy Wrasse
- Perc Clown
- Blackcap Basslet
- Lyretail Anthias

Everyone gets along great - no aggression whatsoever - the Yellow Tang is the mildest I've seen.

My concerns are:

- Will either the PB or the Blue Hippo fight with the Yellow?

- I know both are ich succeptible - I did have it in the tank about 3 mos ago, but cleaner shrimp and garlic wiped it out. I'm worried about stress in the new blue tangs causing a new outbreak.

- I know Powder Blues arent very hardy - I'm concerned about 'losing' a $80 fish!!

Yep - I need a blue fish.

Any help is appreciated.

[Tarek]

Personally, I would go for the Blue Hippo, if you're insistent on getting another tang. IMO, they're the nicest looking tangs, and are generally among the hardiest. From what I've seen Yellow Tangs and Blue Hippo Tangs tend to be the least susceptible to ICH. I don't think that any of those tangs would fight each other.

However, most people will probably suggest that a 72-gallon tank is too small for 2 tangs. I have a 72 FOWLR myself, and I intend on keeping just 1 tang (a 3.5" Blue Hippo).

-Tarek

[ravenmore]

I personally wouldn't add either. Tangs are open water swimmers - need a lot of room. There are some folks who genuinely believe they shouldn't be kept in aquariums as even very large aquariums are small for them. 72 gal is a bit small, IMO. These fish can get big, esp. the hippos.

I actually have a sailfin in a 60 gal, but I bought it before I knew better and it was a rescue mision from petco.

Just my .02.

[Bughead]

I have experience with both, and although the powder blue is my favorite, I'd say go with the hippo.

Yes, they are both ich magnets, but the PB is much more delicate. I'd had Tangy-Too (my second PB) for three weeks short of a year. I'd introduced a flame angel without pre-quarantine and two weeks later I had a huge outbreak of ich. All the fish got ich spots, including the foxface rabbit and convict blennies. But Tangy-Too was the only one who really got sick. He got a secondary bacterial eye infection that blinded him. I FW dipped him and hospitalized and medicated him for 7 days. The main tank was cured with Kick-ich. I returned Tangy-Too to the main tank when he was free of ich, but he was blind. He died the next morning. The hippo had many ich spots, but never acted sick or even itchy. All the other fish came through the ordeal with equal ease.

Powder blues are beautiful, and mine had great personality, but when things go wrong, he'll be the first to succomb. I 've had Hippie a year and a half, and even though he's skittish (more-so than the foxface) he's quite hardy.

Go with the hippo.

[ravenmore]

I love the powder blues also - but they are, as Bughead mentioned, a very delicate fish. The hippos are somewhat delicate also.

here's my "theory":

small tank=stressed tang=sick tang

I'm really on the fence about keeping these fish. Personally, my sailfin has turned into the anti-christ.... he harasses corals and fish alike (actually if he keeps harassing my canary blenny, the blenny might take care of my problem for me...) I need to pull him out if I can ever out smart him.

-Mike

[jwtrojan44]

I have to agree with not adding a second tang to your tank. While your yellow might be passive now, the introduction of another fish could very well trigger that famous tang mean streak. I had a yellow for awhile. Small, mild-mannered, the model citizen. Added a dwarf angel and th tang went nuts. It was al I could do to catch it before it killed the poor angel. The tang went back to the lfs and all has been paradise since. If you have to have a blue fish, why not swap out the yellow for the hippo? Just my .02 JWT

[asmith]

I will also join those who say no more tangs. Your tank is almost too small for even one tang, much less two. Tangs grow large and need lots of room to swim. You should decide which species of tang you want to keep and either keep the one you have or trade it for another species.

JMO,
Andrew

[Mikeman]

ravenmore I can't agree on your theory of

small tank - stressed tank

as I had a yellow tang in a 29g tank for around 2 years until I gave it to a friend with 90g tank, it never had ich ever

[tlc]

personaly i would not add a tang to a 72g. every fish i buy i plan to care for the rest of its life and a 72 will not support a tang comfortably through adult hood

[organicreefer]

i think the yellow tang is the only tang suitable for a tank that size.
i personally have seen "happy" yellows in tanks as small as 55.jmo

also,you already have five fish in youre 72g.
imo youre maxed

[ravenmore]

Well, a yellow tang is a different critter than the 2 mentioned. Yellows are a lot more tolerant.

Just feel most tangs need more open space than most tanks give...

Most people don't appreciate how big these fish get either.

[jwtrojan44]

Hmmm...Let's see... yellow tang; in a 29 gal. fo two years..never had ich...
In people terms that would be; Grown adult..in a small bathroom for two years..never caught a headcold. Does'nt mean he was happy. I marvel when people say their fish are happy. Do fish know when we are happy or sad or agitated? just a silly observation.JWT

[gerowe]

FWIW we've had a powder blue in our 120G tank for over two years. (He is now in a tank about 3x that size.) We also have a fairly large yellow tang. In our case, the powder blue has not proved to be delicate or disease prone; he eats like a pig and has grown considerably. Most of the time the two tangs get along fine and swim together, although they are apt to "skirmish" once in a while for reasons I have not been able to identify. Neither seems to be the dominant fish.

That said, however, we have also found the powder blue to be very aggressive toward some new fish that we have added since, sometimes for as much as two weeks. It hasn't killed any of the new tankmates, but we have been more than a little concerned. For that reason I don't think we would chose to have one in our tank if we had the chance to do all of this again.

George

[chromis]

jwtrojan44, I have seen tangs very happy in smaller tanks. It was Mikeman's tank, how do you know his fish wasnt happy? I can tell about the health of all my fish. I know people in my area keep tangs in 55s all the time. I know they are going to do it whatever I tell them so I say, feed greens and minimize your rockwork. And they have perfectly happy tangs. I personally think idrum could add a hippo tang. These are offered very small and tank raised are available.


IMHO
Andrew

[jwtrojan44]

Chromis; You're right! I don't know that mikeman's tang wasn't happy in fact I don't know that my fish or anyone's fish are happy. I don't think you know if your fish are happy. Please tell me what on earth would qualify any human to say a fish is happy! How absurd this is! My point is simply that tangs are good size fish that by nature need a good deal of room to swim. In the wild, they graze over long stretches of reef. I am of the opinion, as are many other people on this board and others, that tangs need a fairly large tank. I'm not going to split hairs and say a 75 gal is more suitable than a 55, but look realistically at a tang in a 29 gal tank! No matter how you cut it, that's a small tank for such a fish. I made the comparison to the person in the bathroom to illustrate a point. It's the same thing. would you be happy living in a room the size of a bathroom even if you had air, food, etc. I doubt any of us would. We could all debate the tank size issue, cruelty to animals, etc..until the cows come home, but that's not the intent of the post. Someone asks for opinions and we offer them. Mine is that two tangs in his tank is too much. JWT

[organicreefer]

jw;
c'mon man you know exactly wtf were talking about when we say a fish is "happy"(look up at my first post and notice the quotes around happy;; )its a figure of speech,meaning,to me at least,displaying normal fish behavior ,actively searching for food,eating well and showing growth,along with good coloration,perhaps even breeding.ANY fish in ANY tank is in a cage.

[jwtrojan44]

Organicreefer: yes, I do know "wtf" you meant by happy fish in a 55. My post was simply to illustrate a point. You also implied that you felt he was maxed out with his current stocking level, which was the intent of this thread. Again, we all have opinions regarding stuff like this, and we aren't always going to agree. I have to laugh when threads go off-topic like this and rather than answering the members question, we all start throwing our philosophies around. Makes me wonder if we all lived in the same town and got together one night in a bar and got trashed and started arguing about fish, would we end up brawling out in the parking lot. Hey guys, let's all take a deep cleansing breath and relax. We all do withour tanks as we please, regardless of the advice we are given, and we can only hope for the best for our fish. JWT

[outerbank]

I agree with those not advocating anymore tangs for your tank. I have a 230 gallon tank with a yellow and PBT and would not do this in a smaller tank. I think you could add another small blue fish. How about a flameback angel or a cherub angel? They would look great in your tank. I had a cherub angel and he never bothered a coral (sps, lps,clams, leathers, polyps, shrooms, soft corals, and gorgonians). He was always swimming. For some reason, he jumped out of the tank after I added the PBT (but I never saw him getting schased, so I do not know how this happened).

Scott

[ravenmore]

yep, I won't tell you what to do in your tank. I can just tell you what I won't do in my tank (which is to keep tangs) and why I won't do it (because they're pretty much open water swimmers roaming miles of reef a day...plus the one I have is an arrogant hog who harrasses all the other fish and picks on corals )

-Mike

[Mikeman]

First off, let me defend myself,

I bought the tang as a newbie, when I finally did get the correct info I tried to find the tang a good home, the last year it was in my tank I looked and looked until I finally gave up and brought it back to the lfs, where they in turn sold it to a newbie who had a smaller tank then I, it got ich right away, and I ended up getting the tang back somehow, I then nursed it back to health,

One of my friends finally gave up, and took it in for me, until I can get a 75g tank for it in the next year or 2,

personally I think it had a decent life in my tank considering it was a small tank, I gave it an endless supply of seaweed select, and when I could find it, red tang heaven,

I think someone brought up the question was it happy, in my tank? We really need to ask is anyfish is happy in any of our tanks? Go to endless sea to a 6 foot tank? Honestly, you used the analogy it would be like having a full grown person living in a small room for the rest of his/her life, is it really going to make a difference if you give him a house but don't let him go outside?

What bar do you want to meet at and I'll be there for the fight! Although you would probably have the advantage as I'm only 14 years of age