Growth

[Frank_Farmakis]

hey guys...just wondering about growth....how long would a blond naso tang and a yellow tang take to reach their full size???

[Ninong]

You can find a very detailed answer to your question as it concerns Naso lituratus here. That article is very informative. I suggest you read the entire thing.

If you're thinking of putting a small Naso tang in your 50-gal tank, then I think that would be a big mistake. Even a juvenile Naso tang requires at least a 6-ft long tank and that's not nearly large enough for it once it's four or five years old.

I don't think a 50-gal is large enough for a yellow tang either but you might be able to get by with a small yellow tang in a 50-gal tank for the first couple of years. The problem is that in spite of the small size of the younger specimens, they still require ample swimming space to remain healthy because of their natural lifestyle. Most people suggest a minimum tank size of at least 75-90 gallons for a yellow tang.

There are really no good tang choices for a 50-gal tank. I refused to put one in my 120-gal tank because I decided it was too small for any of them. I did try a small foxface rabbitfish (Signaus vulpinus) for three years. It was only about 3" long TL when I got it. Within two years, it was obvious that the tank was not large enough for that fish. I gave it away to someone with a 300-gal tank about 2 years and 9 months after I first acquired it. At that time it was about 7" long.

P.S. -- Naso lituratus is one of the smaller Naso tangs with a maximum adult length of 20". In a decent sized home aquarium (meaning about 500 gallons), it will probably max out at around 12" in about five or six years time. It could grow larger in a really large (~16") public aquarium of several thousand gallons, assuming it lived long enough.