Can I Put A Blue Tang In A 55 Gallon Reef System?

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

Is it possible or is the tank too small?

 

[Lynden]

Is it possible or is the tank too small?

The tank is too small. Tangs are open water swimmers, and both species commonly called "Blue Tang" Paracanthurus hepatus and Acanthurus coeruleus, are both far too large for a 55 gallon.

Assuming your tank is at least 4' long, you may be able to house a single Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma flavacens, but I am not too sure about this. You might end up defying your namesake if you did this.

It is for these reasons that I am moving into a tank far larger than the one I have now. Also I really like Sailfin and Unicorn Tangs I hope to get a 240 gallon, 8' tank to house a couple in.

-Lynden

 

[N1z]

yer as much as they such beautiful fish, even i wont keep them, they are suseptible to catching ich easily when stressed, so if you could imagine being in a small tank (to them) and then getting stressed about it. best thing todo is look out for smaller fish etc as they can bring amazing colours but also can be hardier.

Try marinedepotlive.com i think its called excellent fish info etc much better and more accurate then live aquaria i found . As i didnt think about a dotty back one bit then i found a splendid dottyback ( might need the latin name for exact pictures) but man for a 3 inch fish they are colourful and hardy too!

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

Thanx, for your input. But is there any fish that has a similar body shape to the blue tang or a large angelfish, that is of moderate size (5-8''), and that will be able to fit in a 55 gallon reef tank?

please help

 

[Chac]

Have a look on Liveaquaria for fish you like

A 55g is not suitable for any Tang IMO but a Dwarf Angel would be a good addition

 

[N1z]

i know for sure you can get a large angel that looks similar to a butterfly, i want one tbh but ive already got 2 dwarfs in my tank.

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

How about having a blue tang in a 5ft, 75 u.s. gallon tank?

 

[Lynden]

How about having a blue tang in a 5ft, 75 u.s. gallon tank?

You colud have a single Paracanthus hepatus, and maybe a Zebrasoma flavacens with it. I have seen these two combined many times without issue.

-Lynden

 

[Opcn]

Maybe a rabbit fish rather than a Tang, I would not recomend a Paracanthus Hepatus for anything shorter than 8 foot.

Edit: I actually fixed a typo for once, don't get used to it, I'm still very lazy.

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

So is the common name for Paracanthus hepatus: Blue Tang?

And the common name for Zebrasoma flavacens is Yellow Tang?


i googled them both and got these answers, am i right?

 

[Lynden]

Yes.

-Lynden