tang cruelty

[Reefer madness92]

why do i see so many people keeping tangs in 55 gallons or less, its down right cruel. how would u like to live in a closet. please people do some research, i know there pretty and appealing but don't be ignorant and selfish. your supposed to be in this hobby cause u LOVE fish. my two cents just felt someone should say something.

[SoLiD]

I have Two Tiny Tangs in a 40 breeder. They are a Yellow and Orange Shoulder Tang... With that said, the Yellow is an 1.5" long and the Orange Shoulder is about an inch, if that. I have Acan Polyps bigger than the Orange Shoulder Tang. He's been in there about a month still solid yellow in color. They will both be taken out and taken back to the LFS in a month or two. They were just the tiniest Tangs I have ever seen so I bought them. I did wait a week or so before I brought them home. They were\are so tiny no one would buy them; so I did. They get 3-4 feedings of live and frozen through out the day along with everything else in my tank. Believe me when I say "I might know a little about what I'm doing", but if you flame me for it I won't take offense. I know that we aren't supposed to buy fish with the purpose of removing them later, but I had a moment of weakness for these 2 tiny guys.


BTW: Welcome To MAAST :)

[350gt]

why do i see so many people keeping tangs in 55 gallons or less, its down right cruel. how would u like to live in a closet. please people do some research, i know there pretty and appealing but don't be ignorant and selfish. your supposed to be in this hobby cause u LOVE fish. my two cents just felt someone should say something.


Nice first post!

And congrats on joining up on friday. Where did you see these fish?

[KING]

good post..so i take it u well be keeping only tank bred fish..cus if ur really thinking about it taking a fish out the ( ocean ) an putting them in a tank is the same thing to say..or its ok to give it 2 more feet is a world of diffident..
iv see larg tangs an angles in 50 to 100 gallon tanks an they seem happy as in longer tank,,but they were raised from bbys in there..so imo that some what helps..but all in all ur right an this is also just my 2 cents

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I agree tangs need room to swim. Especially the big ones. My 210 is not big enough. I need an 8ft tank. Ive seen big tangs in 8ft tanks and thats not big enough.

[Gseclipse02]

good post..so i take it u well be keeping only tank bred fish..cus if ur really thinking about it taking a fish out the ( ocean ) an putting them in a tank is the same thing to say..or its ok to give it 2 more feet is a world of diffident..
iv see larg tangs an angles in 50 to 100 gallon tanks an they seem happy as in longer tank,,but they were raised from bbys in there..so imo that some what helps..but all in all ur right an this is also just my 2 cents


good post


i love tangs had 14 or so in my 180 all were happy imo


but if your really going to complain about fish in a 55 u should complain about them being in 20g-1000g tanks also nothing compares to the ocean .....

[350gt]

i love tangs had 14 or so in my 180 all were happy imo


but if your really going to complain about fish in a 55 u should complain about them being in 20g-1000g tanks also nothing compares to the ocean .....


That is true.......


I recently added a baby blue tang to my frag tank. It's a small tank but he's a small fish and I hope to put him in my 110 when he grows a bit and is healthy... Is it wrong? No more wrong than the nasty tank I bought him from...

[BBQHILLBILLY]

As they grow a cleaner wrasse a must. I have a powder brown in a 75 but I will be moving the tang to a 6ft 125 2ft wide.
14 tangs in a 180 is too much. Their crawling over each other. Wow How did you get 14 tangs in 1 tank without tearing each other?
I have 4 tangs in a 210 and they wont let me add a 5th. lol

[350gt]

His tank was something..... Didn't look over crowded when I saw it.... And little to no hostility that I saw, even when feeding...

Ppl that say it was too much, never saw the tank in person... It was nice.

But I have 3 tangs in my 110 and I'm afraid to add a forth...

[Gseclipse02]

His tank was something..... Didn't look over crowded when I saw it.... And little to no hostility that I saw, even when feeding...

Ppl that say it was too much, never saw the tank in person... It was nice.

But I have 3 tangs in my 110 and I'm afraid to add a forth...


thanks man

never really had any issues i learned how to add them in some of an order .... and size plays a role ... some had to be added as large some as smalls....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

My bad. GS. you have a great tank. You have a lot of experience. But you cant be serious about raising14 tangs in a 180. Maybe temp. I see that.
I saw your tank and made an offer to buy it. Didnt have the grand though. When I saw your tank you didnt have 14 tangs in there.
If someone put that in their tank just the size of a full grown tang would force somebody to sell it. I didnt want to mislead anyone.

This thread is about tang cruelty. I believe that tang cruelty includes the idea of buying fish that can not be maintained in the tank it was bought for so you have to get rid of it.
Hence the first post.

[jroescher]

Fish stores sell them because people buy them. People buy them because fish stores sell them. Who's to blame?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

If somebody buys 40 cats and cant take care of them whos to blame? good question.

I believe most folk at the LFS are under the impression you will upgrade your tank when your fish get bigger.

When you buy a snake or turtle same thing. You have to upgrade your tank.

Its upto the customer to educate themselve as much as possible. Their is a ton of info on internet or books.

[allan]

I remember when Ping stopped by the house and told me that I would eventually have to re-home my tangs... And after seeing them in Hawaii I can see the truth there. Simply put, a 17" fish will be very unhappy, IMO, in something so small as a 180 gallon tank.

The OP wasn't wrong... But IMO he wasn't right either. It all depends on what size the fish is, in regard to the size of the tank he's in. In just about every tank, save for Jose's 600 gallon FOWLR, no one should have any tangs because they WILL eventually outgrow their homes.

I think Ace, when he relinquished his eel, donated it to sea world or the zoo where the creature would have plenty of space.

I've always thought that when I get rid of the tangs when they're too large, I would follow Ace's example.

[Europhyllia]

How many people can donate their too big fish though? I would think even seaworld and the zoo has a limited need for outgrown pets.
I think the longterm sustainability of a fish should definitely be a consideration for whether or not to purchase it?

As for how happy a fish is. That's probably tough to gauge. Basics of course are: are they healthy, are they stressed, do they show signs of disease or injury, are they dying either in the tank or regularly jumping out and dying on the floor?
You speak of it as in the past, JT. What happened with the tangs in the shallow long tank? Did you get a bigger tank? I remember the shallow one was super scratched up.

[Reefer madness92]

no its cause tangs are crazy swimmers if youve ever seen then in a huge aquarium u would see how much u deprive them its not there size

[allan]

Karin, you're right. I think Ace had an uphill battle to get them to foster the eel.

I don't think they take from just anyone.

[hobogato]

actually, the eel went to the zoo and all of the tangs went to sea world. it was not an easy process in either case.


Karin, you're right. I think Ace had an uphill battle to get them to foster the eel.

I don't think they take from just anyone.

[Gseclipse02]

How many people can donate their too big fish though? I would think even seaworld and the zoo has a limited need for outgrown pets.
I think the longterm sustainability of a fish should definitely be a consideration for whether or not to purchase it?

As for how happy a fish is. That's probably tough to gauge. Basics of course are: are they healthy, are they stressed, do they show signs of disease or injury, are they dying either in the tank or regularly jumping out and dying on the floor?
You speak of it as in the past, JT. What happened with the tangs in the shallow long tank? Did you get a bigger tank? I remember the shallow one was super scratched up.

I had bought that sailfin the day before the guy who sold it said it was 3-4 inchs i didnt look in the bucket till i was home and it was more 7 inch i sold it with in the week to eve

[350gt]

If somebody buys 40 cats and cant take care of them whos to blame? good question.

I believe most folk at the LFS are under the impression you will upgrade your tank when your fish get bigger.

When you buy a snake or turtle same thing. You have to upgrade your tank..

Cats and fish are 2 totally different subjects, our fish will never breed to the point where they become other ppls problem.

Most and I mean MOST fish stores honestly don't care what you do with the fish you buy, if they did they wouldn't be open for business.....if they cared, they would ask what size tank the fish is going into and not sell you the fish if they feel it is too small....

I remember being at one shop and the sales pol laughing at a customer that would buy the same fish every other week or something like that, cause they kept dying on him....... Sad to say but he was considered a good customer...

[BBQHILLBILLY]

good thread.

I believe a 55 gallon would be way to small for a tang. It would outgrow the tank way tooo fast.

Thats exactly why I pursue bigger tanks that I can afford.

[350gt]

So is my 110... My vlaminigi has quickly outgrown it.....

[350gt]

So if a 55 is too small, what about a 60 or 90?

In reality, all of our fish tanks are nothing compared to where they come from....

Same goes for all the animals in the zoo...... So what should we do then?


What I can't stand is when I hear ppl say they feed once every other day or 3 times a week.... So they don't pollute there water..........

[jrnannery]

Never much cared for the tang police. Get some experience, read as much as you can, and get the best quality foods you can, and I think you'll be doing right by your fish. Giving them a great environment to live in is crucial, as well; I didn't intend to let that aspect go unmentioned.

Someone mentioned cats. Keep one cat, and then let it out. Does it stay on your porch? In your yard? No, it utilizes all the space it can. Does that mean it is cruel to keep a cat in a 400sq ft apartment? No, I don't think so. Animals adapt to their environment. Still, you do have to monitor their size, and make adjustments as needed.

They have no need to run from predators, nor do they need acres of reef to forage for algae growth. As far as swimming room, I can't really say that they don't like turning around after X amount of feet. I keep a tv next to my aquarium and put it on NASCAR races so they will learn to turn left. Watkin's Glen really screws them up, though.

[Reefer madness92]

the reason i said 55 or smaller was because people assume that with 4 feet of room the tang is all set , i'd recommend at least a 110 for ALL tangs even thats kinda cramping there style of swimming.....wow this thread really took off

[350gt]

I keep a tv next to my aquarium and put it on NASCAR races so they will learn to turn left. Watkin's Glen really screws them up, though.


Lol......

And yes this thread took off...... But it's all in fun and sometimes informative.... It would be boring if everyone agreed...

[tebstan]

I had bought that sailfin the day before the guy who sold it said it was 3-4 inchs i didnt look in the bucket till i was home and it was more 7 inch i sold it with in the week to eve

That wasn't mine was it?


I'm "guilty" of getting small tangs and re-homing them when they're too big. I don't wait until they're so big that they're a burden on a new owner or a nuisance in my tank. I enjoy the tang personality, they are healthy and well fed in my tank. If someone has a 200+ tank that already has large fish in it, they're may not want to buy a tiny 2" tang to mix with their big guys. Better that they get one that has been grown up locally than have divers catch and ship a large specimen.

[reefreak]

I think if you got a tang small and as it out grew and moved it to a bigger tank you would be fine

[blupez]

I keep a tv next to my aquarium and put it on NASCAR races so they will learn to turn left. Watkin's Glen really screws them up, though.

omg this post just made my day!

[jrnannery]

I'll be in town all week, folks. Please tip your waitress. :)

[Gseclipse02]

That wasn't mine was it?

n.


no this was like 2 years ago or so .... urs got to that size tho but way better color ... its in another 180 now ...

[Gseclipse02]

Never much cared for the tang police. Get some experience, read as much as you can, and get the best quality foods you can, and I think you'll be doing right by your fish. Giving them a great environment to live in is crucial, as well; I didn't intend to let that aspect go unmentioned.

Someone mentioned cats. Keep one cat, and then let it out. Does it stay on your porch? In your yard? No, it utilizes all the space it can. Does that mean it is cruel to keep a cat in a 400sq ft apartment? No, I don't think so. Animals adapt to their environment. Still, you do have to monitor their size, and make adjustments as needed.

They have no need to run from predators, nor do they need acres of reef to forage for algae growth. As far as swimming room, I can't really say that they don't like turning around after X amount of feet. I keep a tv next to my aquarium and put it on NASCAR races so they will learn to turn left. Watkin's Glen really screws them up, though.
\\

lol thats funny right there

[allan]

I was thinking about this last night, I've had my hippo tang now three years... Got him when he was medium size or so, and now he's about four or five inches. I don't imagine he's going to grow much more than a couple of inches in the next two to three years.

I'm curious as to what "way too fast" growth means.

[alton]

This is always a sticky situation whether it is Tangs, Angelfish or other Marine Fish that we keep in our tanks. Personally I have no problem with someone who buys a very small fish, keeps it for a year in there tank and then when it out grows the tank sells it here on MAAST or at a fish store. If I have a choice between purchasing a wild caught or a fish from someones tank, I take the fish on consignment everytime.

[Reefer madness92]

God I care too much, your all great I trust everyone on here has the best in mind for any fish I love u guys, without us there would be no Maast, once again I love you guys. Love fish and each other

[350gt]

I love fish too.....




in a sandwich with a hint of ketchup, tarter sauce and lemon.....:bigsmile:

[LuckySingh]

How many people can donate their too big fish though? I would think even seaworld and the zoo has a limited need for outgrown pets.
I think the longterm sustainability of a fish should definitely be a consideration for whether or not to purchase it?

As for how happy a fish is. That's probably tough to gauge. Basics of course are: are they healthy, are they stressed, do they show signs of disease or injury, are they dying either in the tank or regularly jumping out and dying on the floor?
.
well said+1
i dnt wana buy a fish at a 1st place that in future will stress in my tank or i hve to find a nice home for em....in this hobby a good husbandry
is must as like with every other pets....
all thou i did buy a small baby blk tang 2.5" about 6months ago and kept her in my 55gln untill now with a sure plan that she will be moved to my 6ft long tank in nearly few months as i upgrade....