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Tangs - never had one. Other than tank size, how hard are they to keep?

kinetic

kinetic

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Tangs are really popular. I've never had a big enough tank to get one, but I've been considering one lately with the new tank I'm planning.

One thing is, I spend a good amount of time out of the house in the winter time (at least 2 months, with 2 weeks at home in between). My tank has always been self sufficient, tho a little rattled after no water changes for a month, but nothing other than a bit of algae build up.

I've been reading that tangs need 2-3 feedings of nori / seaweed a day. I don't know of any automated feeding system that can do that, and there will be days where I can't clip a nori piece into the tank. So I'm guessing this probably isn't for me.

But is it true? Do they need 2 - 3 nori pieces a day?

Also, will the tank be big enough for it to be happy?

48" x 31" x 20"
 
I get away with 2x of nori a week from my tank sitter when I go on vacation. I do the 2-3 feedings a day when I am home and drop 1/4 sheet in the tank and let it blow around. The nori is good for keeping aggression down. I thought about shredding the nori into flake sized bits and using an auto flake feeder with a feeding ring for long term vacations.
 
kinetic said:
Tangs are really popular. I've never had a big enough tank to get one, but I've been considering one lately with the new tank I'm planning.

One thing is, I spend a good amount of time out of the house in the winter time (at least 2 months, with 2 weeks at home in between). My tank has always been self sufficient, tho a little rattled after no water changes for a month, but nothing other than a bit of algae build up.

I've been reading that tangs need 2-3 feedings of nori / seaweed a day. I don't know of any automated feeding system that can do that, and there will be days where I can't clip a nori piece into the tank. So I'm guessing this probably isn't for me.

But is it true? Do they need 2 - 3 nori pieces a day?

Also, will the tank be big enough for it to be happy?

48" x 31" x 20"
Click to expand...

I have 5 tangs in a 6x3’ tank that don’t get fed nori. You bet tank is pretty clear of algae. :)
 
i have a few tangs in my tank that a "tang police" would hate me for, but i never fed them any nori. i do feed lrs reef frenzy once in a while and that does have some nori in it. :rolleyes:
 
I have 2 yellows and a blue in a 160g display. I feed Nori sheets when I get around to it, goal being every day or 2, sometimes once a week or so. I certainly don’t stress about not doing it when I’m on vacation. I have an auto feeder that feeds pellets multiple times a day, that they eat with gusto. I also feed frozen like Rods Food or LRS Reef Frenzy when I think of it, a couple times a week or so, none when on vacation. I manually feed veggie flakes when I think of it, up to once a day or so, not on vacation. I don’t think the feeding nori part is something to stress about.
 
Mine have always liked spirulina over nori but we've been working on the same 10lb bucket for over 10 years now, so they're not insane eaters. They get food via auto feeder in addition to hand feedings of frozen food when we're home.
 
JVU said:
I feed mostly Reef Nutrition TDO medium size (and the Neptune one, which is same rebranded). Sometimes I’ll get other high-quality pellets and mix them in.
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I feed those too. Wasn’t sure if they had veg in it. They don’t sink very well.
 
I also don't do nori. And only feed 2x at most, on most days... sometimes I skip unintentionally. They love Omega One pellets.

I have lots of rockwork and keep my back glass plenty dirty so they can graze.

All fat, healthy, and no aggression.

That said, i don't keep powder blues or browns anymore. They can be a'holes... my Achilles is very chill though, despite similar looks and var.

My tang list:

Hippos
Orange shoulder
Unicorn
Blonde Naso
Yellows
Purples
Tomini
Bristletooth / Kole / squaretail
Desjardin

Lining up for mealtime:
20220508_143703.jpg
20220502_141221.jpg
 
I also just do nori when I feel like it, sometimes for new additions, but keep high algae (eg hikari) pellets mixed in with regular pellets in an autofeeder
 
You could do some of the smaller tangs on your 4’ tank.

I’ve got a 5’ 125 up in pif for free if you want to have an upgrade path
 
Not all tangs are equal. Some will do fine in that tank long term. Some not so much imo. A good quality pellet with algae in it should provide adequate nutrition ime
 
NanoCrazed said:
I also don't do nori. And only feed 2x at most, on most days... sometimes I skip unintentionally. They love Omega One pellets.

I have lots of rockwork and keep my back glass plenty dirty so they can graze.

All fat, healthy, and no aggression.

That said, i don't keep powder blues or browns anymore. They can be a'holes... my Achilles is very chill though, despite similar looks and var.

My tang list:

Hippos
Orange shoulder
Unicorn
Blonde Naso
Yellows
Purples
Tomini
Bristletooth / Kole / squaretail
Desjardin

Lining up for mealtime:
View attachment 39850View attachment 39851
Click to expand...
That is one impressive nano you got there!
 
All this time in the hobby and never any tangs Art? Wow.

That said, I have never fed tangs nori, I've tried but they quite literally have never eaten it, so I would do a mix of "green and red" flake food. Autofeeder should be fine for that.
 
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