Tang growth rate??

Alright so I can never seem to get a straight forward answer to this question. I get people telling me all the time that tangs will outgrow my tank within 2 years, and yet I see people with sometimes very large tanks tell me that their 4" hippo tang or yellow tang is 4 - 7 years old. Also, ever time I take my family out to the LFS they always like the tiny powder blues and gold rims, I realize these fish are ich prone but they all seem very healthy. I'll will have to get rid of my tank in 3 years anyways so as long as a small 1-2" tang can live and grow comfortably in my 4' 75 gallon reef for 3 years at the most, than I'm fine. Please try to give me as many first hand experiences as you can, thanks

 

If you notice on sites that sell fish it doesn't say Yellow Tang minimum tank size 100 gallons but you can put a juvy in a 75 gallon tank for 2 years. And these are people who would benefit from saying that as it would increase their potential customers. Tangs need alot of room because they are active swimmers. In the wild they swim miles a day. I have had several Tangs over the years and NEVER had one come down with ICH. These fish are more suseptible to Ich but the reason IME they contract it is from stress which is what happens to them when placed in a small tank. Here is a good link for you to read.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/simple-rules-avoid-ich-126326.html
This thread is not just about preventing Ich but preventing death of the fish in your care. Good luck.

 

You like to have your hands full, between the Butterfly, the Dwarf Angels and the Tangs, lol. It's the same story as the others, not impossible, but you need to have an exit strategy. Tangs and Angels can be very hard to catch without disrupting the whole tank. With a Tang, it will more likely be aggression, not size that dictates removal. Btw, do you have more than one tank, or are all of these for the 75?

 

I guess I do haha Besides my 25g nano, yes this is my only tank, but no im not gonna cram a butterfly, tang and 2 dwarfs in my 75 ( im not crazyLOL ). It would be more along the lines of butterfly+flame angel or flame angel+cherub angel. More than likely I will not be adding a tang to my system, and never seriously considered it, but I just wanted to see what you guys had to say, plus I guess iv been a little trigger happy with my new account (no pun intended, I dont want a trigger too)

 

ive had a blue tang and yellow tang in my 75 for almost 2 years.....the yellow has taken a while to grow(only 1 inch in 2 years) hes only 3.5-4 inches now,very cool fish.....the blue was the size of a quarter when i got him and now hes 3.5-4 inches too.....i think they get 4" quick then slow way down....ive fed the tank like crazy since i run pellets so hes real fat too..

 

the 2 tangs swim together everywhere they go.....my plan is to upgrade if/when there size becomes a issue.....i got the blue thinking i would just get rid of her,but its amazing how much i love her....i could never let her go....they can live for 20+years so its a long term pet too

 

Those are beautiful tangs. I can't wait til my yellow tang gets bigger.

I would say go for it just be ready to act if something goes awry.

 

Haha, good one, I'll give you karma for that one, at least so you have more than 4.

 

A little over a year......please try to stick with fish that can live their lives the aquarium you have. If you upgrade in the future...then you can buy fish and watch them grow...