Clown Tang Help

[darrencon]

Has anyone had success with a clown tang? I bought one on Sat forma LFS and was told that it was easy to keep.

I did some research this morning and most of the sites say that it is difficult to keep and it is very aggressive?

This this really the case?

[mattyice]

yes they actually are pretty difficult to keep, they get large (about 15"), get very aggressive (need a very large tank at least 300G to stay happy and somewhat controlled), and they need high flowing current with alot of oxygen to push through their gills

[thor32766]

needs high flow are very very very hard to keep and will become aggressive.

[triggerfish1976]

One of the most difficult Tangs and fish in general to keep alive and healthy. Similar to an Achilles Tang in husbandry but with a temperament of a Sohal.
Mattyice hit it right on the head. They come from high flow surge zones around the reefs so there is an over abundance of oxygen in the water so they need to be provided with a similar environment in an aquarium.
They are also collected in areas that use poor collection techniques which also lends to their poor track record.

[JamesJR]

also they get large and can get almost 35-38 cm long! 85 liters is not going to be big enough for one for very long. You may try returning it.

[wshive]

I'd give it back for credit. Unless you wanna invest in MUCH bigger tank, hehe. Just b/c they aren't terribly expensive doesn't mean they are easy to keep!

[clekchau]

totm has one

[wshive]

That tank's over 500g w/ 34x turnover.

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11078675#post11078675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clekchau
totm has one

There are people are able to keep them but it also is not suprising that they have beautiful SPS dominated tanks since these setups require high flow and high levels of husbandry skill.

[clekchau]

got the flow, gallons and husbandry down, i guess i'll give one a shot :D

[Monstrigity]

High flow, highly oxygenated water and mucho gallons are all key to keeping this fish long term, but the top reason that these fish generally dont make it seems to be a lack of nutrition. Like a Moorish Idol, they usually slowly starve to death. If you can meet all of the criteria listed above and get him to eat Spectrum pellets as a staple food they are as hardy as a Sohal. Unfortunately, If one of these things are missing your odds with this fish decrease. Oh yeah, they get mean as hell. I saw one kill a much bigger (10") lunar wrasse by slitting its gut open.

[clekchau]

ok i changed my mind why even risk it even though they are beautiful, i'll stick with trying to get a dussimieri and mustard tang

[wshive]

clekchau, how big is your tank?

[wshive]

clekchau, how big is your tank?

[clekchau]

600 gallons, exact same dimensions as pauls (totm)

[wshive]

Oh, well in that case, I think you definitely could do a clown tang if you gave it enough flow. I'm sure running a skimmer helps too b/c of the oxygenation. Personally, I prefer the sohal to the clown though. Double your tank size and maybe you could have both, haha!

[WETFISH]

I have had mine since Nov. '05.Bought the smallest one I could find and quarantined him for 5 weeks.He got ick so treated with low level copper for 2 weeks[like all tangs] . Fed him that red sea weed you get at the lfs and got him to eat very finelyl chopped salmon,which I feed alot.He eats flake now too O.S.I. Marine flake food . When I first got him I had some hair algae which he also liked.There are 8 fish in my 180g and he has no problems with any of them,in fact he seems to be the less aggressive of them all.The fish are 2 Mating maroon clowns,2 Yellow tangs,1 Sailfin tang,1 Alens damsel ,1 Spotted mandarin. I these 2 years he has not grown alot ,he is now app.5 inches [grown from 3 inches] so seems to be slow growth.Definitly the 6 foot lenght of the tank is a must since he swims that length constantly day and night ,whenever there is enough light to see. I don't pay attention to oxygen levels and don"t believe this is significant as long as your tank is large and healthy .Same goes for flow, since when I got him flow in the qt tank was very low and the main tank at that time was also only 8-9 times per hour [have since increased about 1 year ago].
Don"t know if this is typical ,just my expierience .I wish you Good Luck ,Because he is a simply marvalous fish. When he sees himself in reflection of tank glass he flairs and turns brilliant in colors [like a fresh water Beta Splenden].