Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Marine Fish Forums > Reef Fishes
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/26/2018, 03:35 AM   #1
dirk_brijs
Registered Member
 
dirk_brijs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Pattaya Thailand
Posts: 1,457
scopa group

As in nature those fush serm to school how many fish would be needed in a large aquarium to mimic this behavior...would 10 fish be big enough for them to get the social feel...?


dirk_brijs is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/26/2018, 12:45 PM   #2
mike61289
Registered Member
 
mike61289's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 424
Quote:
Originally Posted by dirk_brijs View Post
As in nature those fush serm to school how many fish would be needed in a large aquarium to mimic this behavior...would 10 fish be big enough for them to get the social feel...?
Tangs don't school in captivity. Our tanks are simply too small for them to display that type of behaviour. In a home aquarium, they would do their own individual things (picking at rocks, hide, etc...) and fight with each other.

You would need thousands of gallons to get that type of display, even from a small group.


__________________
Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming swimming swimming. What do we do? We swim swim!
mike61289 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/26/2018, 02:59 PM   #3
ca1ore
Grizzled & Cynical
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
Posts: 17,319
Tangs don't even school in nature ..... at least not the technical definition of schooling. Even fish that do school in nature won't in your tank - it's both a size thing and a predator thing.


__________________
Simon

Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones!

Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs
ca1ore is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/26/2018, 03:42 PM   #4
mike61289
Registered Member
 
mike61289's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 424
Quote:
Originally Posted by ca1ore View Post
Tangs don't even school in nature ..... at least not the technical definition of schooling. Even fish that do school in nature won't in your tank - it's both a size thing and a predator thing.
Some species form schools in nature in order to overtake another animal's territory. It's easier to steal algae in big numbers.

Every time I go diving in the Caribbean, I only ever see Caribbean Blue Tangs in huge groups. You'll rarely see them alone.

As i said though, I agree that it's impossible to replicate this in captivity.


__________________
Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming swimming swimming. What do we do? We swim swim!
mike61289 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/26/2018, 03:54 PM   #5
ca1ore
Grizzled & Cynical
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
Posts: 17,319
Groups is not the same as schooling .... thus my allusion to the technical definition. If the OP really means schooling, then he's out of luck; if groups/shoals, then he's probably still out of luck unless his tank is huuuuuuge.


__________________
Simon

Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones!

Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs
ca1ore is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/26/2018, 04:28 PM   #6
Tripod1404
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,821
Quote:
Originally Posted by ca1ore View Post
Groups is not the same as schooling .... thus my allusion to the technical definition. If the OP really means schooling, then he's out of luck; if groups/shoals, then he's probably still out of luck unless his tank is huuuuuuge.
I agree. They congregate into groups for the ease of feeding. Mainly to overwhelm resident damsel fish with sheer number and eat their algae. Some sharks also group together during feeding, but we dont consider them shooling either.

Even fish that truly school in nature generally stop doing it in captivity unless they are kept in massive tanks with predators. For example freshwater neon and cardinal tetras school in nature. But in an aquarium schooling will only last for couple of months. After that, they will separate into multiple small groups or hang out on their own.


Tripod1404 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:17 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.