Tangs: Stunning Fish That Need Proper Space
Tangs are the poster fish of the reef hobby. Electric yellow, powder blue, achilles — they're stunning, active, and mostly reef-safe. The catch? They need serious swimming space.
Minimum Tank Sizes
- Yellow Tang — 300 litres. The most commonly kept and relatively mellow
- Regal/Hippo Tang — 400+ litres. Gets big (25cm+) and swims constantly
- Powder Blue/Brown Tang — 400+ litres. Territorial, ich-prone, needs excellent water quality
- Sailfin Tang — 500+ litres. Gets absolutely massive
Tanks under 250 litres are better suited to other colourful reef fish.
Yellow Tangs
The most accessible tang species: reef-safe, grazes algae, hardier than many tangs, and visually striking. Hawaii collection bans drove prices up, though captive-bred specimens are becoming more available.
Other Tangs Worth Considering
Purple Tang — Stunning purple with yellow tail. Same care as yellow tangs, typically pricier. Can be aggressive with similar-shaped fish.
Kole Tang — Underrated. Brilliant algae grazer, stays smaller (~15cm), more suitable for medium tanks (250+ litres).
Tomini Tang — Great for smaller setups. Stays around 12–15cm. Hardy and excellent at eating nuisance algae.
Tang Aggression
Tangs have a scalpel-like spine near their tail and will use it. Tang-on-tang aggression is particularly nasty.
- Don't keep two tangs of the same genus under 500 litres
- Add multiple tangs simultaneously
- Different body shapes coexist better than similar shapes
Feeding
Nori (dried seaweed) on a clip is essential — tangs need to graze throughout the day. Supplement with frozen mysis, spirulina brine shrimp, and quality pellets. Underfed tangs develop head and lateral line erosion (HLLE).
What tangs are working well in other UK setups?
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