new cbb

[freetareef]

today i bought a new copperband butterfly and instantly my yellow tang went after him. is this gonna be all right? it's in a 75 with lots of rock caves and pillars. i can put him (my yellow) in the sump for a bit and re introduce him??? it's a big 60 gallon with a ton of macro... or will they just establish a pecking order....

 

[leebca]

The majority (not all) Yellow Tangs (YT) do not allow another fish to come into their tank. The fighting and stress on the Copperband Butterflyfish (CBB) will shortly cause the CBB to die.

The Tang belongs in a larger aquarium, say a 125 with a 6 foot length for swimming area. This reduces the stress on the Tang and reduces its need for territory control. Next, the Tang must be properly and well fed to believe that the new fish will not be compromising the quantity and quality of resources coming into the tank.

Even after the above is done, this Tang may just not accept a new fish at all. The trick of taking out the YT and re-landscaping with the CBB in the tank often doesn't work with this fish. The best scenario for those who want to keep a YT is to introduce a brand new, recently caught YT last.

The YT is quite capable of and ready for battle; the CBB is not. The CBB will lose. Hopefully the CBB was quarantined and trained to eat prepared foods before it met this unfriendly fish. I write 'Hopefully' because there is still time to save the CBB by separating the two.

Choose which fish you want, but keep in mind that that sized aquarium is not optimum space for the YT.

 

[Sascha D]

...Choose which fish you want, but keep in mind that that sized aquarium is not optimum space for the YT.

That was an awesome summary of the situation and the last sentence is the most important. The CBB isn't equipped for battle and isn't hardy enough to deal with a ton of stress. If that one wasn't taking prepared food before you bought him its not going to be pretty. I suggest picking one to keep, or seperating them for a couple of months until the CBB is established and then try again.

 

[freetareef]

ahhh man... i had my tang since he was one inch... hes over three now. crap. i think the cbb is the coolest fish and i got a good deal and he is healthy and he is eating... all the time...damn i don't want to sell my tang... well... looks like i need another tank!!!! hey honey...

 

[freetareef]

i had seperated them by placing the yellow i my sump. he is happy and likes having the food to himself. he has more room to swim now. i think i will go trade him for somethin this weekend. the cbb is doing great he is eating and picking at all the rocks. all my tube worms are gone but that was to be expected. he is pretty...

 

[Sascha D]

If you can keep the yellow tank in there for a few weeks to a month you may be able to reintroduce him into the main tank. If you really love that fish its worth a try, or you can trade him in for a smaller one. Its tough for me to give up a pet I've raised

 

[KrautBurner]

If you can keep the yellow tank in there for a few weeks to a month you may be able to reintroduce him into the main tank. If you really love that fish its worth a try, or you can trade him in for a smaller one. Its tough for me to give up a pet I've raised

that's what I would try.


if it dosn't work,
you can always trade him in later.

 

[freetareef]

update- well... all is well!!! my yt is still in my sump and is not showing any signs of stress and my cbb is also doing great!!! i would say 70% of my aipstsia is gone also!!! and what is even better is me picking up my new 125 gal in one week!!!!!!! oh yeah!!! watch for my build thread and throw some ideas at me in my tank design thread!!! thanks for the imput all.

 

[Sascha D]

SO far so good! Are you going to try and put the YT back into the tank you have or wait for the build to complete?

 

[freetareef]

i think i'll try after the build. won't be long as i am only going to drill for a couple bulkheads to replace my wier overflow. have everything else.