Tangs: will it work?

[badger126]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone has successfully kept a purple and a yellow tang together and what it took to accomplish it. Please if you have any advice I'd love to hear it.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

yes i have seen it done add the purple last. most mean always last IMO with lights off and if possible rearrange a few rocks to try and trick the fish

 

[NC2WA]

What size tank??

Tangs swim all day so length of tank needs to be at least 6 ft


FWIW,

I have a purple tang, kole tang, and large blonde naso tang in a 375 gallon tank..

and yes, the purple tang is the meaniest of the bunch and normally the only fish to give a "warm greeting" to any new fish that is added.



Kirk

 

[MrGone]

I have two purples and a sailfin in my 150g, I have a yellow tang coming in a few days and I'm hoping they will get along, I know its a long shot. The purples and sailfin get along. sometimes the purples will get after one another. I haven't been around the tank since I got them so it's hard to tell

 

[NC2WA]

MrGone,

I would be very surprised if the yellow tang is welcomed to the tank..heck, im surprised the 3 tangs you currently have are getting along especially in a 150g...this is the beauty of this hobby.



Hope it works out for you.

 

[reefreefer]

I had 5 tangs in a 180 and everything was great I even had a few rabbit fish and every one was fine. But then again I have had powder brown tang rip up a bunch of coral, so you never know what will happen. just make sure you quarantine, especially if you are getting fish from different areas of the world they don't always look sick.

 

[badger126]

So if I introduce the purple second is there any tricks to keeping him from getting picked to death besides rearranging the rock?

 

[ac7av]

I have 6 tangs in a 210. I would not recommend that but so far so good. When I added the last tang it was a blue hippo tang and I worried that there mite be a problem. All the other tangs have been with me from the beginning. I figured I would have a chance if the fish was as small as the rest of the damsel fish in the tank. It’s amazing how a blue hippo looks exactly like a yellow tail damsel if they are the same size. I don’t think the other tangs even knew anything was different. They never gave it a second look. Now that the hippo is getting bigger the other tangs know it’s a tang but since its not new he just part of the group. I agree put the more aggressive fish in last and if you can try to get it as small as you can. I really think that would be best.

 

[NC2WA]

badger,

unfortunately not..purple tangs are notoriously mean and cant get around that...you can rearrange rock work but still will be some aggression.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

the thing with Purples they are mean like stated above but they will also turn on the other fish without notice. beautiful fish but, I will never own one.

 

[badger126]

Well here's my situation - I bought a purple tang forgetting about the whole tang aggression issue. My parents have been stocking a 210 and have been throwing in tangs willy nilly with no problems so it just slipped my mind. I already have a yellow tang in the tank. I threw in the purple tang 3 days ago and the yellow(being slightly bigger and having territory already) was harassing him like crazy. So on a recommendation I caught the purple and put him in a breeder box in the bottom center of the aquarium so that the yellow could "get used to him." The aggression towards the tang in the box had slowed down over the couple of days that I had him in there, so I figured I'd try releasing him, but it seems like now the yellow is just as aggressive as before. I would just take the yellow and put him in the sump for a while but he's a lot more difficult to catch. So really I'm clueless as to what to do besides getting rid of one of them at this point, but I was hoping maybe I could pick up another few ideas on here.

 

[reefreefer]

If the yellow tang won't play nice put him in another tank with a picture of the other fish for a while like 2 weeks and let the other fish establish itself to the tank, the yellow tang will then be the newcomer. The other fish may then feel more at home. If they are harassing each other when you are watching them they are probably way more aggressive when there is no one looking, even if they are not fighting that bad. You can keep all kinds of fish together it is all about the order in which you add them. Just because it is a small fish doesn't mean it won't be too aggressive. good luck I hope it all works out for you.

 

[badger126]

Well therein lies my current problem then. I can't figure how to catch the yellow tang. I usually do my fish catching at night by suddenly turning on the lights and catching them while they are dazed. The yellow tang sleeps under a rock and I can't get him when I turn on the light. Any suggestions to get him?

 

[NC2WA]

try a flashlight with red film on the front lens...fish cant see the color red..

it worked for me when i needed to catch a pair of cinammon clownfish who were fast as hell at 3am

 

[reefreefer]

Try try again it always works for me. put the net in the water and wait a while then go feed him and try to scoop him out real fast, you can also try to block off the hole you know he wants to go to with another net. maybe chase him into a net with a stick or smaller net.