Added a new fish...oh brother

[DaneGer21]

I was thinking about adding one more fish to my tank. Here are some quick details. Tank is 60”x36”x24”, with roughly 250gals total with sump and small observation tank. This tank set up has been running 2.5yrs. All my rock and most corals came from my 10yr old 90gal reef when I tore it down for this upgrade, which means my live rock/filtration and some coral colonies have been in my possession for 12+yrs.

Current inhabitants include...

Purple tang
Lavender tang
2x clownfish
Starry blenny
Firefish
Banggai
Pajama
Mandarin
Diamond goby
2x yellow tails
Brittle star
Coral banded shrimp
Random snails

Wife and I have wanted a yellow tang for years, and as long as I’ve been in the hobby for some reason I haven’t had one lol. I thought it would be the perfect time since the past year or so I’ve had to dose small amounts of sodium nitrate to keep my nitrates detectable. So I thought let’s try adding another fish to help in hopes I could stop dosing nitrates. It would be a win/win, new fish, less manual dosing.

I got in a 3” yellow, which is smaller than my current tangs which are around 4”-4.75”. Purple being the largest. I did this on purpose in hopes with the normal yellow tang attitude/s it would have to bow down to my current fish.

Well it sure did, to the lavender! The lavender was thrashing it, biting and darn near chewing on it, chasing it nonstop. I’ve seen shaking/flashing, chasing, etc, but man, this lavender tang was BRUTAL!!!

My lights were already dimmed for the new addition but I immediately turned them off when this all happened in hopes to curb it while I came up with a plan. I quickly decided to install my fish trap. One of the two were gonna have to go at this point haha.

After feeding/sitting/hiding/napping(shh), and staring at the tank for about 4hrs I was able to trap both my lavender and the banggai at the same time. Oops. I ran downstairs and put them in the 34gal observation tank that’s tied into my system. After an hour went by, I went back down and scooped up the banggai and ran him back to the display, I mean it wasn’t his fault haha.

So, after all that, my plan is to leave the lavender down there for maybe 2wks and then try to reintroduce it to the display. Will this work? Should I just rehome one or the other now? Thoughts? Feelings?

Thanks!

 

[BZOFIQ]

Place some mirrors in the tank, i did that recently with angels and now all is peachy.

 

[Oldreefer44]

That would have been my suggestion. If possible move some rock work around also. I would give it a 50/50 chance of working.

 

[Ravsta]

I like the mirror approach. Leave him downstairs for now. Give him time to reflect lol

 

[av8soulfly]

I think your plan is sound. You might also try moving some rocks around now (if it's feasible, with a lot of coral that can be problematic). I have had really good luck using a 12x12 inch mirror leaned up against the tank. My big chevron tang loves bashing IT instead a new fish. He'll hit that thing all day long.

 

[lolmatt]

I would consider an acclimation box. I added a purple tang to my 180 with 3 established tangs (desjardini, yellow, and blue hippo) and it took over a week in the box before aggression started to go down. A year or two later everyone tolerates one another.

 

[DaneGer21]

This may be a dumb question, but, should I place some mirrors against my observation tank that the lavender is currently in? Or wait, and install them on my DT when it is reintroduced?

Thanks

 

[vetteguy53081]

This may be a dumb question, but, should I place some mirrors against my observation tank that the lavender is currently in? Or wait, and install them on my DT when it is reintroduced?

Thanks

You can but multi mirrors may freak everyone out
acclimation box is best. Rearrangement of tank is more effective with FW setting but can work with a little hassle of restacking everything.
multiple sheets of seaweed around tank will also help as it will keep them busy.
Lights off also helps and this should last 2-3 days.
Youre fortunate to get a tang as Hawaii regulations will make them harder to find

 

[DaneGer21]

Side note about moving rock, unfortunately it is about 80% puttied/glued together as it forms a large arch. Plus, lots of corals, both fortunately and unfortunately haha

 

[DaneGer21]

Youre fortunate to get a tang as Hawaii regulations will make them harder to find

I just read this earlier. This one was definitely labeled as a Hawaiian from one of the forum vendors. Which I will say, is a good looking fish!

 

[DaneGer21]

Since tomorrow is Saturday maybe I can find some acrylic/plexi/etc to make an acclimation box. I have plenty of room for one inside the DT.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just read this earlier. This one was definitely labeled as a Hawaiian from one of the forum vendors. Which I will say, is a good looking fish!

I have 6 hawaiian, Cant beat the vivid colors

 

[DaneGer21]

I have 6 hawaiian, Cant beat the vivid colors

Beautiful!

 

[BZOFIQ]

I have 6 hawaiian, Cant beat the vivid colors

That's what I had planned - I'm ticked!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Putting the bully tang in timeout for a few days is a great idea and always works for me. That being said I think you had it backwards. You want to add a big mean tang last so it can hold its own in your other fishes territory. Not a small easily bullied tang. But hopefully the timeout will do the trick. How is the purple treating the new yellow tang?

 

[DaneGer21]

Putting the bully tang in timeout for a few days is a great idea and always works for me. That being said I think you had it backwards. You want to add a big mean tang last so it can hold its own in your other fishes territory. Not a small easily bullied tang. But hopefully the timeout will do the trick. How is the purple treating the new yellow tang?

The purple is actually fine, it swam by a few times and puffed up its fins but that’s it. It has actually always been a fairly timid fish, still even hides if you walk into the room fast! Haha

 

[Feet4Fish]

I think it has a good chance to work. Might consider stretching it out to 4 weeks as long as the lavender is fine in the holding tank. I did this with an Annularis angel and kept him segregated for nearly 3 months. I wanted him to be the new fish with no “memory” of the tank or tank mates when he returned.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I think it has a good chance to work. Might consider stretching it out to 4 weeks as long as the lavender is fine in the holding tank. I did this with an Annularis angel and kept him segregated for nearly 3 months. I wanted him to be the new fish with no “memory” of the tank or tank mates when he returned.

Fwiw I've used this technique for a long time and 4 or 5 days has always worked for me. Have you found that longer is necessary for certain fish?

 

[DaneGer21]

Last question for confirmation before bed. So if need be I can have it done and ready.

Should I place a few mirrors on the observation tank that is holding the lavender tang only, who is the initial bully?

And now that the yellow is in the DT, the lavender should now be the one placed inside the acclimation box once move to the DT, correct? *(I would give it two week in isolation, then use the acclimation box inside the DT)*

Just trying to give this the best chance for a redo haha

Thanks!

 

[DaneGer21]

Today marks 3wks that my Lavender tang has been downstairs and in timeout haha

Should I wait longer? It’s not hurting anything down in my observation tank, other than having to feed separately lol