Can Tang aggression be curbed with isolation?

[Acro maniac]

Just like the title says can isolation work?
I have a clown tang that was fine in a 100 gallon tub with an OS tang a Naso and purple for months with no issues. When my 180 gal tank was ready they all went in at the same time and were fine for a couple months. The OS tang had a pretty bad case of pop eye in both eyes and I believe the clown recognized the weakness and started to attack, biting, relentless fly bys and chasing. Also had the purple pinned in the rocks. So I have banished the clown to the sump. Now everything is back to peaceful.
At this point Im curious if anyone has had sucess reintroduing an aggressive tang to a tank it previously was the aggressor after being isolated?

 

[russell13]

I have tried this and for me it didn’t work. That’s not to say it won’t work for you.
I added three tangs (scopaz, yellow, purple) to the tank at the same time. Everyone got along nicely for about a month but then the yellow started chasing the other two around and became very aggressive. I took the yellow out and placed him back in quarantine. My plan was to let the other two establish dominance in the tank and then reintroduce the yellow back to the group. After 6 weeks I reintroduced the yellow back into the display, things were fine in the beginning but after about a month he started chasing the other two around the same as before. So I had to catch him again and gave him to my LFS.

 

[nereefpat]

I think, in certain situations, it could work, but not with an aggressive clown tang.

 

[Bob Weigant]

the aggression of Clown Tangs is why I didnt get one. Plus I have a 180 also and in my opinion they need more room

 

[ca1ore]

Right ….. the answer is that it certainly can and does work, but not guaranteed. Also, as noted, the inherent level of aggressiveness of a particular species will affect the outcome. I had to sump a purple tang because it was killing a newly introduced gem. I harassed it in the sump so it was adequately cowed …. after a month, back into the display and problem resolved. Clown (and Sohal) are the most aggressive tangs so I'd suspect the success rate to be much lower. Both beautiful fish, but not worth the trouble IME.

 

[Medic58]

I tried it took my yellow tang out because he was being aggressive to tank mates. He was in the sump for a little while and I felt sorry for him. Soon as I put him back in the display he started again. His days are numbered the only reason I haven’t gave him to the lfs is because my wife bought him for my birthday gift.

 

[russell13]

Right ….. the answer is that it certainly can and does work, but not guaranteed. Also, as noted, the inherent level of aggressiveness of a particular species will affect the outcome. I had to sump a purple tang because it was killing a newly introduced gem. I harassed it in the sump so it was adequately cowed …. after a month, back into the display and problem resolved. Clown (and Sohal) are the most aggressive tangs so I'd suspect the success rate to be much lower. Both beautiful fish, but not worth the trouble IME.

OMG I would have a heart attack if I had a Gem tang getting harassed by another fish. I would be like”hey buddy, do you know how expensive that fish you’re beating up was”!!!

 

[WMR]

Depends on the tang, size of tank & duration of “time out”. Clowns & Sohals are the most aggressive ones in the Acanthurus family.

 

[Antics]

Isolation can work depending on the fish in question. Clowns are up there with Sohals for me in terms of their "notoriety". It might sound counter intuitive but introducing another/additional tang(s) may also help depending on size and general disposition.

@4FordFamily

 

[Xanthurum]

As several others have already stated your biggest obstacle is the fact that it’s a clown tang. Isolation/separation can and does work wonders, but it will boil down to if the fish will chill out which is up to the fish.

You can choose to add more tangs as this will “spread” the aggression around more so that it’s not targeting one fish until he kills it but even that is no guarantee.

Another option is separation, I had to make a divider for my tank to keep my Achilles and a Powder Blue/Goldrim hybrid from tearing each other apart. I basically split the tank in 2 but they could see each other and even then they hated each other. As the months passed, yes months, they seemed to pay less attention to one another. I removed the divider a few times but their getting along was short lived and had to put the divider back in. One day I removed the divider and I haven’t had to put it back for almost a year now. They still squabble a bit but then go to their respective sides of the tank and chill out almost like the divider is still in the tank. In all it took over 3 months of the divider for them to get along so be patient.

 

[Acro maniac]

Thanks for all the comments.
I forgot to add the fact that I added a Bristletooth Tomini, a little reset in the pascking order but seems to have fallin in place after acouple days.
Rhe clown is still in the sump and is pretty spooked just started taking food today. I do have a piece of acrylic cut to fit as a divider thats how I captured the clown. I aso thought I could use it for seperation if the agression continues after reintroducing. I will give it some time before to allow the current residents to get confortable first.
Any other information would good thanks