HELP Tang aggression

[bcournoyer5]

Hello,

I just recently added a Purple Tang in my 125. It is my 8th Tang in the tank. The other tangs in the tank are not bothering him besides my powder blue, yellow Tang, and yellow eye kole Tang. The powder blue just chases him the the top corner while the yellow tries to tail slap the Purple Tang but the Purple fights back. Once they realize the Purple is not a threat, will they let him swim freely? I’m worried because he is a very expensive fish. I am probably going to take the kole Tang out and bring him to my local LFS for a trade of some sort because the kole Tang keeps nipping at the body of the Purple and I don’t want damage to the Purple. I feed nori every single day and feed 3 times daily of other foods, so they are all fat and healthy. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hello,

I just recently added a Purple Tang in my 125. It is my 8th Tang in the tank. The other tangs in the tank are not bothering him besides my powder blue, yellow Tang, and yellow eye kole Tang. The powder blue just chases him the the top corner while the yellow tries to tail slap the Purple Tang but the Purple fights back. Once they realize the Purple is not a threat, will they let him swim freely? I’m worried because he is a very expensive fish. I am probably going to take the kole Tang out and bring him to my local LFS for a trade of some sort because the kole Tang keeps nipping at the body of the Purple and I don’t want damage to the Purple. I feed nori every single day and feed 3 times daily of other foods, so they are all fat and healthy. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

With 8 tangs in only a 125 you're going to get aggression issues no matter what. That tank is overstocked.

 

[reef lover]

☝☝

 

[bcournoyer5]

With 8 tangs in only a 125 you're going to get aggression issues no matter what. That tank is overstocked.

All tangs are under 5”. How many would you recommend for a 125?

 

[Crabs McJones]

All tangs are under 5”. How many would you recommend for a 125?

No more than 2 or 3. A single yellow tang is recommended for a 125, more than that you need an aditional 3o to 40 gallons per tang (if my memory serves me correctly). Even at under 5 inches, they're going to be territorial. And 8 of them in only a 125 doesn't leave much room for the aggression to spread out.

 

[bcournoyer5]

No more than 2 or 3. A single yellow tang is recommended for a 125, more than that you need an aditional 3o to 40 gallons per tang (if my memory serves me correctly). Even at under 5 inches, they're going to be territorial. And 8 of them in only a 125 doesn't leave much room for the aggression to spread out.

I haven’t had aggression until this Purple Tang went in. I guess I got a little too Cocky. I’m guessing it was a ticking time bomb

 

[ca1ore]

What you refer to as a tail slap is the yellow attempting to gouge the purple with its 'scalpel'. Agree that a 125 is far too small for that many competing tangs. I've got 8 .... in a 450; and I sometimes think that's too many. Even without the purple, you're going to have escalating problems as they grow.

 

[4FordFamily]

I overstock my tangs considerably and am quite the tang nerd, but 8 in a 125 is very much overstocked.

Here’s an article on tang aggression I’d recommend you read. I hope you find this helpful and get some ideas from it

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/tang-aggression-understanding-and-combating.76/