How do I decide which fish to get rid of?!! Help!

Terri Caton · Oct 27, 2019

Need help with Tang choice!

All you Tang lovers I need some help! I just got the deal of the year but I have some choices to make so need your input.

A local eye doctor's office is getting rid of their 120 or so Red Sea tank (about 4 years old). All equipment, livestock, etc will come with. I learned about it from a professional reef keeper that helps me out from time to time. All the fish are super healthy but there are way too many of them. Especially Tangs. I'm literally getting everything for $2500!

So, my dilemma is which Tangs to keep and which have to go?

I've attached the only photo I have. I don't even know everything that is in the tank yet. But I do know there are:

2 blue tangs
1 powder brown tang
1 powder blue tang
1 black tang
1 purple tang
1 yellow tang

Plus:
several clowns (Maroon and Cinnamon)
1 Moorish Idol
1 Longnose Butterfly
Looks like some kind of Wrasse
...?

The fish that are definitely staying:
Purple Tang
Moorish Idol

The fish that are definitely going:
Longnose Butterfly
The Clownfish and their host anemones

Fish I already have that will be re-homed to this tank:
Pair Ocellaris Clowns
1 Orchid Dottyback
1 Swissguard Basslet
1 Tail Spot Blenny
1 Carberryi Anthias

Considering all of the fish in the eye doctor's tank have lived together for over 2 years and get along fine what are your suggestions on which ones to keep and why?

Thanks!

tehmadreefer · Oct 27, 2019

Thata a lot of tangs for a lil tank...

I'd get rid of the blues

Terri Caton · Oct 27, 2019

Oh, getting rid of Dorys too for sure.
And maybe the Yellow.

nereefpat · Oct 27, 2019

The only ones that could comfortably live forever in a 120 would be the yellow, purple, and black.

Unfortunately, closely related tangs ( those three are all Zebrasoma genus) don't always tolerate each other. I would just keep one, and sell the others.

Where are you located? You could probably get good money for the others, especially the black, and recoup some of the tank cost.

mattzang · Oct 27, 2019

personally i'd keep the longnose butterfly and get rid of all of the tangs, let the idol be tank boss. tangs just don't do much for me, and they're pretty mean. the black tang is worth a lot of money so i'd make sure to sell that or something, maybe find an lfs to give you credit for the other ones

and i'd get rid of the wrasse because it looks like a sixline. if it isn't maybe keep that.

i'd also get rid of the clowns, percula or ocellaris ftw

that's just what i'd do, though.

cool find btw! looks like a nice get for 2500, especially if you sell off the black tang

vetteguy53081 · Oct 27, 2019

Theyre compatible. Id keep them all. Location ?

Terri Caton · Oct 27, 2019

nereefpat said:
The only ones that could comfortably live forever in a 120 would be the yellow, purple, and black.

Unfortunately, closely related tangs ( those three are all Zebrasoma genus) don't always tolerate each other. I would just keep one, and sell the others.

Where are you located? You could probably get good money for the others, especially the black, and recoup some of the tank cost.

I'm not a huge fan of black fish but we'll see. I think I'm trying to decide between the brown and powder blue. Personally I think the powder blue is prettier but I've just heard too many stories of them being bullies. This one is obviously thriving in a tank so feeding is not an issue.

I already have several people who want to buy them. They are just waiting for me to decide what is going. I need to decide by tomorrow so that they can go to their new home when the tank is broken down.

I'm in Grand Junction, CO.

famous50 · Oct 27, 2019

That kinda looks like a mystery wrasse but hard to tell from the picture. If it is I’d keep that one for sure.

Terri Caton · Oct 27, 2019

mattzang said:
personally i'd keep the longnose butterfly and get rid of all of the tangs, let the idol be tank boss. tangs just don't do much for me, and they're pretty mean. the black tang is worth a lot of money so i'd make sure to sell that or something, maybe find an lfs to give you credit for the other ones

and i'd get rid of the wrasse because it looks like a sixline. if it isn't maybe keep that.

i'd also get rid of the clowns, percula or ocellaris ftw

that's just what i'd do, though.

cool find btw! looks like a nice get for 2500, especially if you sell off the black tang

Thanks! I'm happy with it. Even has an ATO.

My current pair of Ocellaris are staying but I'm definitely getting rid of the Cinnamon and Maroon ones.

Already has someone who wants to buy the black one.

Terri Caton · Oct 27, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Theyre compatible. Id keep them all. Location ?

I have other fish I want to get for the tank so many of them have to go.

Grand Junction, CO

MnFish1 · Oct 27, 2019

One problem is that part of the reason 'they are all getting along' is that they are croweded that tank so there is not just
one fish thats getting picked on - as you start taking stuff away -you will notice (may notice) much more aggression than if you left them all together. I dont think there is any way to 'decide' which ones will be 'ok' an which will not. Other than that pick the one's you like - because - I dont think anyone here can exactly tell you what will happen (myself included)

Terri Caton · Oct 28, 2019

MnFish1 said:
One problem is that part of the reason 'they are all getting along' is that they are croweded that tank so there is not just
one fish thats getting picked on - as you start taking stuff away -you will notice (may notice) much more aggression than if you left them all together. I dont think there is any way to 'decide' which ones will be 'ok' an which will not. Other than that pick the one's you like - because - I dont think anyone here can exactly tell you what will happen (myself included)

I'm not really asking what you think would happen. Mostly, I'm just wondering if people have strong reasons to, or not to, keep one type based on their experience with those tangs. I'm new to tangs so don't really have experience on what's good about them and what's not.

Jesterrace · Oct 28, 2019

Terri Caton said:
I'm not really asking what you think would happen. Mostly, I'm just wondering if people have strong reasons to, or not to, keep one type based on their experience with those tangs. I'm new to tangs so don't really have experience on what's good about them and what's not.

Tangs are great herbivores (many will keep the unwanted algae down) but they are also very dirty fish (they poop more than any other fish I have seen). I had a 4 inch Yellow Tang that could fill an entire corner of my 90 gallon with it's poop about 3x per day.

MnFish1 · Oct 28, 2019

Terri Caton said:
I'm not really asking what you think would happen. Mostly, I'm just wondering if people have strong reasons to, or not to, keep one type based on their experience with those tangs. I'm new to tangs so don't really have experience on what's good about them and what's not.

My experience is that the more you have the less potential aggression - no matter which ones you decide to keep

mattzang · Oct 28, 2019

if you want something to read on tangs:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tang-aggression-understanding-and-combating.215698/

special note at the bottom there..

Jon Fishman · Oct 28, 2019

I would get rid of all the tangs... Maybe keep just the black, but probably not

Daniel@R2R · Oct 28, 2019

I love tangs, so this would be a tough call for me too. I agree with @MnFish1. The aggression is kept at bay by the diversity and number of fish. I also think I would probably keep all of the zebrasomas (black, yellow, and purple) and then maybe pick 1 other one you like and want to keep.

eea60123 · Oct 28, 2019

I wouldn’t get rid of any of them. I may cut the blues down to 1, but that’s it. You may have to let the tank decide for you. Current pecking order and temperament will probably change when you move them. If it was me I’d put the idol in before the tangs. I had terrible trouble with my zebramosa tangs and my idol(he was added last). My black tang hated him and I had to put him in time out to let the idol settle in. Just my experience which could be completely different than what you’ll experience.

Dragon52 · Oct 28, 2019

Even though you'll have to rehome or get a bigger tank when they get bigger I would get rid of the yellow myself but it all comes down to which ones actually survive the move, hopefully all do.

Terri Caton · Oct 28, 2019

Saw the tank in person today. There are Way too many large fish in there. Some have to go. They already have a home with someone who has multiple extremely large tanks so they'll have plenty of room.

Here is a beauty that was in there I didn't know about. It's really big though so needs a new, bigger home. So does the Black Tang. Dory and the Powder Blue are going. There were 2 Purple Tangs in there so one is going.

Image result for Desjardin's sailfin tang

In the end the ones staying are a purple tang, yellow tang (It's so scared now it hides in the corner but a purple one (the one that's staying) goes over to keep him company a lot), and the powder brown. The purple and powder brown are still younger so smaller.

The Moorish Idol is staying (fins also seem to have been picked on). He'll get really big too so guess I will have to plan to upgrade in the future

There was a Flame Angel I didn't know about so it's staying. It hides too. Seems the much larger fish freak him out in such close quarters.

I think in the past all of these fish got along fine but now they are just getting too big so are constantly challenging each other. That's what I saw anyway.

The reef needs some help and re-design but should be beautiful in the end.