How do you add new tangs?

[NowGlazeIT]

@4FordFamily how do you pull it off!? I have a bristletooth. If I add any new fish he goes apex predator. I recently added a wrasse,blenny,goby and he punks them all day long. I would like to add another tang or two but I’m worried I’ll have a war on my hands. What do you guys do, when you are adding new tangs? How do you keep the peace?

 

[dwest]

@4FordFamily how do you pull it off!? I have a bristletooth. If I add any new fish he goes apex predator. I recently added a wrasse,blenny,goby and he punks them all day long. I would like to add another tang or two but I’m worried I’ll have a war on my hands. What do you guys do, when you are adding new tangs? How do you keep the peace?

I think one easy thing to try is placing a couple of mirrors on the outside of the gglass as you are adding the new fish. There are other things you can try like rearranging rock, using an acclimation box, Etc.

 

[KrisReef]

Chase down the offender with a net and let him know you are the apex. Train fish the same way you train a dog. You use a net instead of a leash. Any fish that gets out of line gets chased by the net. If you catch him then put him in a bucket or the sump for a time out. Never sit by and watch the battle. Join in and win!

 

[Marco S]

I have a Powder Blue, Achilles, Blue Hippo, Purple and Whitetail Bristletooth currently. They were all added at the same time, (except for the Bristletooth) and the Achilles and Purple were the two that decided to go to war with each other. I tried separating the Purple since he was winning the battle, but upon return he almost killed my Achilles so I took the Achilles out and put him in another tank to heal. The plan was to sell him when he fully healed, but that did not happen. A few weeks later I decided to give it another try and the Achilles and Purple have gotten along ever since. Although my Achilles did kill my Harlequin Tusk.

I recently added my Whitetail Bristletooth, (a little over a week ago) and tried a large acclimation box, but none of the others paid any attention to him or the box at all and I felt bad having it in a box so I let it out after only 24 hours. The Purple almost immediately let it know who the boss was, but didn't do much damage besides a torn top fin. Surprisingly the Hippo was the main bad guy, but they only went at it for about a day and a half and then they decided to get along. The Whitetail is now swimming all around with the other Tangs with no issues besides the occasional flared fins and squaring off without actually doing any tail slapping.

That all being said...they main way I keep piece in my tank with so many Tangs is to OVER FEED the heck out of them. They keep getting food in the morning until they stop eating, (which is a lot) and they get fed again in the afternoon, (seaweed on clips) and then again in the evening. I have a slightly over sized protein skimmer and a large UV Sterilizer and have not had any issue with higher Nitrate, Phosphate or algae since I started doing this so. I have found that a fat Tang is a happy and less aggressive Tang. ;Happy

 

[4FordFamily]

If the current tang is the only tang, and the tank is lightly stocked, he is likely to be VERY territorial. He has been "successful" at defending his "patch of reef" from competitors up until now so his confidence is being able to do so is at an all time high. Like the high school bully that's never actually been in a fight but no one messes with them. They get too "big for their britches" until someone knocks 'em down a few pegs. OK a poor analogy but this is a worst-case scenario.

How large is the tank? Adding several tangs at a time (assuming you have the real estate to do so) might work better. But on occasion a resident, sole tang becomes so accustomed to badgering new fish in that scenario that removal is the best choice --- followed by adding later, or perhaps never again in some cases.

 

[Dragon52]

I turn off my lights & wrap a blanket around the frt/sides of the tank until the next day. Add fish after acclimation, Never had any issues.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Thank you reefers. I will take all your tips into account.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Solid advice!

 

[Easy E]

Chase down the offender with a net and let him know you are the apex. Train fish the same way you train a dog. You use a net instead of a leash. Any fish that gets out of line gets chased by the net. If you catch him then put him in a bucket or the sump for a time out. Never sit by and watch the battle. Join in and win!

^^^ This worked for me. I chased the Tang with a net, then left it hanging in the tank for a few days. Fear of the net cured its aggression.

 

[ReefNurd]

I agree with all the above suggestions. Just recently added three new tangs ( Blond Naso, Dejardini & Clown ) to my 220 gal tank with three established tangs ( Gold Rim , Blue eye Kole, Yellow ). I had them in acclamation boxes for three days then released them all at once after feeding very heavily so they could all go without food for days if hiding in rocks. Some chasing and tail slapping for an hour or so then things started to settle down with all six swimming out in the open.

Interesting thing is the Naso ( who I was most worried about ) held its own again the Gold Rim even though he was without doubt the tank boss and Naso was only taking Nori ( now he's taking frozen too). The Sailfin got some grief (split fin) from the yellow but seems to be handling it well but most interesting was the small clown tang getting attacked by my eight line wrasse biting its tail!

After 5 days they all have a couple of small scrapes but are mixing eating together and only occasional skirmishes for a few seconds mainly as lights go dark and they think about their sleeping quarters.
One other suggestion that I've used in the past subject to rock work is to slide some egg crate into the tank to separate it into two halves - leave it like this for a few weeks then try again.

 

[denash]

How do you add new tangs?
very carefully!

 

[cancun]

When I added my much larger Dejardini to my long established purple tang, I sumped the purple tang for 24 hours. Purple Tang was not happy being sumped. When I added him back the next day there were zero issues with the two! @4FordFamily your suggestion worked like a champ!

 

[TheKyle]

Depending on tank size you could try adding several new tangs at once. It’s probably always a gamble depending on individual tang personalities/temperament.

I have established kole tang, yellow, two convicts, hippo, and blond naso in my 210g. Just recently added small Atlantic blue two months ago. The fish I was worried about of the same genus (convicts) didn’t even notice the new addition. But my most docile tangs, yellow and kole, ended up bullying the Atlantic blue for first day and now all has been absolutely peaceful since. I guess what I’m getting at is it can be unpredictable and you should be prepared to intervene and take a fish back to your lfs if it doesn’t go well. Just my opinion.