Planning Fish List

[Trey]

Im in the preparation stage of my waterbox 180.5 build and am wondering which tangs I can have for a couple of years if bought small. My first and "must have" if you will is an Achilles, followed by in order of preference of course, Powder Blue, Purple, Yellow, Hippo, Yellow eye cole. I will be able to trade them out for younger /smaller of the same with my LFS ideally after they grow to a certain size. Im not looking for tang police reports and am wondering if the first four would be possible if all introduced after the other fish and at the same time as each other.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[Trey]

Any love here folks?

 

[Picasso Clown]

Okay, I get that you love tangs and so do I, but that’s a lot. I recommend you read the ‘tang aggression- understanding and combating’ thread on here to help you. Honestly, I think you’re going to have a lot of aggression issues, especially with a powder blue, purple, and Achilles tang together. I would nix the powder blue at least. Koles and yellows are super peaceful as far as tangs go, as are hippos but my understanding is that they don’t really graze like the other tangs. A purple with a yellow, purple, kole, and blue should be fine together. Please make sure that you have enough algae and supplements (pellets, nori, etc) to keep them all well fed. Tangs in the wild are actually quite wide and do not look like lookdowns. Good luck with your tangs!

 

[Trey]

Okay, I get that you love tangs and so do I, but that’s a lot. I recommend you read the ‘tang aggression- understanding and combating’ thread on here to help you. Honestly, I think you’re going to have a lot of aggression issues, especially with a powder blue, purple, and Achilles tang together. I would nix the powder blue at least. Koles and yellows are super peaceful as far as tangs go, as are hippos but my understanding is that they don’t really graze like the other tangs. A purple with a yellow, purple, kole, and blue should be fine together. Please make sure that you have enough algae and supplements (pellets, nori, etc) to keep them all well fed. Tangs in the wild are actually quite wide and do not look like lookdowns. Good luck with your tangs!

Thank you for the reply!
Really the Achilles is the must have! What others would you suggest knowing that?

 

[Picasso Clown]

Thank you for the reply!
Really the Achilles is the must have! What others would you suggest knowing that?

Here’s the list of tangs from most to least aggressive. If you get a small one (which you have to at your tank size) then it probably won’t be as aggressive. Make sure your rock work has a lot of arches and line-of-sight breaks in it (pillars work well) this way the tangs have a chance to escape from aggressive ones. I highly suggest reading through this thread- https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tang-aggression-understanding-and-combating.215698/ and possibly asking questions on there. Imo, you should upgrade to a 180 for an Achilles, especially after you get a peaceful one that gets along with your other tangs, but if you have a deal with your lfs to be able to trade and you’re okay with constantly having to swap and combat aggression with tangs then that’s up to you. Try to avoid tangs that have the same body shape and similar coloration (like a powder brown and powder blue together)

 

[ca1ore]

60” tank is tight for an Achilles .... they need swimming room and tons of flow. You’ll want an open aquascape. I’d not put a powder blue in with an Achilles in a tank that size, just asking for trouble. Hippo should be fine, though same tank size caveat. Yellow and purple may be ok, or they may not. They’ll likely leave an Achilles alone and focus on beating the stuffing out of each other. Kole should be fine.

I’ve way too many tangs in my system frankly even though it’s over 600 gallons. Most aggressive tang I ever had was a sohal ..... by a sizable margin. Otter than that, my most aggressive currently is the purple.

 

[bigjgmac]

Okay, I get that you love tangs and so do I, but that’s a lot. I recommend you read the ‘tang aggression- understanding and combating’ thread on here to help you. Honestly, I think you’re going to have a lot of aggression issues, especially with a powder blue, purple, and Achilles tang together. I would nix the powder blue at least. Koles and yellows are super peaceful as far as tangs go, as are hippos but my understanding is that they don’t really graze like the other tangs. A purple with a yellow, purple, kole, and blue should be fine together. Please make sure that you have enough algae and supplements (pellets, nori, etc) to keep them all well fed. Tangs in the wild are actually quite wide and do not look like lookdowns. Good luck with your tangs!

My kole tang is a big-time grazer. If he’s up, he’s grazing.

 

[bigjgmac]

I’m looking to add one more fish to my mixed reef. I’m running a 38 gallon tank, so big fish are out. I have a kole tang, six line wrasse, clown, and two damsels. What can I put in there that won’t be huge but also won’t get bullied.

 

[Trey]

60” tank is tight for an Achilles .... they need swimming room and tons of flow. You’ll want an open aquascape. I’d not put a powder blue in with an Achilles in a tank that size, just asking for trouble. Hippo should be fine, though same tank size caveat. Yellow and purple may be ok, or they may not. They’ll likely leave an Achilles alone and focus on beating the stuffing out of each other. Kole should be fine.

Sounds good! So Achilles like I said is happening regardless. Even if it means one or no others. After reading these, I’m thinking Achilles, purple, kole. If I go purple over yellow, I’d like to add a magnificent fox face. Is that doable?

 

[ca1ore]

Although I’ve been in the hobby for 30 years I’ve never actually had a fox face ..... how can that be lol. Those three tangs should be fine for a while.

 

[Picasso Clown]

Sounds good! So Achilles like I said is happening regardless. Even if it means one or no others. After reading these, I’m thinking Achilles, purple, kole. If I go purple over yellow, I’d like to add a magnificent fox face. Is that doable?

The fox will be fine. A buddy of mine had 18 yellows and 10 purples together for 10 years and they were beautiful, schooled really well too. I don’t think a yellow and purple together would be an issue as long as they are introduced properly