Powder blue tang aggression

[Eoka]

I have this PB in my qt tank right now and I added a sailfin tang and he started attacking it which was a given so I separated them. I'm just worried about aggression toward my fish in my main tank like my copperband so I'm wondering if I can solve the aggression or should I just trade him in for a bristle tooth tang which will proubably end up being much nicer. He's a fat healthy monster rn so I'm afraid of the damage he'll cause.

 

[cilyjr]

Nobody is going to be able to give you a definitive answer. It's going to be up to the individual fish. I have one in my tank with three other tangs and he is fine but I have a large aquarium.

 

[Eoka]

Nobody is going to be able to give you a definitive answer. It's going to be up to the individual fish. I have one in my tank with three other tangs and he is fine but I have a large aquarium.

I have a 125g with a lot of open space. I was trying to find a fish that could be the tank boss but the desjardini I got is a little smaller than the powder blue so it dosent really work out

 

[ShariC]

We have an aggressive PB tang with a yellow and mimic and had to put a reflective film on one end of the tank. Now he just fights with himself. Not saying it will work for you, but it has for us. Also, we have a 200 gallon so it's a fairly large tank.

 

[cilyjr]

I have a 125g with a lot of open space. I was trying to find a fish that could be the tank boss but the desjardini I got is a little smaller than the powder blue so it dosent really work out

I am not going to say either way if it will be a jerk or not.
I have a 320 gallon aquarium with about 25 fish and mine is fine.
Whenever I add a fish I put it into a isolation chamber. I let that float there for the day and then the very late at night usually around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning I will tip it and allow the fish to swim in and find a place to stay.
I've had very good luck with this add-on method for almost 20 years now.
My working theory is most aggression happens when a fish is looking for its spot. When you allow the new guy to come in very late when everyone is sleeping he quickly finds his empty spot and is therefore fighting less for territory. This is just a theory but it's worked for me

 

[Pickle_soup]

I have this PB in my qt tank right now and I added a sailfin tang and he started attacking it which was a given so I separated them. I'm just worried about aggression toward my fish in my main tank like my copperband so I'm wondering if I can solve the aggression or should I just trade him in for a bristle tooth tang which will proubably end up being much nicer. He's a fat healthy monster rn so I'm afraid of the damage he'll cause.

Yes and no. Fish are unpredictable. Eventually, your PBT will turn the tank into its own tank. It will no longer be your tank. Adding another fish to a qt with a PBT is a bad idea, especially another tang. Size matters here. PBTs are very active and need large tanks. They do not stop swimming. So if you will keep him in a small tank odds are that it will be very cranky and destructive. I recently added 5 fish to my 125g, and PBT was not too thrilled for about 3 days. After that, his aggression went away. All the fish were much smaller than him, and he needed to show them that he was the boss. He isn't, the Yellow Tang is more than capable when standing up to him. IMO, PBT should be the last fish added. Also, don't clip your nori like that, or it will break away and dirty up your tank. Fold it a couple of times and then clip it. PBTs graze the entire day, nonstop. I can put a sheet of nori in my tank right now, 1 hour after lights go out, and he will come out and eat it. Or you can get one of those clips with mash on it for it graze more naturally.

 

[Eoka]

Yes and no. Fish are unpredictable. Eventually, your PBT will turn the tank into its own tank. It will no longer be your tank. Adding another fish to a qt with a PBT is a bad idea, especially another tang. Size matters here. PBTs are very active and need large tanks. They do not stop swimming. So if you will keep him in a small tank odds are that it will be very cranky and destructive. I recently added 5 fish to my 125g, and PBT was not too thrilled for about 3 days. After that, his aggression went away. All the fish were much smaller than him, and he needed to show them that he was the boss. He isn't, the Yellow Tang is more than capable when standing up to him. IMO, PBT should be the last fish added. Also, don't clip your nori like that, or it will break away and dirty up your tank. Fold it a couple of times and then clip it. PBTs graze the entire day, nonstop. I can put a sheet of nori in my tank right now, 1 hour after lights go out, and he will come out and eat it. Or you can get one of those clips with mash on it for it graze more naturally.

Oh yea I think I got lazy with it the tank is really dirty already. I haven't done a water change in a month on that tank but thanks for the tip. I just don't know if it's worth the risk of adding him

 

[Eoka]

I am not going to say either way if it will be a jerk or not.
I have a 320 gallon aquarium with about 25 fish and mine is fine.
Whenever I add a fish I put it into a isolation chamber. I let that float there for the day and then the very late at night usually around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning I will tip it and allow the fish to swim in and find a place to stay.
I've had very good luck with this add-on method for almost 20 years now.
My working theory is most aggression happens when a fish is looking for its spot. When you allow the new guy to come in very late when everyone is sleeping he quickly finds his empty spot and is therefore fighting less for territory. This is just a theory but it's worked for me

Yea I'll see if I can get an acclimation box

 

[Pickle_soup]

Yea I'll see if I can get an acclimation box

What size tank do you have?

 

[Eoka]

What size tank do you have?

125g

 

[cilyjr]

My acclamation box is a pretty cheap DIY deal. It's just this that I sprayed some spray foam underneath to make it floating. I'll show you a picture

 

[Pickle_soup]

Again, it's hard to predict his behavior, but since he is coming after CBB and FF, I think it will be okay. What I am worried about is the amount of hiding spaces. Tangs love caves at night. My two tangs fight when they get into each other's caves. My Yellow holds its own, but it did get a pretty nasty cut the other day.

 

[Eoka]

My acclamation box is a pretty cheap DIY deal. It's just this that I sprayed some spray foam underneath to make it floating. I'll show you a picture

Oh yea that's a good idea

 

[Eoka]

Again, it's hard to predict his behavior, but since he is coming after CBB and FF, I think it will be okay. What I am worried about is the amount of hiding spaces. Tangs love caves at night. My two tangs fight when they get into each other's caves. My Yellow holds its own, but it did get a pretty nasty cut the other day.

Yea that might be a problem but I don't have that many fish. I think I have more caves than fish right now and my foxface dosent use a cave he sleeps behind my HOB overflow

 

[Pickle_soup]

It's a fun fish and mostly peaceful once it shows that it's the boss and no other tangs a threat. To be honest, 3 large fish you have in 125 is enough IMO. That's all I have, I might push for a Fox eventually, or a CBB, but I don't want to stress them out. I just wouldn't add another tang after the PBT.

 

[jimfish98]

The answer is likely going to be to feed more. LFS noted that the PB Tang tends to try and boss others around so it is more of a end of the tank stocking type fish so it is not too dominant with every fish. I have found that days I feed just pellets, its more aggressive. Days I feed frozen foods, its calm and just does its own thing. It's hangry.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have this PB in my qt tank right now and I added a sailfin tang and he started attacking it which was a given so I separated them. I'm just worried about aggression toward my fish in my main tank like my copperband so I'm wondering if I can solve the aggression or should I just trade him in for a bristle tooth tang which will proubably end up being much nicer. He's a fat healthy monster rn so I'm afraid of the damage he'll cause.

This is a PBT tang all the way. My nastiest and will not quit. they hover around fish in circles and totally annoy them with tail and try to steal all the food. I stopped recommending them to anyone seeking a tang recommendation

 

[Eoka]

It's a fun fish and mostly peaceful once it shows that it's the boss and no other tangs a threat. To be honest, 3 large fish you have in 125 is enough IMO. That's all I have, I might push for a Fox eventually, or a CBB, but I don't want to stress them out. I just wouldn't add another tang after the PBT.

Well I think I rather have the sailfin do you think I could add the sailfin first and wait awhile and than add the PBT or should I just trade the PBT for a different tang that would be more peaceful

 

[Eoka]

The answer is likely going to be to feed more. LFS noted that the PB Tang tends to try and boss others around so it is more of a end of the tank stocking type fish so it is not too dominant with every fish. I have found that days I feed just pellets, its more aggressive. Days I feed frozen foods, its calm and just does its own thing. It's hangry.

I feed alot and still have really low nutrients. I feed frozen food everyday.

 

[Pickle_soup]

The answer is likely going to be to feed more. LFS noted that the PB Tang tends to try and boss others around so it is more of a end of the tank stocking type fish so it is not too dominant with every fish. I have found that days I feed just pellets, its more aggressive. Days I feed frozen foods, its calm and just does its own thing. It's hangry.

When I added my juvi Heni, I noticed that the PBT went after it especially violently when it was around its grazing spots, the veggie clip, and one corner of the tank. That was for 3 days or so, eventually, it stopped.