Reintroducing a Tang.

[GillMeister]

I pulled my powder brown out of my 240 system after he went Norman Bates on a yellow tang I added to the tank. He's on a time out at the moment. Does anyone think it'll ever be safe to reintroduce him and if so, how long should I wait?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would first try placing it in an acclimation box so they see each other, then release after a week or two

 

[ca1ore]

Unfortunately no way to say for certain. I had a similar experience in 2018. Added a gem tang (including using an acclimation box) and the resident purple went ballistic .... would have killed the gem. Removed him to the sump for a month. Agonized about reintroducing. Did eventually and it has been OK. Gem and purple still fight, though not to the degree that one or the other is in peril.

 

[GillMeister]

Unfortunately no way to say for certain. I had a similar experience in 2018. Added a gem tang (including using an acclimation box) and the resident purple went ballistic .... would have killed the gem. Removed him to the sump for a month. Agonized about reintroducing. Did eventually and it has been OK. Gem and purple still fight, though not to the degree that one or the other is in peril.

How many tangs do you have in this system? More than these two?

 

[ca1ore]

How many tangs do you have in this system? More than these two?

13 .... it’s a big tank

 

[GillMeister]

The situation is resolved! Thanks to some help from the forum and reading through the thread on tang aggression I used a combination of strategies to stop the carnage.

I had pulled the PBT out of the tank and put it on time out for 5 days. I then purchased a clown tang of the same size. I reintroduced the PBT immediately after adding the clown tang. What a joy it was to see these 2 tangs swimming side by side with the yellow tang. Not even a hint of aggression.

It looks like changing the status quo is key to successfully adding new tangs.

 

[GillMeister]

That little butthead PBT is at it again. Just today he decided EVERYTHING in the tank must DIE! And now he knows what Mr. Net is and he won't go near it. Frustration, building. If I can catch him he might go up for adoption.

 

[GillMeister]

The Powder Brown is in a better place now. The LFS took him in on credit. He was a healthy fish with a sick addiction for eating Yellow Tangs but he will have to take his affliction somewhere else. Now I have to figure out if there's another tang I can safely add to the mix.

 

[Dom]

The Powder Brown is in a better place now. The LFS took him in on credit. He was a healthy fish with a sick addiction for eating Yellow Tangs but he will have to take his affliction somewhere else. Now I have to figure out if there's another tang I can safely add to the mix.

Maybe consider not adding anything else? I know you said it was a big tank, but how big? 13 fish can be a lot, especially when you are speaking of tangs, which are larger. After all, we aren't speaking of gobies.

 

[nereefpat]

Bummer.

Watch that clown tang. Out of curiosity, could you list the laterally compressed big fish in the tank (tangs, angels, butterflies, etc)?

Maybe consider not adding anything else? I know you said it was a big tank, but how big? 13 fish can be a lot, especially when you are speaking of tangs, which are larger. After all, we aren't speaking of gobies.

The big tank w/ 13 tangs belongs to Ca1ore, not the OP.

 

[GillMeister]

Bummer.

Watch that clown tang. Out of curiosity, could you list the laterally compressed big fish in the tank (tangs, angels, butterflies, etc)?



The big tank w/ 13 tangs belongs to Ca1ore, not the OP.

I do have a number of fish in the tank and they seem to have enough real estate to keep them happy. The box itself is 72x24x32. I currently have:
1 Clown Tang
1 Yellow Tang
2 Clowns
2 Neon Damsels and
1 Green Chromis
1 Banded Gobie
1 Golden Head Gobie
1 Niger Trigger
1 Coral Beauty
All get along well. The Clown Tang shows no aggressive tendencies, so far. I think this is an appropriate bio-load for this system.

 

[nereefpat]

Thanks. I was curious about the whole picture. Definitely not overstocked.

Conversely, sometimes 2 tangs can be a tough situation, as they have nothing to focus on except each other.

 

[GillMeister]

Thanks. I was curious about the whole picture. Definitely not overstocked.

Conversely, sometimes 2 tangs can be a tough situation, as they have nothing to focus on except each other.

And that's why I'm interested in adding another.

 

[Dom]

Bummer.

Watch that clown tang. Out of curiosity, could you list the laterally compressed big fish in the tank (tangs, angels, butterflies, etc)?



The big tank w/ 13 tangs belongs to Ca1ore, not the OP.

I stand corrected.

 

[GillMeister]

I introduced a juvenile mimic tang yesterday and he fits right in. No aggression amongst the three tangs so far.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Clown tang will be a future nightmare. . . hate to say. Attitude of the sohal

 

[GillMeister]

Clown tang will be a future nightmare. . . hate to say. Attitude of the sohal

I hope to prove you wrong, but if he turns bad I'll share the word. And then you can say I told you so. Right now the clown tang is content to just do his own thing and ignores the rest of the fish. I do notice he's a solid grazer and won't eat from the clip or flake food. This could mean trouble if the tangs get rid of all the algae.

 

[GillMeister]

@vetteguy53081 is a prophet. The Clown tang is getting more aggressive by the week and it is growing fast. It's now the biggest boi in the tank and chases everything but the gobies.

 

[vetteguy53081]

@vetteguy53081 is a prophet. The Clown tang is getting more aggressive by the week and it is growing fast. It's now the biggest boi in the tank and chases everything but the gobies.

They are as nasty as nasty behavior can get

 

[GillMeister]

It's not as bad as the PBT was. That guy was taking actual chunks of flesh out of the other fish. Still, at the rate he's going it won't be long before he starts doing that.