Tang Aggression - Understanding and Combating

[MARK M. DAVIS]

Good read. Pretty accurate! I have a 300 system with 9 tangs. Most aggressive are the big yellows toward the smaller yellow and purple. Desjardini, chevron and naso blonde are fairly passive. They seem to buck for superiority sometimes. What about feeding the cbd product, healthy fins, to take the edge off.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Good read. Pretty accurate! I have a 300 system with 9 tangs. Most aggressive are the big yellows toward the smaller yellow and purple. Desjardini, chevron and naso blonde are fairly passive. They seem to buck for superiority sometimes. What about feeding the cbd product, healthy fins, to take the edge off.

Funny is, the yellows are also my tank jerks

 

[4FordFamily]

Thanks so much for the insight.. I’m going add the tangs without the Powder Brown and hope it all goes well..

Thanks again,

Skip

Good luck!

 

[pokerdobe]

@4FordFamily, I am adding a purple tang to a tank with an established achilles tang. Both are similar in size and I have the purple in an acclimation box for now. Other tank residents are 10 bartlett anthias, 2 clowns, 3 flasher wrasses.

What are the chances the achilles will want to kill the purple? It didn't seem too interested in checking out the purple last night when I put it in the acclimation box. Achilles has been in the tank as the only tang for about 10 months now.

-Edit-
Would also like to add a powder blue hybrid while the purple is in the box... but from my understanding this isn't advised.

Tank is the reefer 750.

 

[4FordFamily]

@4FordFamily, I am adding a purple tang to a tank with an established achilles tang. Both are similar in size and I have the purple in an acclimation box for now. Other tank residents are 10 bartlett anthias, 2 clowns, 3 flasher wrasses.

What are the chances the achilles will want to kill the purple? It didn't seem too interested in checking out the purple last night when I put it in the acclimation box. Achilles has been in the tank as the only tang for about 10 months now.

-Edit-
Would also like to add a powder blue hybrid while the purple is in the box... but from my understanding this isn't advised.

Tank is the reefer 750.

I’d add the two together for best chances, but a resident tang that’s been an only tang particularly of that species for more than a couple weeks is likely to beat up on new tang additions. No guarantees either way but that’s risky.

It’s a good sign that the Achilles seems to be ignoring him in the box, however..

 

[pokerdobe]

I’d add the two together for best chances, but a resident tang that’s been an only tang particularly of that species for more than a couple weeks is likely to beat up on new tang additions. No guarantees either way but that’s risky.

It’s a good sign that the Achilles seems to be ignoring him in the box, however..

Came home and the Achilles isn't paying much attention to the purple yet. I will hold off on adding the purple into the display for now - he'll get to live in the sump until I pick up the hybrid blue powder. I suppose two is better than one.

 

[Sippiku]

Great read! Thanks for the write up!

 

[Medic58]

Great info. My wife bought me two scopas tangs for my birthday and one beat the other to death. She was trying to surprise me. She didn’t know they couldn’t live together. She was getting bad info from the fish website and some dude on you YouTube. I wish she would’ve read this. Then i know she would’ve made the right decision.

 

[4FordFamily]

Came home and the Achilles isn't paying much attention to the purple yet. I will hold off on adding the purple into the display for now - he'll get to live in the sump until I pick up the hybrid blue powder. I suppose two is better than one.

The Achilles is more likely to beat on the hybrid powder blue than the purple because it's such a close cousin, but if added together you MAY have a chance -- or it may fixate and exterminate it. It's hard to know which will happen, but just a heads up. You could put it in the acclimation box and release the purple simultaneously for better odds.

 

[KylerMT98]

Currently have a 4" yellow tang and a 4" desjardini sailfin in my 90g. Getting ready to move everything over to my new 180g and would like to potentially add a purple and chevron tang at the same time. Specifically worried about the purple due to already having a yellow and sailfin. Any advice?

 

[4FordFamily]

Currently have a 4" yellow tang and a 4" desjardini sailfin in my 90g. Getting ready to move everything over to my new 180g and would like to potentially add a purple and chevron tang at the same time. Specifically worried about the purple due to already having a yellow and sailfin. Any advice?

If adding to the new tank at the same time you have a better choice.

 

[pokerdobe]

The Achilles is more likely to beat on the hybrid powder blue than the purple because it's such a close cousin, but if added together you MAY have a chance -- or it may fixate and exterminate it. It's hard to know which will happen, but just a heads up. You could put it in the acclimation box and release the purple simultaneously for better odds.

Don't want to add the hybrid if its chances are dismal. Am I better off adding a gem or chevron with the purple?

 

[4FordFamily]

Don't want to add the hybrid if its chances are dismal. Am I better off adding a gem or chevron with the purple?

Yes.

 

[danoo]

@4FordFamily

Ok I finally have the time to fulfill my earlier idea from this thread and add some tangs to my existing 350 (8' x 3' x 26" tall). The tank currently has 1 ~6" kole tang that I plan to catch and temporarily re-home when I introduce the new tangs.

I was hoping to get 1 captive-bred hippo tang and 1 captive bred yellow tang and run them through QT together and then add them together, but it appears captive-bred hippo tangs just aren't available at the moment (and haven't been recently).

So it seems the only captive-bred tangs available right now are yellow tangs. So given YTs are my only captive bred option, and I am really looking to add some bio-load (and herbivores) to my tank, I was wondering how the risk level increases (or decreases) if I add more than one of them.

My first thoughts would be to add 2, but it seems in other discussions that 3 seems to be a more popular number. So if my options are adding 1, 2 or 3 very small (1-1.5") captive bred yellow tangs into the 350 gallon tank, how would those options rank in terms of risk?

 

[4FordFamily]

@4FordFamily

Ok I finally have the time to fulfill my earlier idea from this thread and add some tangs to my existing 350 (8' x 3' x 26" tall). The tank currently has 1 ~6" kole tang that I plan to catch and temporarily re-home when I introduce the new tangs.

I was hoping to get 1 captive-bred hippo tang and 1 captive bred yellow tang and run them through QT together and then add them together, but it appears captive-bred hippo tangs just aren't available at the moment (and haven't been recently).

So it seems the only captive-bred tangs available right now are yellow tangs. So given YTs are my only captive bred option, and I am really looking to add some bio-load (and herbivores) to my tank, I was wondering how the risk level increases (or decreases) if I add more than one of them.

My first thoughts would be to add 2, but it seems in other discussions that 3 seems to be a more popular number. So if my options are adding 1, 2 or 3 very small (1-1.5") captive bred yellow tangs into the 350 gallon tank, how would those options rank in terms of risk?

Three or more would be your better bet, particularly because there are few other tangs present. If you limit yourself to captive bred this is probably your option at the moment.

 

[danoo]

Three or more would be your better bet, particularly because there are few other tangs present. If you limit yourself to captive bred this is probably your option at the moment.

Thanks so much for the response

Alright 3 yellow tangs it is. Hope they get along!

 

[4FordFamily]

Thanks so much for the response

Alright 3 yellow tangs it is. Hope they get along!

Best odds are to get them all the exact same size

Sorry for the delay, been at Disney world this week. I’m at Magic Kingdom now!

 

[Arricefe]

@4FordFamily great read! I have a 120 4 foot tank and I have a yellow tang in there I’d like to add 1 or 2 more tangs. I’m think a yellow eyed Kole but I can’t decide on the other or IF I should even add a third. Do you know of a source that could assist with stocking options? TIA.

 

[4FordFamily]

@4FordFamily great read! I have a 120 4 foot tank and I have a yellow tang in there I’d like to add 1 or 2 more tangs. I’m think a yellow eyed Kole but I can’t decide on the other or IF I should even add a third. Do you know of a source that could assist with stocking options? TIA.

Two is a good number for a 120, perhaps a foxface of some sort as well?

Thanks

 

[jsvand5]

Anyone have experience with Prionurus laticlavius? LFS is selling one labeled as a Galapagos tang. It’s a small one at about 2”. Kind of interesting and ugly at the same time.