Tang aggression.

thegriffer · Jul 18, 2017

So I have had this powder brown tang for probably about 4 months now. He is in a 70 gallon tank for now since he is still pretty small. I have tried adding a yellow tang just to see what would happen and not surprisingly it didn't go well so I just removed the yellow tang. A few days ago I got a Singapore Angel and the tang just went crazy and wanted to kill the angel so I had to take the angel back to the store. My question is if anyone else has had experience with overly aggressive tangs? His tank mates are two tomato clowns and a niger trigger. He even chases the trigger sometimes which seems to be the opposite of what most people would expect although my trigger is very docile. I just want to hear what other peoples experiences were and how they solved them since I would like to add a few more fish without worrying too much about them dying 10 minutes in to acclimation.

Thanks.

Hogan · Jul 18, 2017

Get an acclimation box. I've found some tangs are really aggressive at first but settle down after a week of seeing the other fish.

thegriffer · Jul 18, 2017

Hogan said:
Get an acclimation box. I've found some tangs are really aggressive at first but settle down after a week of seeing the other fish.

is it ok to leave a fish in the acclimation box for that long?

Hogan · Jul 18, 2017

Depends on the size of the fish and the box, but I've had fish in an acclimation box for weeks when trying to get clowns to pair. You just need to keep an eye on the fish, have spots for them to hide and make sure they get food.

Maritimer · Jul 18, 2017

Clowns and tangs have very different space and swimming requirements.

I'm working on a new aquascape (well, I will be when this phytoplankton bloom backs off!) and part of the plan is to have space for a divider in the tank - eggcrate ought to do the job - through which new and old fish can get used to one another over a couple of weeks or more, if necessary.

~Bruce

eatbreakfast · Jul 19, 2017

The PBT will be problematic in a 70g tank. They can be aggressive in much larger tanks, let alone a 70g.

He will need to be rehomed to a larger tank anyway. So if you have no plans to get a larger tank in the near future, but still would like to add fish, then rehoming the PBT sooner rather than later would be beneficial.