Tangs -added some new ones-question

[TrishK]

So we have about 6”+ yellow tang in our 180g and he’s been there about a year almost. Clearly thinks the whole tank belongs to him. We just took a 4” Kole tang and 4” blue hippo tang out of quarantine last night and added them to the tank. Yellow tank is immediately chasing them in corners and pushing against them. Is this just normal pecking order behavior or should we remove him for a few days to let the other two settle? I felt so bad for little Dory. She found a corner of the tank to lay down and sleep and we found the Kole tang hovering by her to provide comfort awwwww

 

[ScottB]

A common trick folks here use to distract aggressors is placing a mirror on the side of the tank. The yellow would feel especially hostile toward another yellow. The other idea is to keep the lights off for a day or two, allowing the new fish to find decent defensive positions where the yellow can't slash them.

A big yellow can harass enough to stress out your new tangs to the point they will get sick.

 

[lakai]

I would take the yellow out for a few weeks while the hippo and kole get situated. Hippo is one fish you don't want to get stressed.

 

[Raege]

As above the mirror trick and giving the yellow a time out may help. In my case had to rehome our yellow as nothing helped. Best shot is adding all tangs at once as last additions so none have the upper hand in tank. Good luck hopefully with the larger 180 the tips will get him to play nice with new guys

 

[Hydrored]

I just re-homed a purple tang in my 210, I found the mirror trick only worked for part of the day. I agree with @lakai and pull the yellow for a couple weeks

 

[lakai]

The mirror trick is only a temporary distraction. What you want is for the smaller fish to find their safe spot or to know where the safe places in the tank are so that when the larger aggressor comes in they know where to run. If you put them all in at the same time, they'll just all go into the same spot and the most aggressive fish will just attack the smaller new fish because it is also afraid due to new surroundings.

 

[ca1ore]

A little chasing and a few ripped fins is generally ok, but any wounds or cowering in the corners are much more problematic. Some of the ‘tricks’ have been covered already and they can work, but often do not. My guess is you’ll have to remove the YT until the two newcomers have settled in.

 

[haleyf1024]

If your yellow is anything like mine have been, they will not leave the fish alone until they are dead or jump out of the tank. The mirror trick really only works with mildly aggressive fish I have found, yellows in particular are extremely aggressive after they are established for a few years. I’d take hime out for ~6 weeks (I believe that is how long it takes for them to forget their old surroundings?) ASAP and let the other two get to know the tank and tankmates

 

[TrishK]

We tried for a hour to catch him but we have a lot of rockwork and even with 3 nets couldn't catch the little ****....we will try after lights are out. The Kole's back fins are ripped up a little bit but he's found lots of hiding places the big tang can't reach. The YT is leaving Dory alone and she's exploring the tank all over and swimming with her buddy (Kole) every once in awhile. He eats at the rocks and then hides when he sees the YT coming....big ole meanie! Will try again tonight to get him. We have friends coming over to take our old swingset because we're getting a pool so we can't mess with him anymore right now. Hopefully he's tired out a little bit and will behave for a bit.

 

[TrishK]

We were able to trap him in a corner using a tall sheet of egg crate to block his exit...whew...all is well again lol....now if only the new clownfish would play nice to the new clowns haha....they're being way nicer than the YT was though.

 

[User1]

We were able to trap him in a corner using a tall sheet of egg crate to block his exit...whew...all is well again lol....now if only the new clownfish would play nice to the new clowns haha....they're being way nicer than the YT was though.

Egg crate - thanks. This is a great tip.

My daughter surprised me with a early fathers day gift. A new Copperband Butterfly. Tiny little lad. The problem is that I have a lavender tang that for whatever reason I know not dislikes it and is chasing it to no end. Starting to look like I won't be able to add anything with it being present so going to have to attempt to capture and rehome. Too bad too since it is a pretty fish.

Bummer - have a peaceful tank and everyone gets along. New addition and one turns into a murderous poo head. Nice idea turned terrible.

 

[TrishK]

Egg crate - thanks. This is a great tip.

My daughter surprised me with a early fathers day gift. A new Copperband Butterfly. Tiny little lad. The problem is that I have a lavender tang that for whatever reason I know not dislikes it and is chasing it to no end. Starting to look like I won't be able to add anything with it being present so going to have to attempt to capture and rehome. Too bad too since it is a pretty fish.

Bummer - have a peaceful tank and everyone gets along. New addition and one turns into a murderous poo head. Nice idea turned terrible.

Bummer....sorry to hear that. So my Kole was being bullied by the YT and as soon as the YT was gone he became the bully and now follows my Ruby Head wrasse all over the tank. I’m assuming because he’s probably the next biggest to himself. The wrasse doesn’t seem to care and is super fast and just swims away. The Kole hasn’t swiped his tail at him or anything but just follows him all over the tank....annoying!!! We also had to remove our original clown pair because the females weren’t getting along. Was hoping my tank was big enough but I guess not. We plan to set up another tank in a few months so we’ll take the clowns out of the 30 gallon at that time and put them in the new tank then. YT will stay with the clowns for a good 6 weeks probably before we put him back in the DT and pray he’s nicer to the Kole then or someone will have to exit the tank again....ugh! What a headache! Those stinkers are no fun to catch when you have a huge aquarium and lots of rock work!

 

[lakai]

I recently had my black tang and purple tang gang up on my yellow who was actually in the tank first and a peaceful juvenille, they were cornering it and taking turns biting it so I took the yellow out only because it was the easiest to catch.