Tangs in a new tank, aggression, need advice

[Jeremy Luke]

I recently set up my new system. The first fish that went in were my token two clownfish. They are really really small. A week later (Wednesday last week) I put a medium sized powder blue and a very small yellow in. The yellow didn't look like he was doing too well immediately. I thought he would die instantly but to my surprise days later he looked slightly better. No visible disease just very sluggish movement and hiding. On Saturday I put in a very small purple. The same size as the yellow. He ignored the yellow and he wasn't afraid of the much larger pbt but they didn't have any issues. Sunday morning came and the yellow had finally passed over night. I put another yellow in the same very small size that very day (only one day after the purple went in). The purple is all over the new yellow. The pbt is actually intervening and chasing the purple off the yellow on a very regular basis. The yellow tries to stay next to the pbt as much as possible. I tried catching the yellow to no avail. I could easily catch the pbt if need be but those very small guys can climb inside the rocks.

Would you just let it run it's course or would you go to all lengths to remove the yellow? (First rent a fish trap and if that doesn't work remove the rock)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Also, all 3 eat like crazy on frozen herbivore frenzy, mysis, brine and nori daily

 

[Reef Ryder]

Let it be, don't remove the purple tang unless it becomes too stressful for the yellow one. One trick to do is the most common one and move rocks around especially where the bully sleeps. When introducing new fish, I throw my net in the tank and put a floor mirror in front of it, the fish think there are many new tank mates. It keeps them busy. Take it down after a days.

 

[Reef Ryder]

Let it be, don't remove the purple tang unless it becomes too stressful for the yellow one. One trick to do is the most common one and move rocks around especially where the bully sleeps. When introducing new fish, I throw my net in the tank and put a floor mirror in front of it, the fish think there are many new tank mates. It keeps them busy. Take it down after a days.

I'm sorry if I got the colors confused

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Thanks Reef Ryder. I'll try those tricks. The good news is the pbt isn't physically harming the purple. The yellow is slightly beat up but getting better as the pbt has upped his game on the purple. Let's face it the purple is the bully but he cost me over 6x the yellow.

 

[Reef Ryder]

Yes I know lol. Another thing is, feed like hell. At least at first. I gotta tell you though, as the Hypocrate that I am, you should really be putting them in quarantine before adding to your tank. Hypocrite because I do not either.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Agreed. I will say there are a lot of lfs around the city where I live and there is one in particular that quarantines their fish for several weeks and is known to be the place to get livestock. They came from there. Trust me given the reputation of the pbt I tried to be careful. So far so good and I am feeding them like crazy.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Powder blues and purple tangs are both notorious for being bullies once established. I don't think the pbt is "protecting" the yellow as much as it is trying to dominate the purple and be the boss man.

As long as the tank is big enough and there are plenty of places for hiding and swimming they will hopefully work things out on their own. But, the mirror trick and moving rocks around are both good suggestions to alleviate the immediate aggression.

 

[davocean]

Tank big enough is the key phrase, what size is it?
I understand many like to add tangs all at once to avoid aggression, but be careful rushing w/ a new tank, which sounds a little bit like you might be.

 

[Reef Ryder]

Tank size is definitely a factor. The reason I didn't ask is because being that you bought a yellow the same day as the other one died tells me that you were going to have a yellow tang no matter what lol. If you're going to do it anyway no matter what we say, does it really matter the size. But since the question came up how big is it? Tangs should be in a 125gl or bigger. If they are really small, you could get away with a smaller one but as long asbestos you can upgrade if you want them as adults.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

My tank is 126 gallons. The yellow and purple are very small. I think it will be okay but I can remove one now or later if necessary. I don't foresee me upgrading for at least 3 years if at all. I did purposefully plan to put them in at the same time because those are the 3 I wanted but if the scenario doesn't work I'll give up the yellow. The PBT is probably not for the long run as my tank is an Elos 120xl.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Thanks for the help and the input

 

[4FordFamily]

Powder blues and purple tangs are both notorious for being bullies once established. I don't think the pbt is "protecting" the yellow as much as it is trying to dominate the purple and be the boss man.

As long as the tank is big enough and there are plenty of places for hiding and swimming they will hopefully work things out on their own. But, the mirror trick and moving rocks around are both good suggestions to alleviate the immediate aggression.

X2

I'll also add it doesn't sound like you quarantined the second yellow and treated it for parasites, so unfortunately without treatment your tenure with the powder blue will be short lived. In 1-4 weeks it'll be covered in spots and breathing heavily

 

[Swoody]

My concerns are the same as above it seems like all the fish the tank have not been quarantined and then you added the new yellow to replace the deceased and it seems like he wasn't quarantine ....and how recently did you set this new tank up is it fully cycled etc. just asking the questions because you didn't mention anything like this and if your water parameters are way off because the tank isn't cycled that will also lend to your fishes behavior. I hope all goes well and and they are and remain healthy.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

The second yellow was quarantined for 2 weeks and was 2 past this quarantine before he went in my tank. The best I could do without having my own quarantine. The shop that does the strictest regime in my city is known for this practice and charges a premium for their fish. The pbt was in quarantine for four weeks and cost 2x what they cost at other stores here. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

tank parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm
Phosphate: .05ppm (Hanna ULR)
dKH: 9.1
Calcium: 440
Magnesium: 1450

 

[4FordFamily]

The second yellow was quarantined for 2 weeks and was 2 past this quarantine before he went in my tank. The best I could do without having my own quarantine. The shop that does the strictest regime in my city is known for this practice and charges a premium for their fish. The pbt was in quarantine for four weeks and cost 2x what they cost at other stores here. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

I had a dollar for every time I heard that an LFS quarantined a fish properly and everything is fine and then find out a few weeks later that it completely backfired I wouldn't have to work.

Im not trying to beat up on you, just preparing you for what's coming. Get a quarantine tank set up and ready to go. 2 weeks of proper qt (no known LFS does this) wouldn't be sufficient, anyway. Most of us have learned this the hard way, myself included. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't bet a dollar that I will be wrong.

We should never rely on any LFS to do the quarantine job for us. Too much at risk, and they cannot handle the task. Too many fish in and out of their systems for it to be feesible anyhow. They'd need hundreds of separate tanks and to wait more than two months between using them or sterilizing them each time between use. This is cost prohibitive and the only person I know who has a method is @Humblefish and I'll be his greatest customer when he is all set!

The dollar per gallon sale is on now! You'll need coppersafe, an ammonia badge by seachem, and a small hang on the back filter to get started!

 

[Jeremy Luke]

I've had saltwater tanks previously. I sold the last set up in August to prepare to sell my house and move, which I did. My previous tanks were smaller and I have not had tangs before.

 

[4FordFamily]

I've had saltwater tanks previously. I sold the last set up in August to prepare to sell my house and move, which I did. My previous tanks were smaller and I have not had tangs before.

That makes sense. It's all good; we've all been there. Acanthurus tangs like powder blues will find ich and velvet from a tank three miles away. Half kidding. All tangs are more fragile, but especially acanthurus genus tangs and especially PBT.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Fair enough 4FordFamily. In my previous 3 tanks I have not once dealt with ich, ever. I know that tangs are a different ball game and I guess I didn't realize that the LFS quarantine methods cannot be sound for reasons you point out. I hope things work out because I'd definitely feel bad for the fish.