Tomini Tang Not Being Nice

[DeepBrew]

We've had these two fish since 2/16, so nearly a year. The Starry Blenny was in the tank first and the Tomini Tang went in a couple weeks later. They used to hang out together all the time, like in this picture:



Over the past week or so the tang has gotten very territorial and goes after the blenny (Skippy) every time he comes out of the rocks. She's hit him enough today that he's got a mark on one side. It's a 75 gallon tank with separate rock piles on each side. She's claiming everything. There's also a Valentini Puffer, Melanurus Wrasse and Talbot's Damsel in the tank. She doesn't really bother them.

Does anyone think this will get better with time or do I need to find a new home for the tang before she kills to poor Skippy?

Thanks!

 

[redfishbluefish]

Try putting a mirror up against the tank....to see if the Tang re-focuses on the image in the mirror, and not the blenny.

 

[DeepBrew]

We're going to try that.

Thanks!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Tangs some how look at blennies as competition for food. Both algae eaters. Unfortunately the tang or blenny will have to go.

 

[maroun.c]

Found 9ut the hard way that these guys can be quite nasty. My previous experience with multiple ones before as well as yellow and blue eye like was that they were very peaceful up till the last few I got one of which was an absolute terror to any fish i add and had to be removed.

 

[Reefnewb]

Tomini tangs can be a**holes for sure.

 

[Deinonych]

Tangs some how look at blennies as competition for food. Both algae eaters. Unfortunately the tang or blenny will have to go.

+1

Tangs and blennies occupy the same ecological niche. Sometimes they can coexist, sometimes not. I have a Kole Tang and a Tailspot Blenny that coexist more or less. The tang will go after the blenny whenever the blenny is out in the open, but relents when the blenny retreats to his bolt hole. This has been going on for nearly two years and both are fat and healthy. YMMV.

 

[DeepBrew]

We're going to try the mirror but I don't have a lot of hope. I noticed that the rocks in the tank are almost spotless except for coralline algae and a bit of red slime. There used to be various algae growing all over the place. Maybe the 2 of them have cleaned up so much that the tang sees the blenny as competition now where it didn't before.

I may also try putting bits of nori various places in the rocks to keep them busy.

Catching the the tang will not be fun. It hides as soon as we open the top.

 

[eatbreakfast]

How often do you feed? As noted, both occupy the same niche, and recognize each other as competitors for food. Sometimes, but not always, increasing feedings can lessen aggression.

 

[fernalfer]

I have a Lemon Peel Tang and a Starry Blenny. My Tang was relentless in chasing the Blenny for the first few weeks. I did use a mirror which seemed to help some. I also put nori on a clip on each end of the tank . They have both also cleaned up all the algae on the rocks but the aggression has seemed to get better in my case. Weird thing is now when my Starry is in open water he usually has a bowel movement and the tang now just follows him around waiting for it and then eats it. Weird i know but at least he does not chase anymore. Maybe that is considered a gift to the tang.

I have 5 fish in QT going into the tank today. The Starry and Tang are the only ones in the tank now. (Yes i know the order of stocking was backwards but fell in love with the tang and Blenny at the LFS). So hopefully the Tang does not torture the new fish. 2 Snowflake Clowns, 2 Pajama Cardinal Fish, and 1 Firefish.

Hope things get better for you. May have to buy a fish trap for the Tang

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aqua-...ROCH47EboRVXD4pRhc5JSK6me6QDEngSVUaAmkI8P8HAQ

 

[redfishbluefish]

Try two algae clips.

 

[DeepBrew]

How often do you feed? As noted, both occupy the same niche, and recognize each other as competitors for food. Sometimes, but not always, increasing feedings can lessen aggression.

We've just been feeding once or twice a day, but now that I've noticed how clean the rocks are we'll try to keep some algae in there 24/7.

Try two algae clips.

We did that last night and the tang tried to go back and forth between them and keep the blenny off both. Maybe if I can keep a little something for it to work on in the tank all the time it will back off though.

May have to buy a fish trap for the Tang

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aqua-...ROCH47EboRVXD4pRhc5JSK6me6QDEngSVUaAmkI8P8HAQ

That would be better than pulling out all of the rock work for sure. I think I'd probably catch the puffer or wrasse over and over though. Those guys are pigs.

 

[DeepBrew]

We may be having some success. The wife put 4 clips and 4 rocks with algae in various places around the tank while I was at work. I put a mirror outside one end of the tank too. She put one of the clips on the same side as the mirror in a place where the gap between the rocks and the glass is narrow:


The mirror is beside the clip closer to the front of the tank. Skippy is spending a lot of time at this clip and Bubble is pretty much leaving him alone. If he goes to other clips she chases him off. We think she gets distracted and has to pester the tang in the mirror when she goes to this clip. Here's a little video of the action:

 

[redfishbluefish]

Wooo Hooo! Good news.

I didn't want to say this when I proposed the mirror trick, but it never worked for me. The last time I used it was when my yellow tang all of a sudden started picking on my long nose butterfly. What ended up happening is that the butterfly spent all the time in front of the mirror showing it's dorsal spines to that menace in the mirror, while the tang couldn't be bothered.

 

[DeepBrew]

Update: We've been doing pretty good at keeping algae available on a clip and on a rock most of the day. The mirror is successful in the sense that the blenny can eat off the clip right next to the mirror and the tang leaves him alone. The tang is pretty much focus 100% on the mirror though and I wonder how stressful that is us for it. It flashes at the mirror and bumps the glass all day long.

We originally had a round make up mirror hanging outside the tank. Now there's a thin sheet mirror taped to the outside. It really holds her attention. It can be cut with scissors, maybe I should make it a little smaller.

 

[DeepBrew]

Last weekend the tang was spending almost 100% of the time trying to intimidate her reflection. I'm not even sure she was eating. It was interesting to watch the aggressive posturing but it doesn't seem healthy long term so I covered the mirror with a piece of paper. For several hours things were fine, then she started bothering the blenny again.:mad: Then the paper slid down a little bit and exposed about 1/2" of the mirror. I've left it like that for a few days now and it's working well. The tang only sees an intruder if she happens to swim past at just the right height. She'll spend a few minutes running off the other fish then she loses sight of it. In between sightings of the rogue tang she's perfectly nice to everyone else in the tank.

I'll keep an eye on things and post again if needed.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions and support!

 

[DeepBrew]

The mirror helped but it didn't stop the bullying completely. We noticed the blenny missing one of his cirri a couple days ago. We can't have anybody that injures the wife's favorite fish so I have captured the tang and moved it to the otherwise fishless 20L frag tank for now. Someone from the LFS is helping me find it a good home.

It's only been a couple hours since the tang disappeared from the 75 and the blenny's behavior is already much more relaxed.

 

[DeepBrew]

I found a new home for the tang today and met a fellow R2R member in the process. I hate that she didn't work out in my tank be I think she will do better in her new home.

BTW, it looks like the blenny's cirri is slowly growing back.

Thanks to everyone for their help along the way.