Two yellow tangs

Holyreeftankaquaman · Nov 18, 2019

I left the hobby 15 years ago only to find a) technology has changed a lot. B) tangs now cost a lot of money.

I setup my 90 gallon, got one tiny clown in there with a very agressive little damsel.

I recently put one tangin there and all he does is hide. He pokes his head out, looks at me and goes back to his little spot.

I sat there for 2 hours pretending to be a rock and eventually he comes to eat seaweed from the clip, but once i move....off to the back he goes

Will adding another tang help? I used to have a yellow and blue tang in a 55 and they were never shy... in fact they waited for me.to bring the food.

Bryce M. · Nov 18, 2019

Welcome!
No! I mean you could, tang social is complicated, you have to introduce them at the same time or there will be fighting. They are nasty!

Holyreeftankaquaman · Nov 18, 2019

Hmmm.....i was hoping the aggression might kick in and he would be less shy. He has been in this tank for 4 or 5 days. Clown and damsel and tang seem to just ignore each other.

LiveWire · Nov 18, 2019

Ideally tangs should be in a system that is 6 feet long especially if you are thinking of keeping multiple.

Auquanut · Nov 18, 2019

I expect he will overcome his shyness in time. What kind of tang do you have? Each of mine started off shy, and my Hippo tang will still hide from people she doesn't know. Welcome to R2R by the way. Lets see a picture of that tank.

Halal Hotdog · Nov 18, 2019

LiveWire said:
Ideally tangs should be in a system that is 6 feet long especially if you are thinking of keeping multiple.

Very sound advice. Adding more tangs will not make the situation any better. Would not recommend a yellow tang to anyone with a tank smaller than 6'. Tangs get stressed easily and it shows in their behavior as well as with physical color change.

Holyreeftankaquaman · Nov 18, 2019

Thanks for the welcome. He is a yellow tang (not really sure the gender). Ill take a pic when i get home. Do tangs eat green hair algae?

Holyreeftankaquaman · Nov 18, 2019

Oh man.... i was reading some ppl 55...some said 90...i saw on youtube a guy had one in a 20 gallon
Now 6ft (in hindsight and after more thinking, does make sense). Ill hold off on another tang.

Halal Hotdog · Nov 18, 2019

Holyreeftankaquaman said:
Oh man.... i was reading some ppl 55...some said 90...i saw on youtube a guy had one in a 20 gallon
Now 6ft (in hindsight and after more thinking, does make sense). Ill hold off on another tang.

A few months ago I saw someone justifying keeping one in a 10 gallon. His argument was the fish is cheap and it would be better than the LFS. Sadly you see people doing terrible things to fish and then being surprised when the fish spontaneously die on them. These fish definitely need quite a bit of swimming room. I rescued one from a 29 gallon AIO and it was in really bad shape. Physically it looked fine except for how thin it was, but behaviorally it was the most skittish fish I have ever kept. I don't think a 90 is the end of world, but as it approaches full adult size you may want to consider rehoming.

Holyreeftankaquaman · Nov 18, 2019

Thats the problem with saltwater..... many years back i had a nano... then 20...then 55..... now i have 90 but already i want 120....... maybe i should just give up go all out and use a swimming pool...... also how much should i feed him? I put a 1 x 3 inch nori on a clip and after an hour itd gone.... he wont eat flake food or brine shrimp or pellets.. justnori on a clip.