Adding multiple tangs !

mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
Hi. First time posting. Hope you can help. Currently have 2 x full grown yellow tangs & 13cm lipstick tang. We call them the gang of 3. We have tried to add more fish to the tank only to have them harassed & beaten & die. Including powder blue flame angel. & Lopez Can't stand this happening any more. Very distressing for fish & us Tank is so empty and def needs more fish.our thought process now - to sell gang of 3 & add all fish we want together all juveniles under. 6 cm. has anyone done this before ? Can it work ? List will include. Yellow tang x2 Lipstick tang. Flame angel. Powder blue. Cole tang. Existing stock that will remain. Copperband. Coral beauty. Blue tang. Pair osc clowns. Pair green dragonets. Cleaner wrasse. Is this doable ? No ownership & all juveniles ???? ! Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
How big is the tank?. All tangs will have there own territory's. The fact you have 3 getting along is saying something
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
Its a 7 x 2.5 x 2.5... just over 1500litres.. not sure in gallons (sorry) plenty of hiding places etc.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
If you want to exchange fish then by all means, do so. I would start with the more peaceful fish, like the clowns, copper band, the dragonets and the wrasse and space it out over the course of a month. Then I would add the powder blue after a decent quarantine period and then try adding the yellow and the two lipsticks at the same time. Your talking about over the span of a couple of months, right?

Also, my addition list may vary because of personal preference. Try to get a few more opinions before making a final decision.

If you stay here long enough, you will realize that I am more of an equipment and coral guy than fish.


Looking forward to pics of the new fish!
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
If you can keep the tank as dark as possible for the first few days only turn the lights on to feed. This has worked for me every time. Or if you can get some egg crate and section off the problem fish for about a week I've also had great success with this.
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
snakeblitz33 said:
If you want to exchange fish then by all means, do so. I would start with the more peaceful fish, like the clowns, copper band, the dragonets and the wrasse and space it out over the course of a month. Then I would add the powder blue after a decent quarantine period and then try adding the yellow and the two lipsticks at the same time. Your talking about over the span of a couple of months, right?

Also, my addition list may vary because of personal preference. Try to get a few more opinions before making a final decision.

If you stay here long enough, you will realize that I am more of an equipment and coral guy than fish.


Looking forward to pics of the new fish!
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Thank you, but we are looking at adding these fish ALTOGETHER at one time, We obviously have tried the slow approach one at a time and its not working, powder blue is supposed to be one of the last fish added - well that didn't work
We believe we have enough bacteria to support these new additions as the existing wrasse copperbnad blue tang etc are remaining in the tank and the new fish all under 6cm would probably equal the bio-load of the 2 fully grown yellow and lipstick tang we are selling.
Does that change your opinion at all ?
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
mauler said:
If you can keep the tank as dark as possible for the first few days only turn the lights on to feed. This has worked for me every time. Or if you can get some egg crate and section off the problem fish for about a week I've also had great success with this.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, trouble is the tank contains some 50 or so corals & very expensive clam. , would be very worried about no lights for that time frame. we did think about egg crate but honestly think it may cause more aggression with 2 yellows & lipstick in half the tank and all new additions in half a tank, one reason they are ok together is they each have their own spots and wouldn't like o take that away.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Well, in 400g (1500l) of water plus a sizable sump and a fuge, I doubt there would be much of any fluctuation in water parameters if you add them at once. I wouldn't feed more than usual though. I would slowly ramp it up to normal over a couple of weeks, just to be sure.

I would also keep the lights off for a few days to let the fish settle in.
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
snakeblitz33 said:
If your worried about an ammonia spike, there are several bacterial additives which people have found useful.
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Would my corals. & clam be ok with lights out for that long. ?? After the tank upgrade we did have a mini cycle and seachem prime & stability pulled us through with no losses. To be honest we are not overly concerned about mini cycle as we are about new fish list being impossible to keep together. ?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Your corals will be fine for three days lights out. Ive done it on past tanks without issues. If it concerns you too much, two days lights out would be fine.

I don't see any compatibility issues, personally. Although, more people need to post and express their opinions about it.
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
I don't think 2-3 days without light will affect them. If you think about it it's not sunny everyday in the ocean.
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
mauler said:
I don't think 2-3 days without light will affect them. If you think about it it's not sunny everyday in the ocean.
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thanks, if you both honestly don't think it will be a problem with corals and clam I will give it a shot. I would love to hear more opinions on the fish list side of things too. very open to being criticized as well if anyone thinks it necessary. I will listen. lol
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I love me some tangs. Hippos and purples being my favs. That said they can be nasty s.o.b's. Lol now large peaceful fish fox faces. Mix w tangs well. Will not bother even small fish. I had a 9" fox w a1" clown goby. Just bc a fish is not supp to be aggressive doesnt mean that fish got that memo. I had a kole tang that tried killing a coral beauty. So it really does depend on each fish. Add all nontangs first. Then if u choose add your tangs together and hope lol
 
mandy111

mandy111

Active Member
We have just placed the order. Guy is going to collect all fish over the next 4 weeks & place into holding tank together. Will make sure all are eating & observe for any unusual aggressive ones. And send us video for our approval before shipping to us. We will be adding them all together. So hope in about. 4 weeks will be able to update this post with some good news. Only fish that isn't a tang to be added is a flame angel. So altogether it is, not sure if stupid or sensible. Suppose will find out yeah ? Lol
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
If you go with no lights. Ramp it down slow to give the coral time to adjust. You might have to target feed them during this time. Then just slowly ramp it back up over several days to give them time to readjust.
 
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