Attention all tang experts

[ninjamini]

I have a purple tang and now I am getting a yellow tang from someone. I will either keep them short term or long term together.
Here is the set up:
55 gallon kept together for probably 2 weeks. Then either separated into 2 different tanks or placed together into a 90 gallon.
:notsure: Here are the questions:
1. Will they be ok in a 55 for two weeks, mabey three depending on the spike together?
2. Would they fight in a 90 gallon reef long term or would they get along?

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by ninjamini
I have a purple tang and now I am getting a yellow tang from someone. I will either keep them short term or long term together.
Here is the set up:
55 gallon kept together for probably 2 weeks. Then either separated into 2 different tanks or placed together into a 90 gallon.
:notsure: Here are the questions:
1. Will they be ok in a 55 for two weeks, mabey three depending on the spike together?
2. Would they fight in a 90 gallon reef long term or would they get along?
Being both the same shape and also the same species, zebrasoma, I would not do it. They will more than likely fight to the death in such a small space. Neither tanks in my opinion are large enough. 2 days or 2 weeks, I think you are asking for trouble. Just my $.02 I had a hard time introducing mine in my 125.

 

[ninjamini]

That's is what I thought. Is this everyones experience?

 

[reckler]

Don't take my word for it, but I have asked a few people about introducing tang's together in the same tank.
1. introduce them at the same time
2. set up a smaller tank, divide it with a piece of plexy( drill holes in the plexy for the water to circulate through), put one on one side and the other on the other side for a few weeks, then place them in the main tank after they look like they will get along.
3. try to get them in opposite ---.
This is what I was told to do if I wanted multiple tangs. I never tried it so don't take my word for it. I was just passing what I heard along to someone else that wanted to try it.

 

[psusocr1]

i have 7 different tangs and theya ll get along fine, as said introduce the moire aggressive tangs last. but theres no need to sperate them or anything like that
but IMO a yellow and purple as stated above will never work out for you, they will eventually kill each other because they are the same family and body shape. i wouldnt evan try it or you would be wasting your money
ALSO a 90 gallon will eventually bew way too small for one tang let alone two tangs in there, especially the yellow and purple tangs as theyd o get HUGE

 

[reefstar22]

A 90 Gallon tank is WAY to small for a tang. let alone two.
Tangs are NOT reef fish, they open water fish, they are REEF SAFE ..but that doesn't mean they can fit in tiny reef. Smallest reef I would put tangs in would be a 125...and thats pushing it.
Best of Lucky.

 

[ninjamini]

OK, OK I get it...no two tangs in the same tank. What was I thinking?
Bad ninjamini, bad! Looks like I will have to make other plans.

Thanx everyone.

 

[iluvswfish]

I wouldn't do it in such a small tank but I have seen it done successfully in a larger tank. At the place I used to work my boss had a 180 gallon with a Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Regal Tang, Naso Tang, Onespot Foxface, Niger Trigger, Maroon Clown, Dogfaced Puffer, SFE, and a huge Volitans Lion. Everybody got along great especially the purple and yellow. The boss said they were added at the same time when very small.

 

[jam1e]

I think you could easly fit a Yellow tang in a 90 Gallon .. maybe even 3 if they're juveniles (but not mature ones) .. but I wouldn't mix a purple tang in with a yellow for that size tank .. and if you do mix them you'd have to introduce them at the exact same time .. or the yellow before the Purple .. but even if the yellow was before the purple or vice versa you'd have to take the orignal out .. put him in a QT tank .. rearrange your aquascaping then introduce it at the same time as your new tang ... I wouldn't put a purple in a 90 Gallon anyway .. any more questions?

 

[ginarox]

i think that everyone has there own experiences,,, everyones tank isnt the same,what might work for him might not work for you,,,,what the heck !! just give it a try ,,,espically if there young,,,just keep and eye on them and if you feel like that there not going to work ,,, take one of them out , and see if your lfs, can trade with you for something else....i have a hippo tang, red sailfin tang, foxface tang.. a mimic tang, and then i have a copper band butterfly....they all seem to get a long fine, i have a 125 gallon,,,,keep us posted, want to find out how things went for you......have a great day.....its all about learning!!

 

[xdave]

I've kept a Naso, Morpho, and Scopas in the same tank but the actual Tang rule is no similarly shaped ones together. A purple and a Yellow are gonna fight. I bet they both have thier scalpals out on mere sight of eachother. Even if introduced as 2 babies, upon maturity, somebodys' goin down.

 

[pontius]

purple tangs are generally considered to be the most aggresive and least hardy of the zebrasoma family. so it's definitely not going to work in a 55, and very unlikely to work in a 90. I have kept a 5" yellow and 5" hippo in a 55 for a month while upgrading to a 180, but they are very different fish with similar personalities, but adding 2 tangs from the same family in such a small tank would be disastrous.

 

[reefstar22]

You can drive your car with your feet, doesn't make it a good idea.
Tangs are NOT reef fish, they swim in open water needing 100's of yards for swimming ground. They should not even be kept in a 125. That is the smallest tank I would suggest. Do as you wish, but you will find aggression over time, you will find them stressing out when they are larger. Please be prepared for loss's and aggressive fish if you put them in a 90 gallon tank.

Best of luck

 

[pontius]

Originally Posted by Reefstar22
You can drive your car with your feet, doesn't make it a good idea.
Tangs are NOT reef fish, they swim in open water needing 100's of yards for swimming ground. They should not even be kept in a 125. That is the smallest tank I would suggest. Do as you wish, but you will find aggression over time, you will find them stressing out when they are larger. Please be prepared for loss's and aggressive fish if you put them in a 90 gallon tank.

Best of luck
Scott Michael is one of the world's foremost authorities on marine fishes and he says otherwise.
the question here is not if tangs should be kept in aquariums, it's if 2 particular tangs should be kept together and in what size tank.

 

[reefstar22]

Originally Posted by Pontius
Scott Michael is one of the world's foremost authorities on marine fishes and he says otherwise.
the question here is not if tangs should be kept in aquariums, it's if 2 particular tangs should be kept together and in what size tank.

What do I know, I only helped run a public aquarium for 6 years.

 

[ninjamini]

Originally Posted by Reefstar22
What do I know, I only helped run a public aquarium for 6 years.

Hey I helped my wife deliver the baby. That does not mean that I know how to do it, could do it again, or even remember what happened.
Just kidding. Thats enough credential for me.
Hey can I just add that even though we keep reefs that does not mean that we are doing something good for the animal. We take them out of the ocean and put them in a really small cage with loads of issues. Lets just agree that we keep them because we like to look at the fishies. Its not in there best interest to do it. We are killing thousands of wonderful creatures just by having an aquarium industry. Think of how many creatures get pulled from the ocean and make it past the 1 year mark. Its a small % for shure.

 

[reefstar22]

Originally Posted by ninjamini
Hey I helped my wife deliver the baby. That does not mean that I know how to do it, could do it again, or even remember what happened.
Just kidding. Thats enough credential for me.
Hey can I just add that even though we keep reefs that does not mean that we are doing something good for the animal. We take them out of the ocean and put them in a really small cage with loads of issues. Lets just agree that we keep them because we like to look at the fishies. Its not in there best interest to do it. We are killing thousands of wonderful creatures just by having an aquarium industry. Think of how many creatures get pulled from the ocean and make it past the 1 year mark. Its a small % for shure.

Here let me re-phrase that. I RAN the Moody Gardens aquarium for 6 years. I have a masters in Marine biology. Sorry I was trying to step away from having an ego. Dont take my advise if you dont want, its not my tank.

 

[pontius]

Originally Posted by Reefstar22
What do I know, I only helped run a public aquarium for 6 years.

I have been to many public aquariums, they all had tangs in reef tanks and none had hundreds of yards of swimming space. again, Scott Michael is a leading authority on the subject, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, on this board that keep tangs with no problems. I have played guitar for 13 years and have been to dozens of concerts, but that does not make me Hendrix.

 

[reefstar22]

again, im not saying it cant be done, im saying its a bad idea. I can lock 3 kids in a bedroom for a month, doesn't mean its a healthy idea.
If you care about your animals then you will not put them in there.
I'm not sure what places you've been going to but all the public aquariums i've helped set up or been to all have systems with tangs that are 500 gallons plus +

 

[pontius]

Originally Posted by Reefstar22
Here let me re-phrase that. I RAN the Moody Gardens aquarium for 6 years. I have a masters in Marine biology. Sorry I was trying to step away from having an ego. Dont take my advise if you dont want, its not my tank.
your profile says you are 22 years old. so unless you began RUNNING a public aquarium at age 16, I call bull.
"Scott W Michael is an internationally recognized writer, underwater photographer, and marine biology researcher specializing in fishes of the coral reef. He is a regular contributor to Aquarium Fish Magazine and SeaScope and is the author of the Reef Fishes series, Reef Sharks and Rays of the World, and Aquarium Sharks and Rays. He has studied marine biology at the University of Nebraska and has been involved in research projects on sharks, rays, frogfishes, and the behavior of reef fishes. He has also served as a scientific consultant for National Geographic Explorer, the Discovery Channel, and French educational television. A marine aquarist since boyhood, he has accumulated more the 25 years experience observing tropical fishes in captivity and in their native habitats worldwide."
I'll take his word, thanks.