Tang fish fighting! What do i do?!?

[joshfazz]

i recently bought a yellow tang, a powder blue tang and a sailfin tang. the person at the store told me that i had to buy tang fish in odd numbers because they will fight. well the yellow tang fish is ok but the powder blue and the sailfin are constantly fighting. what do i do? is this normal?

 

[tangs123]

how big is your tank :thinking:

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by tangs123
how big is your tank :thinking:

Yes, how big is the tank? You might want to try rearranging some of the rockwork to throw off their "territories".

 

[saltn00b]

also, the PBT and the SFT are closer in body shape so they probably feel that they are a threat as opposed to the ignoring the YT. for example, a hippo, and a purple tang and a YT doesnt work with the 'three's' rule b/c the PT and YT would fight, being close in shape.

 

[myocean]

how long have you had them? what size tank? they should be fine after a day or so.
i have 3 in my 125 and they do fine they were fighting for a day for a day after i added them into my tank but they are ok

 

[dmjordan]

I am also curious of your tank size. Turn off your tank lights and rearrange your rockwork like alyssia said. Hopefully this will help them from fighting unless your tank is small. You might need to take one or more back if they continue to fight.

 

[joshfazz]

its a 55 gallon with three clusters of coral. one on the left, the center, and the right.

 

[ryanhayes9]

55 gallon is wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy too smalll for a tang let alone 3

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by ryanhayes9
55 gallon is wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy too smalll for a tang let alone 3
I have a tang in a 55!! IF you know what your doing and willing to upgrade, it's ok to have one in a 55 IMO!!!! But 3 is too much, insufficient space to keep 3 tangs, close territory will cause'em to fight, best to remove 2 and keep one as long as your willing to upgrade later! :happyfish

 

[cjml]

Tank is too small for 3-they will not do well-adopt 2 out to a bigger tank~~~~We made that mistake in the beginning and learned the hard way.
Good luck......
ML

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by cjml
Tank is too small for 3-they will not do well-adopt 2 out to a bigger tank~~~~We made that mistake in the beginning and learned the hard way.
Good luck......
ML
I completely agree with all above stated, The yellow might be alright for now, but a 55 is way too small for the other 2. You will have to upgrade later if you intend to even keep the yt.

 

[ophiura]

I would strongly encourage returning all, perhaps except the yellow tang, which may be suitable for now depending on size.
Immediately find a new LFS, or do not purchase anything until researched.
Is this a young tank?
This is important to do soon, or believe me there is a VERY strong risk that you will have an outbreak of ick, and lose them through death.
It is rare, IMO, for this combination to sort itself out in a small tank.