Tang info from exp, not books

nc reefer

nc reefer

New Member
I am planning my 125G reef and have been looking at a limited amount of fish compared to corals. I have always wanted to get a tang, but my 37G won't do.
My questions are these:
1. How long does a tank need to be up before adding a tang? Are they similar to small angels in that they need a mature tank?
and
2. Are there certain tangs that do and don't belong together?
Please let me know from your personal experience and not from what you've read...I've read so much that I am thinking about getting a bird.
TIA
 
carrie1429

carrie1429

Active Member
1. Yes your tank needs to be mature before adding a tang like at least a few months old in order for algea to grow since they eat algae.
2. And yes there are certain tangs that shouldn't go together, if the tangs have similar body shape then they will most likely fight since they won't tollerate any other fish that has the same shape as them. Like don't mix a yellow and a purple tang, I have heard of people having a yellow and a hippo tang. There are lots of people who have different tangs together.
 
ocellaris_keeper

ocellaris_keeper

Active Member
agree with Carrie1429 about certain tangs - 125gal tank though you can get away with cheating the rules alot.
If you like purple/yellow/scopas tangs (who doesn't) and a hippo tang - they will do OK together because of body shape and the size of your tank.
I'd look into a number of yellow tail damsels, a pair of maroon clowns, two tangs of your choice and the reef tank. this would give you enough swimming animals and algae cleaners without worrying about your corals.
 
nc reefer

nc reefer

New Member
Thanks for the replies so far. I think the biggest problems that I had read about were in regards to certain tangs:
Achilles: Need a lot of water flow. Very difficult. Loners.
Powder Blue: Pretty much the same as Achilles.
Yellow: Cool, but can be aggressive to similar types.
Purple: Same as Yellow, but less hardy.
Naso: Get pretty big, might not be a team player.
Anyone have multiples with success stories?
 
tang_man_montreal

tang_man_montreal

Member
I currently have a Yellow Tang and a Hippo tang together in a 90. You'd swear that they couldn't live without each other.
The little hippo looks up to his Yellow tang big brother. They're always swimming together.
They're a great pair.
 
eddie g

eddie g

Member
For about 4 years I had 3 purple tangs, 1 blue hippo tang, 1 sohal tang and a maroon clown fish in my 165 gal 72" by 24" by 24" tank. I believe the sohal was getting too big for my tank. And the blue hippo stood in the rocks most of the time except to eat. The sohal ruled the tank.
We moved and my wife had surgery all at the same time. So my tank was empty of water and apart for a little over 3 weeks. Then it took about 2 weeks to stablize after I refilled it. A friend of my wife had the fish for about 6 weeks. I think they were all in a 75 gal tank. The sohal died first. Then two of the tangs.
He returned my 1 purple tang, 1 blue hippo tang, 1 maroon clown fish and a mono argentus that he was going to get rid of. The mono argentus is a brackish fish I believe. I added a small 2" kole tang. The blue hippo now stays out 1/2 of to most of the day. And only sleeps in the rocks. And no one bothers the small kole tang at all.
Eddie G
 
donkeykong

donkeykong

Member
Hey Eddieg and anyone with experiance how is your kole and hippo doing together. I have a 80 gallon, and I just put a loe in 3 days ago and am thinking about getting a hippo also. Any thought about that combo.
 
musipilot

musipilot

Member
Ok, heres our tang tales.
Purples are great, but have to be the only tang in anything smaller then 125 gallons, even then, look out if its a yellow, sailfin, or scopus. Same for yellows, although in our experience multiple yellows if a) young b) introduced together) c) groups of 3 or more will be okay. NOT purples.
Blue Hippos (Regal) tangs are great fish, but 25% of them or so will NOT follow the species genre and get along with other tangs. 75% will, but be careful if you get a 25%er, he'll kick butt on any other tang smaller then him.
Stay away from the larger tangs (naso, powder) they're less hardy and grow BIG.
Tangs are very 'ich' prone, be sure to acclimate them well, and if you can, have cleaners in there with them.
 
eddie g

eddie g

Member
Hi Donkeykong.
My blue hippo is about 6". He is not agressive with anyone. I have a 5" mono argentus that is the most agressive at feeding times. He constantly swims the entire tank out in the open like my previous sohal tang did. I have a 5" purple tang. He is the second most agressive at feeding times.
Everyday I tear strips of seaweeds select and add them to the tank. The purple and blue hippo will sometimes tug at them at the same time. Once in a while the kole tang might. But he doesn't seem interested in the seaweed selects. My kole tang is almost 3" already. He isn't ever agressive with anyone. And no one ever seems to bother him. He is the fish I just added about a month ago. I also have a 3" clown fish. He isn't agressive with anyone. He keeps more to himself then all the other fish.
I have never seen my blue hippo show any signs of agression with anyone. Sometimes at feeding times the sohal would chase him away from some food. I have never seen this or a previous kole tang show signs of agression with anyone. My sohal tang use to be the most agressive of the tangs. And when I had him, my blue hippo would mostly stay in the rocks except for feeding times.
Originally I bought 2 purple tangs on the net because I was told it was okay to buy them in pairs. They actually got along together ok for a few months. Then I read I should not have two. I should either have 1 or 3 or more. So I bought another that was about 1" smaller then the current 2 I had. And he was picked on by the other two purple tangs for the 4 years I had them. He had that lateral line disease or lines starting from his head to the end of him. It went away once. Then it cam back and he had it for about a year. I believe it was because the other 2 purples still always harrassed him.
I moved a few months ago. A friend had my fish in a 70 or 75 gal tank for about 1 month. First the sohal tang died. I believe the 75 gal was too small for him. Then one purple tang died. Then a second purple tang died. I'm not really sure. Maybe 1 of the purples died first.
 
aquaman2

aquaman2

Member
I have found all tangs fight no mater what...thats all their is to it, its just if they will settle down and get over it or not. Yes stay away from ones in similar body shapes and color and same family.
 
lurch694u

lurch694u

Member
I have a yellow tang and a blue hippo tang in my 85 gallon. They get along great. I added the blue hippo second and the yellow first. It is possible that they get along is because my yellow is gaint and my blue hippo is very small.
Does anybody have a guesstimation on how big my blue hippo will get in my 85 gallon. He is 2 inches right now.
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
i have a purple, a yellow and a blue hippo in a 135. the hippo, after all this time ( i raised him from the size of a quarter to about 5 inches in length now) is still a wussy and when anyone goes near the tank he hides. the purble and yellow i had tried to put together for years, and finally accomplished it in the 135. they still have scraps every now and then but its all in good fun, and no damage is ever inflicted. They are healthy and have a ton of swimming room with a lot of holes to hide in
good luck
jon
 
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