tang trouble

[reef newbie]

My 5 in. yellow tang thats in my 90gal. reef tank is beating up on my new butterfli fish. Hes only about 31/2 in long.Is there anything I can do to stop the tang?I like my tang but I always wanted a butterfli too.HELP...I might have to take the tang back to the lfs and see if I can get a smaller one .Would that help or not .

 

[fshhub]

how long you had the tang?
tangs are often territorial, towards anything added after they establish their territory,
so this is not uncommon, you have a couple of options, to try, besides returning one, one would be, tonight, when you turn off the lights, rearrange your tank a bit, this kinda disorrients them and makes them think that they have no teerritory and then they need to establish a new one, antoher, take the tang out and put him in q tank a couple of days then reintroduce him( i would prefer to rearrange, as moving fish back and forth can be somewhat stressful, or return one of your fishes, if it does not stop
HTH and good luck

 

[hondo]

Yellow tangs are pretty much bullies. I would agree that all you can do short of removing one of the fish would be to rearange the rock or take the yellow out for a short period of time (day or two) and then reintroduce it to the tank. I noticed you said this is a reef tank, if so what kind of butterfly did you get as most if not all are not reef safe.

 

[kris walker]

Good advice. Another thing you may try is getting more fish (I don't know how many have). On a reef, like the one I just dove on in Hawaii, there are many fish swimming close together. Some same species, others not. There is a little back and forth between them, but the sheer number of them means one particular fish will not get all the "bullying", and "territories" are shared. Of course, you need to watch out your bioload is not too large and there is enough swimming space. Those who have reefs often are quick to say a given bioload is too much (or there isn't enough swimming space). Those with FO tanks are quick to say you can squeeze more fish in there. So use your best judgement, as the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.
sam

 

[discusking]

What king of butterfly fish is it. Some speices eat coral. The tang may be attacking the butterfly fish if it looks like te tang. Tangs are very teritorial so you may have to get rid of one or the other. Personally I would keep the tang because it can help control the algae in the tank. Good Luck

 

[reef newbie]

Thanks for all the info.I tryed the rearrange the tank theory but it didn't work.I'm not sure what kind of butterfly fish I got but he's not hurting any of my corals yet.I talked to the lfs where I got the tang and they said I can bring the big bad bully back so I can get a smaller yellow tang.Would a smaller tang do the same thing as the big one did or would the new little guy leave the bigger butterfly alone? HELP..I'm taking him back on Saturday.