Tangs

[marshall]

I have a yellow tank in my tank and decided to add a purple the other day. I didnt think it would be a problem because the LFS had about 5 yellows and 5 purples together in a 125gal and they seem fine. I put the purple in the tank and the yellow kicked his but up and down the tank non stop until the purple hid in a corner behind a power head. The yellow tang held him in the corner for about 4 days attacking it every time it came out. Today they seem fine, grazing together and all that stuff. You guys think this truce will last? They have the same body shape i know, but they were fine in the store.
By the way, the tank is a 75 with 65lbs of live rock and 90lbs of live sand. :happyfish

 

[dogstar]

Maybe fine but watch the purple for ick from bring stressed for so long and feed then algea sheets, and frozen food cause the purple can get HLLE easy and lose color if not fed properly. Good luck with them.

 

[marshall]

Yes I Do Feed Em Flake Food, Alge Sheets, And Store Bought Shrimp. Your Right Though, The Purple Is Showing Signs Of Ich, I Am Hoping It Will Just Go Away

 

[scubadoo]

Odds are one will eventually kill or toment the other...or both could go at get sick and both die. A time bomb in my opinion. Add to the equation a tank that is too small to house both animals...even one.

 

[michellej]

I also have a yellow tang, when I bought a hippo tang I was told to take the yellow tang out of the tank, rearrange my tank and put both of them in there at the same time. I did that and they both have been fine now for about 6 months. You might want to take them out and arrange your tank. Although I dont know if you should if one has ick.....

 

[marineman]

the lfs with (10) large # of tangs can sometime disperse the aggression to prevent fighting, but a small tank with a well established tang is a setup for a fight when a single new tang is added.

 

[ophiura]

Yeah, the LFS situation is different in many ways. They have many stressed fish, probably put in at the same time, into an overcrowded tank.
It is not unusual in an overcrowded situation to not see much aggression. They are not "settled" enough to display normal tang behavior (establishing a heirarchy).
Your currenty yellow tang was nice and established in his territory, and he is not likely to share it willingly with something that looks like him. If you added them both at the same time, you might have gotten away with it. But there is little way, in the situation you describe, to avoid agression from the yellow tang. He's doing his job, which is to put the purple in its place (out of his territory--> the whole tank).

 

[marshall]

:happy: THE LOCAL FISH STORE WITH ALL THE TANGS IN IT IS A PRIVATELY OWNED STORE AND IS THE BEST ONE I HAVE BEEN TO ( NOT THAT IVE BEEN TO ALOT OF EM, BUT ITS BY FAR THE BEST IN THE SHREVEPORT LOUISIANNA AREA). THE TANGS THERE REALLY DID GET ALONG FINE, I PROMISE, LOL, I WOULDNT LIKE TO YOU. MY TWO TANG'S SEEM TO BE FINE. NO MORE REAL AGRESSION GOING ON NOW WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONCE IN A WHILE USUALLY DURING FEEDING. I THINK IT WILL WORK OUT FINE. WE WILL SEE.

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by marshall
:happy: THE LOCAL FISH STORE WITH ALL THE TANGS IN IT IS A PRIVATELY OWNED STORE AND IS THE BEST ONE I HAVE BEEN TO ( NOT THAT IVE BEEN TO ALOT OF EM, BUT ITS BY FAR THE BEST IN THE SHREVEPORT LOUISIANNA AREA). THE TANGS THERE REALLY DID GET ALONG FINE, I PROMISE, LOL, I WOULDNT LIKE TO YOU. MY TWO TANG'S SEEM TO BE FINE. NO MORE REAL AGRESSION GOING ON NOW WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONCE IN A WHILE USUALLY DURING FEEDING. I THINK IT WILL WORK OUT FINE. WE WILL SEE.
Odds are against you as when these animals mature to adulthood (they will most liikely die from stress before they reach adulthood in a four foot tank) they will fight. They are both territorial and your set-up is too small to keep one adult yellow or purple...and you have both. . No absolutes but highlly likely.
I have been in this hobby for 30 plus years and have seen things turn on a dime regarding aggression. Do not think becuase things are okay for a period they will remain so.
One of those tangs is most likely on borrowed time. Both will die from stress should they not take each other out as they will eventually outgrow your 75, stress and die.
Best of luck...you'll need plenty of it..

 

[marshall]

DUDE I HOPE NOT, IF YOUR RIGHT I WASTED ABOUT 100 BUCKS!!!!! IF THEY DIE I WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE TANGS. HOPEFULLY YOUR WRONG. NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW. I SHURE DO LIKE EM THOUGH, THERE THE BEST NEXT TO MY CLEANER SHIMPS :joy:

 

[marshall]

I WILL THINK OF IT LIKE A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT, TESTING YOUR T

HEORIES

 

[who dey]

caps???? :notsure:

 

[marshall]

Whats wrong with caps?

 

[marshall]

Oh i see! English class.

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by marshall
DUDE I HOPE NOT, IF YOUR RIGHT I WASTED ABOUT 100 BUCKS!!!!! IF THEY DIE I WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE TANGS. HOPEFULLY YOUR WRONG. NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW. I SHURE DO LIKE EM THOUGH, THERE THE BEST NEXT TO MY CLEANER SHIMPS :joy:

Tangs are great animals. but they do have requirements. I wish you well...but the odds are against you for long-term success. You could try and return one of the tangs for a credit if you see them fighting again.
You originally asked if the truce will last.....IMO...no.
By the way...all caps on the net is coonsidered screaming/yelling. Doesn't really bother me but can others.

 

[ophiura]

I'm with ScubaDoo :yes:
But you know what? It may very well work. IMO, however, it is not a good situation at all, even if it does. Small tank for those sorts of tangs. And the absence of aggression does not mean the absence of stress.
FWIW, It is standard practice to pile a lot of tangs into one tank at an LFS...even the good one's. They are not intended to be there long enough to have issues with tank size. And if packed in tightly enough they may very well "get along" to your eyes. But I promise you that is not a stress free life for those tangs. Again, absence of outward aggression at an LFS does not mean they should or could be kept that way long term.

 

[keith gray]

How much room do Tangs need. I have a 65 gal & would like to have one yellow tang at some point. If my tank is not overpopulated will it be OK if I get jsut one.

 

[marshall]

I do understand that it was not the best idea, but its too late and im gonna keep em and see what happens. No disrespect intended, but if i took tank size advice for all the fish on here, i would have to buy a 200 gallon tank or keep hermit crabs only. Any tank size in the store is still small compared to the reef they were taken out of.

 

[ophiura]

Just my opinion but, this attitude is particularly common and rather unfortunate. One still hopes to provide a minimal amount of comfort to your fish. With the attitude of "any tank is smaller than the ocean" we can easily keep these fish in a betta bowl. But if you want to try, so be it.
Keith -
Is that a 65g 3 foot tank? The important thing for many of these tangs is swimming room (length of tank). A 3 ft is pretty small. IMO, you might be able to have a very small yellow for perhaps a year or maybe 2, but this is realistically pushing it. A yellow eye tang might be a better choice.

 

[marshall]

I understand what you are saying, but what is minimal? 120 gallons? How much do i have to spend to be considered politically correct around here? I'd guess the majority of people who have fish tanks have smaller ones than mine. If all the people stoped putting fish in beta bowls the fish hobby would go belly up. Then were would we get our tangs? Id say having a fish live for 2 years is a success! Could it have lived longer in a four thousand dollar setup? of course. But anyways, i userstand what you are saying and i am truely gratefull for the information i get on these forums. I guess i just feel like argueing.