aggressive powder blue tang

[astroboy]

Hello,

 

I have a 90 gallon tank with a couple of clowns, a six line wrasse, a yellow tang, and a hippo tang. The tangs are all about 3 inches long with fins, and were all introduced into the tank at the same time a few months ago.

 

Lately, the fins of the yellow tang have obviously been nibbled on. I haven't seen the powder blue tang acting aggressively, but I assume he's the bully. The wrasse and the hippo tang also show up with a piece of fin missing from time to time, no big deal, but I'm a little concerned about the yellow tang. 

 

I was wondering, would buying another yellow tang perhaps improve the situation, perhaps by dividing the powder blue's attention? Would it be likely to make it worse? As I understand it, yellow tangs are reasonably mellow, so having two in a 90 gallon, at least while they're still small, wouldn't be an issue. Is that correct?

 

Would something like a scopas tang help? 

 

Any suggestions on what to do about the powder blue acting like a hoodlum would be appreciated....

 

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

[YHSublime]

Your tank is already pretty small for most tangs, let alone the number you have in there already, IMO. I would look to remove tangs vs add any more. I would not add two yellow tangs especially, they are from the same genus, and I had trouble even in a 6' 150 gallon.

[Jon Lazar]

I once had an aggressive PBT.  I removed him and put him in my frag tank for a few weeks.  When I returned him to the display, he was much less aggressive.  Perhaps he forgot that he was the boss, and felt like the new kid again.

[madweazl]

As posted, that is a lot of tang in a small area. Tangs can be pretty nasty when they have room but stuff them in something smaller than is recommended for one and you're in for a lot of disappointment. These are just generalizations but check out this list and start making some plans for re-homing some of what you have. 

[Rob A]

If the aggression is due to territory issues then another tang means less territory available per fish and more fighting.

[Origami]

Hi Mark. I'd be a bit concerned about adding conspecific aggression to the mix. While you're probably right that the aggression would be diffused among a larger number of community members, the amount of aggression that the yellow tang suffered might start coming from two directions, instead of the one. Perhaps the best approach is to remove the PBT for a few weeks, or just to rehome it. In my experience, PBTs can be both aggressive and neurotic. Mine lives with several other tangs (yellow, scopas, & a sailfin) in the 210 display and they all do just fine. 

[Wrench]

Tight quarters. Too many fish in a relatively small tank. Adding a scopas would only make it worse. Upgrade to a bigger tank of downsize your fish collection. IMO/IME a 90g is too small for a medium sized PBT. Even worse for the hippo. 

Edited March 7, 2015 by Wrench

[astroboy]

Thanks everyone,

 

Good advice!

 

I'll think I'll put the PBT in the quarantine tank for a few weeks and then re-introduce it and hopefully that will return it to it's original laid-back state.

 

 The tangs are all less than three inches long, including the fins, so I can't imagine a 90 gallon is too small at this point. When they get bigger I'll just have to convince my wife that I need a bigger tank....

[Wrench]

 

 

 The tangs are all less than three inches long, including the fins, so I can't imagine a 90 gallon is too small at this point. 

 

Wrong. That's why you're having issues with aggression. 

[gmerek2]

When I am in the room of my tank the fish are on their best behavior and keep an eye on my movement since I feed them. A lot goes on when I'm gone that I will never know about :( the tangs do grow quick and are nearly impossible to catch when they need rehomed.

[zygote2k]

Powder Blues are more aggressive than a Yellow. I stay away from the PB's because of their temperament. 

FWIW, I currently have 2) Purple Tangs in my 36" cube and they get along great.