stevil October 9, 2006 October 9, 2006 I purchased edwardj's Sailfin and Purple tang, acclimated them and added them last night to my tank after lights out. My existing Yellow tang was not very welcoming and immediately and relentlessly started to chase them away and thrash at them with his tail. The Sailfin and the Purple get along great and have made no aggressive moves towards the Yellow (they swim away and avoid him). I pulled out the Yellow and stuck him him my my sump for the time-being. I'm hoping that if the Sailfin and Purple can establish some presense, I can move the Yellow back to the display tank after doing some movement of the rock, and they will peacefully co-exist. All three tangs are about the same size. Am I on a fools errand though? I've read mixed results on wet-web media about mixing tangs.
jason the filter freak October 9, 2006 October 9, 2006 From what i've found yellow tangs very in attitude, but often can be quite the nasty customers often. Have you tried moving your rock around.
stevil October 9, 2006 Author October 9, 2006 I haven't moved the rock significantly, but plan to do so prior to putting the Yellow back in.
jason the filter freak October 9, 2006 October 9, 2006 possible idea ,--> see what others in the club think <--, shift the rock significantly, leave the tang out long enough for every one to establish new territories and then put the tang back in...
Jenny October 9, 2006 October 9, 2006 That is a lot of tangs for a 90gallon. But if you insist on keeping them then jason has the right idea. Rearrange all the rock (major changes are necessary) then put the yellow back in in the middle of the night. Your best chance is to wake the yellow up to move him so he'll be good and disoriented and hopefully not attack your other two. If this doesn't work you'll have to get rid of the yellow or the other two otherwise the yellow will continue to attack until he kills them.
jamesbuf October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 I saw the size of those tangs while picking up some LR. Your Yellow Tang must be of decent size to be bullying them around. I agree with the advice that has been posted though.
steveoutlaw October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 Well, in this case at least, size doesn't matter. Yellow tangs are bullys when it comes to new tangs. Your yellow is just setting some ground rules for the new guys. I just introduced a Naso and a Powder Blue into my 210 and the yellow guy was a real @$$hole to them. However, after a couple of days they are all living in relative harmony now. There is still a tail thrashing every once in a while but a majority of the time they are fine.
rancor1 October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 I started with a small hippo tang in my 90 and added the yellow. There was some tail chasing by the yellow, but they've got established holes now (my rock is set up to create many swimthroughs and caves) and actually feed off of the algae clip together without trouble. I think the key is lots of distinct areas to claim, rearranging the rock work, and reintroducing your trouble maker.
dschflier October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 Well I have the same three tangs you have in my 210. Yellow, sailfin, purple. My sailfin is the most senior when I got the other 2, I seperated them all. When I put them in the 210 with my sailfin I changed around all my rocks and it worked very well. I do feel the 6' tank as opposed to 4' makes a big difference for tangs getting along. I noticed my purple and yellow tang where much more skitish when they where in the smaller tank. infact my purple got ich twice in the smaller tank. I think you have to be really carefull in a smaller tank the stress alone can eaisly create an opertunity for an ich outbreak. I am sure you can make it work, I am just saying watch them closely. if they do start to get along I would still watch to see if they appear at ease in the tank.
Sharkb8 October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 Just my two cents and experience: I have a yellow and sailfin in a standard all glass 90g and they are too big for the tank. Three tangs in a 90g is way too much. The Tang police will be at your door soon asking for an explanation. From everything I've read, conspecific tangs generally don't get along too well to begin with, and placing that many in cramped quarters is just asking for dysfunction. See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebrasom.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebrasom1.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sailfincompfaqs.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/YellowTang.htm For instance, "Yellow tangs are almost ideal tankmates. Except for other flavescens tangs about the same size they get along very well with most all other fishes. Personal exceptions include other tangs, mainly those in the genus Zebrasoma; considered a mechanism to delimit crowding in grazing areas. Therefore, under crowding is always the safest bet, followed by introduction of smaller individuals first. Careful observation is a hallmark of a conscientious aquarist." ad infinatum . .. And while I understand many here have had "great success" putting multiple kinds of tangs into liitle tiny places, my reply is, "have you asked them how they are feeling?" Most fish don't respond. Because its hard to say things without vocal chords . . . I would take one or two of them back to where you bought them and buy something else.
stevil October 10, 2006 Author October 10, 2006 Yeah, I spent a few reading more thoroughly through wet-web-media (beyond the FAQs), including all those articles. Since a new tank is not in the immediate future, I think I'll be looking to unload one or two of them. Now I have to figure out which one it will be .
jason the filter freak October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 [sNIP] Please keep sales/WTB offers to the member's section or PM. Thanks. BeltwayBandit
Ne0eN October 10, 2006 October 10, 2006 I agree with the comment above. Three tangs in a 90 gal tank is a bit crowded. But three Zebrasoma tangs in the same 90-gal tank is not a good prospect for the future. The yellow tang may currently show the most aggression since he's the most established tang, but eventually your purple tang will be the most aggressvie one. I would keep the purple (my fav Zebrasoma tang) and perhaps add a differnt tang - Kole perhaps? - one that doesn't grow too terribly big. -- Rob
Sharkb8 October 11, 2006 October 11, 2006 I agree with the comment above. Three tangs in a 90 gal tank is a bit crowded. But three Zebrasoma tangs in the same 90-gal tank is not a good prospect for the future. The yellow tang may currently show the most aggression since he's the most established tang, but eventually your purple tang will be the most aggressvie one. I would keep the purple (my fav Zebrasoma tang) and perhaps add a differnt tang - Kole perhaps? - one that doesn't grow too terribly big. -- Rob ditto. Though I am partial to my sailfin. The yellow bullied the sailfin for a while, but the sailfin is such a voraceous (sp?) eater that it is now bigger than the yellow and is the king (queen?) of the tank. I don't know much about the kole but I wish I had one. They are very cool fish. Not sure how big they get but I have heard their aggression register is toned down a notch.
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