yellow tang vs the world...

[jubjub]

anyone ever seen this? My yellow tang was so peaceful never fought with ANYTHING/ANYONE! then last saturday i went out and picked up 6 chromies, and a blue eye tang....and Big yella just went ballistic it seems. i actually saw him fighting and postering up a ton since then, he single handedly managed to kill off 4/6 chromies and the blue eye(i think he was a 2spot bristletooth just mislabeled) i found dead this morning.....

[crvz]

75 gallon? That's not a terrible surprise. They get more aggressive as they age.

[OARrocks]

You added a tang with a yellow tang already established.

Well theirs your problem.

add yellas last.

[jubjub]

i did alot of reading and if you picked up a different species of tang, you shouldnt of have much of an issue? the new one was totally different size and shape.

as far as CRVZ about the 75gal it is a 75gallon long IE the 5foot not a 4foot one... the extra space should of helped alot also.

I've seen yellows fine with others like purples etc koles etc in 72 bows....so i guess mine is just a odd ball

but does this doesnt explain the killing of chromies?

[mat167]

yea, in theory you shouldn't have a problem. unfortunately fish are unpredictable. You can keep several zebrasoma species together as long as:
I) the tank is large enough, I wouldn't do it in a 75 gallon unless you buy them small, most people would even say 75 gallon is too small for one tang, let alone multiple tangs but that's another thread altogether.
II) you add them around the same time. once one is established that's it, game over.

As for the chromises, I think the other surgeon got your yellow all hot and bothered. If you want to try again, try turning the lights out at least an hour before adding the new fish. if you want to try adding more tangs without taking out the yellow, here's what worked for me:
get a clear plastic breeder container, and keep the fish in there for a day or so. then turn out the lights for about an hour, and release the fish. it'll probably still get harassed, but should be a more mild hazing

[schmidt01]

I've had a yellow tang for several months and I just got a sailfin tang and a kole tang two weeks ago from a friend that tore down his tank (they should be re-homed soon) and all 3 are getting along now. The yellow tang was a bit upset for a couple of hours, but now all 3 tangs school together. I also have 6 chromis in my tank too... no problems there either. Actually, I had 10 chromis and they killed eachother off until there were only 6 left. My point is, the yellow tang may not be the culprit... maybe the new tang wasn't healthy to begin with and the new addition caused the chromis to start battling eachother ... just being devil's advocate here...

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I would just recommend against putting another tang in that tank. One tang is pushing it, but I think a yellow tang is doable in that tank. Anything more and you're going to stress the fish way too much.

[sk8rreefgeek]

a guy told me he had 3 chromis like me. then he said he added 6-7 more, and they killed themselves off untill there were 3.
Then he did it one more time, and the same thing happened. back to three.
I think that was a 125

[grantquick]

I have also had success with moving rockwork around when adding fish with my yellow tang. he can be very territorial but if I make the tank look different it seems to calm the situation. I think he thinks he is somewhere else and isn't as aggressive. Just my 2 cents.

[nikon187]

My yellow will kill any newcommer as well. I agree that tank is only suited to the one tang. He will be the only tang in my new 130

[dcombs44]

Some people follow the rule of adding all tangs to the tank last and at the same time. Especially one of that size. That's a short tank for species of fish that need that much swimming room. Then when you add a new one when the yellow has already established territory, there's always a chance there will be problems.

With a bigger tank you could avoid it, but a 4 foot tank seems risky. Of course, you know that now :)

[jubjub]

oh well gonna let things settle down maybe i can find me a reef safe bannerfish....hopefully they wont kill that ha!

dcombs btw its a 5foot tank not a 4footer..i wouldnt of attempted this in a 4foot

[Vapour1ze]

a 75 is not to small for a yellow, everyones commenting like its terrible to have a yellow in there, it was and now again it still is the only tang its fine. dimensions are fine.

[dcombs44]

I didn't say a 75 was too small for a yellow tang, I said there's a good possibility that 2 tangs could have issues in a 75 if not placed in the tank at the same time.

I have a yellow tang in a 55 gallon, but I wouldn't add another at this point.

I am getting ready to start a 125 gallon build though, and you can rest assured, I'll add some more tangs to that :)

[Vapour1ze]

:D glad to hear it