tang concern

[Pyro22]

Yesterday I received a yellow tang. I've had 2 tangs in the same tank in the past with no problems. But for some reason my Atlantic blue wont leave it alone even my clown is picking at it.

Is there anything I can do besides getting rid of the yellow tang

[nolen84]

you can try and wait it out, but sometimes that is too late. you might have to decide on which one you want. how big is your tank?

[blueridge]

I have used a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it to wall off a small section of the tank to give the new addition some peace. This helps everyone get used to one another. This is impractical in a tank filled with live rock though.

[glh156]

Have your Clowns found an anemone to pair with in your tank and are the clowns large in phyical size? are they Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish?

When they get large, if they and Maroon and have paired with anemone they can be come VERY agressive...

[Pyro22]

I have a percula clown and they seem to have made zoos there home
I would've never thought they'd been mean
Well lets hope they become friendly before someone stresses out

[RegalAngel]

I have used a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it to wall off a small section of the tank to give the new addition some peace. This helps everyone get used to one another. This is impractical in a tank filled with live rock though.


You can also make a partition with eggcrate and cut plastic tubing over the edges for squeezing against the tank sides. I have two for my 50g QT, and even have two for my 300g FO tank to isolate fishes if needed after removing certain sections of decor.

[robs.mark]

How big is your tank? im not the tang police, however if you plan on putting two tangs of the same body shape in the same tank ie. atlantic blue/yellow/scopes/purple/gem etc you need a large tank. ( 250g + imo). If not your asking for trouble, they will fight and one will lose. Sometimes this problem can be overcome by adding both juvanile fish at the same time. if your tank is in excess of 100g you could maybe keep two tangs of different body shapes ie. yellow and a hippo/bristle tooth/naso/unicorn etc.

[cliff717]

you may want to wait for a bit i have found that when one gets beat enough they will become submissive and the dominant tang won't bother with it anymore.

[fatdaddy]

How beat up is the yellow? Look at it's fins/tail and look for damage.

[Chris27]

It's not impossible to keep two tangs in one tank, here are some suggestions to help you out.

1. Re-aquascape, by doing this everyone needs to stake out some new territory, instead of fighting for what they have already.

2. Introduce them at the same time.

3. Choose tangs from different families, ie. Hippo, Yellow, Naso, instead of a Yellow, Sailfin and Scopas.

4. Neuter them by clipping off their tangs with fingernail clippers.

Good luck - BTW, I have a yellow, hippo and clown tang in my tank and they all get along with each other just fine - I did have to move a very small sailfin out, as it was getting picked on by the yellow and clown tangs.

[glh156]

Pyro22, how much room are you working with?

[Pyro22]

Unfortunately I'm not working with much room. I only have a 75 gal. The yellow was a christmas present from my girl. She just thought it looked pretty. Now I gotta try something.

The tangs are both about 2 inches. I tried to move some rock around but BC of corals I'm limited to movement unless I take every piece out.

The yellow tang just wants to swim and the blue sneaks up on him. Seems the blue is stressing more. He yellow only has a small piece of tail missing and I think its from the percula.

Lets hope I can get them to be friends. By the way can anyone give advice on trying to catch the blue with rock in the tank.

[Pyro22]

Is neutering them safe and does anyone have any reading on this technique

[DevilBoy]

Clowns can be aggressive once established. They are in the damsel family and them buggers can be mean.

[DevilBoy]

Is neutering them safe and does anyone have any reading on this technique

I am sure he was joking about neutering the fish.....

[Chris27]

I am sure he was joking about neutering the fish.....

Not at all - by cutting off the tangs (primary defense mechanism) they will just be slapping each other with their tails. It won't take them too long to realize that all the slapping is getting them nowhere.

[Chris27]

All you need to do is hold the fish in your palm, and cut off the tang with a very sharp pair of fingernail clippers. After your done, put them in a bucket with some saltwater and some Prime to help with their slime coat. It's very easy, and only takes a few min. It's best done while moving them from the QT to the DT.

[fatdaddy]

Lets hope I can get them to be friends. By the way can anyone give advice on trying to catch the blue with rock in the tank.

2"? I think you'll be fine. They just need some time to settle in.

I found turning off the lights works to settle them down. I've done that when introducing a new fish.

[fatdaddy]

btw, make sure that yellow is a pacific yellow. sometimes they get mixed up with the carribean yellow which is actually a juvie atlantic tang. If so, then sparks will fly when it matures.

[pimpman75]

place a mirror or a picture of a yellow tang on the sides of your tank. the fishes will get used to seeing the yellow tang and stop picking on it so much.

[Jurgs]

2"? I think you'll be fine. They just need some time to settle in.

I found turning off the lights works to settle them down. I've done that when introducing a new fish.

I woudld also say turn off the lights, let them settle. Good luck man

[Pyro22]

Its been 3 days now and it looks like the blue might be calming. He doesn't seem so aggressive anyone. At first he'd hide and sneak attack the yellow, no he's swimming around and just seems to make sure the yellow just keeps to one side.

Is this good? Or just false hope?

Also the clowns are back to normal. Swimming around leaving him alone.

[csdavis]

Its been 3 days now and it looks like the blue might be calming. He doesn't seem so aggressive anyone. At first he'd hide and sneak attack the yellow, no he's swimming around and just seems to make sure the yellow just keeps to one side.

Is this good? Or just false hope?

Also the clowns are back to normal. Swimming around leaving him alone.

I was actually wondering how the yellow one was holding up, just to make sure it wasn't starting to get stressed out and brake out in a parasite or something like ich. Does it seem to be eating and getting acclimated to its new home?

[armani4o3]

in that small of a tank 2 tangs should not be together and what will you do when they out grow that than it will not take to long

[Bigshow]

I have a blue regal, yellow, purple, scopa and sailfin tangs. They way to have more than one is to establish them in your tanks in pairs. I started off with a blue regal and scopa and then about two months later introduced the purple and yellow. No one seemed to pick on the sailfin when he was introduced.

[Bigshow]

And I only have a 75 gallon tank.

[gtaylor67]

You sound like you are going to be fine. If you haven't noticed after your tank has been up for awhile without any new additions there will be a pecking order formed and any new addition will be pestered. As far as not enough room... As long as you know that these fish will get bigger and plan to upgrade or reduce population you'll be fine.. Best of luck with your new family member..