purple tang aggression...wow

[jubjub]

i always knew purple tangs were aggressive but mine has taken it to a whole new level this morning. i got a lawnmower blenny last night i woke up this found the purple tang chasing the blenny around then proceeded to corner him and before i could do anything started flaring and ramming the blenny and tail slapping, next thing i know the blenny is dead...***!

bout one month ago i got a flame angel the purple bullied him to! but he was small enough that the flame could hide in a nook for a day then aggression seemed to subside.......

is it normal for purples to be this aggressive?


tank is 60x18x18 the tang is probably around 2-2.5".....

current inhabitants are
onespot foxface
2 clarkii's
purple tang
flame angel

[Stuart60611]

Yep, they can be nasty. Had to get rid of mine because he was beating on a tusk over twice his size.

[tcmfish]

Normal.

[Chihuahua6]

Wow that's mean. I'm surprised it was a rock skipping type of fish that aggrevated him so much. If it was another open water swimmer I could understand it more.

I had a Purple Tang that was fine with every other fish except my Pyramid Butterflies which were a bit bigger. He wouldn't actually hurt them but would aggressively chase them away a few times per hour. I imagined the behavior would get worse over time and since my butterflies were my pride and joy I decided to sell the Tang when I moved. I hope to try another in the future.

[anbosu]

I think that level of aggression is pretty normal in a 5' or smaller tank from reading comments from other users on here.

[jubjub]

wow im just really shocked i always thought tangs were aggressive to their own species just hard to imagine a flame angel(well maybe kinda close) but a blenny just boggles my mind...

[jnc914]

I had to get rid of mine due to extreme aggression toward some of the larger angels in my tank. The tang was only 3" and it was beating up on fish twice as big. They are beautiful, but not worth the headache in the long run.

[Stuart60611]

Purple tangs can be particularly aggressive toward other food competitor herbivore fish which is why yours had such a violent attitude toward the blenny. Your purple tang wanted all of the tank for his/her exclusive grazing.

[jubjub]

^^ lol his/her exclusive grazing...lol thats funny my tang wont eat anything thats not off the nori clip i have some long hair algae, all over the place yet the tang wont touch it lol...

[iFrag]

My purple tang killed a 7in naso and my purple tang is only 4 in.

[jubjub]

^^ holey jeebus are you serious!

[iFrag]

yup I cant put anything els in the tank.

[Toddrtrex]

Like others have said... I had to get rid of mine, it had taken a liking to cutting my male Clarkii, to the point where I could see an open wound.

[Sardaukar]

In terms of level of aggression and likelihood of being aggressive, they are right up there with Powder Blue's. Only the Sohal/Clown tangs are probably worse.

[urastame]

Yeah these guys can be nasty. i had 2 yellows 1 purple and a sohal all in one tank and all where fine till i switch tanks and they all went at it like a riot....... they have to a last edition in your tank.

[urastame]

Yeah these guys can be nasty. i had 2 yellows 1 purple and a sohal all in one tank and all where fine till i switch tanks and they all went at it like a riot....... they have to a last edition in your tank

[urastame]

Sorry for double posting. didnt see it