Tang Compatibility

[inigomontoya]

Hello - I have a 130 that has finished its cycle with a nice healthy cuc munching away and some new corals fed from my 40g mixed reef. Every time I come up with my fish list I run into compatibility issues, from coral/clams to each other.

I am definitely going to have a YWG/pistol shrimp combo and a bi-color blenny also a picasso clown and rbta. Later will be getting a mandarin once the pod population has many more months to mature in my fuge (and tank). I also have an lfs watching a flame angel for me to see if it has a taste for corals or not (real small operation with great service). I had narrowed down my larger fish to a kole tang (really want a powder blue but plan on a mellower tank). A friend was offering me their yellow tang and I wanted to check on compatibility with a future kole tang. Obviously I can't put both in right now due to the bio-load so unsure about how they will get along with the yellow introduced first. The yellow and kole are both on the mellower side of the tangs and fit my tank but they have similar shapes and want to see if people have had good results with mixing them. Thanks for the input.

[kduen]

I only have the kole but their body shapes aren't that similar. My LFS has a Kole in with a Purple tang and they have had no issues at least that's all they will confess to. I could be wrong but when I think of the yellow it is more triangular in shape compared to the ovalular shape of the Kole.

[Palting]

They seem pretty close in shape to me: http://aquarium-fish.liveaquaria.com/search?w=yellow%20tang

Since you have chosen a kole tang already, I would hold off on the yellow.

[hydrahawk]

There shouldn't be an issue between the yellow tang and the kole tang. They are from different genus. Also, like kduen said, their body shape is different. If your 130 is full of LRs, I would put them in together at the same time. How large/small are the tangs going to be?

[capecoral]

Love the purples.... wish you could have a school of them.

[cloak]

It can go either way IMO. They might fight right from the start or, perhaps you'll luck out and they won't bother each other at all. It's really hard to put a definitive answer on situations like these. I would probably wait on the Kole tang until you have added some of the other fish in your list though. Sometimes having "dither" fish such as the dwarf angel, the clown, maybe an anthias or two can help spread out any aggression between the two tangs. Good luck.

[Floowid]

All fish are different. The conventional wisdom is that fish of the same genus will possibly fight. The Kole and Yellow are different genus, so you should be alright on paper. The best thing would be to observe the yellow before you get it and see if it is aggressive or mellow.

It is just like with other pets. Dogs hate cats... exept when they don't. My friend has a dog who will let his cat sleep on its head. My dog goes nuts when it sees a cat. Both small terriers. I serviced a tank that had a yellow tang, a purple, a hippo, and a naso all living together comfortably, all added at different times. The real answer is that you wont really know til you try it, but I would think you should be ok with both those fish... unless you aren't.

[inigomontoya]

Floowid seems to sum up what I have gathered from my general reading of the boards. Funny you mention anthias because I have thought a male w/harem of them would be cool (though pricey). Seems like chances of success are increased if introduced at the same time so I will try to go that route. I also like the purples but have seen heard they tend to be on the more aggressive side.

[KafudaFish]

Hey Happy Yesterday Birthday inigomontoya.

[Chris27]

Put them in at the same time and watch them closely for a few days....my guess is that they will slap each other a bit for a day or two and then they won't bother each other again. FWIW, I have a sailfin, yellow and purple tang in the same tank, and they never bother with each other even though they are from the same genus.

[RyanAlan]

I agree 100% with the last few posts.

I have had experience with this myself along with a tank about that size.

The bottom line is, depending on the fish's personality will help determine what the outcome might also be.

I have had 4 tangs of the same body shape in one tank and they did fine. I currently have 1 yellow, 1 purple and 1 sailfin 1 lavender all in one 180 gallon tank and they are also all happy.

I feed heavily and I think that also helps keep the tempers down.

Just have an exit plan in the event something starts to spiral downhill quickly.

[Brndn0515]

I am also thinking of introducing a Kole tang into my current tank that is home to a yellow tang and pair of bw clowns. Im having the same reservations...let us know how things work out.