Kole Tang attacking newly added Starry Blenny

[tylersarah]

Two weeks ago we added a Starry Blenny to our tank. Ever since we added the Blenny our Kole tang attacks him whenever he sees him. He basically will not let him come out of the rock caverns and if he does the Tang attacks very aggressively. I'm afraid for the Blenny. I have tried putting some small PVC pieces near where the Blenny hides out and that deterred the tang for about an hour then he was right back at it. Anyone have any advice? Should I attempt to quarantine the tang an then reintroduce him to the tank?

Thanks.

[edgero]

Had same problem with kole tang, he attacked yellow tang and other small fishes ... 2 days in other tank helped.

[nivram]

I had a spotted kole that reacted the same way to my orange spotted blenny. If it saw the blenny, it would immediately turn to chase it. All other fish were fine.

[benchen8844]

mine too,kole tang chase starry blenny all the time

[goodtimes2]

My kole tang also only goes after my starry blenny. It must be its similiar dark coloring and both eating similiar food. If you have enough live rock with small crevices and openings he should easily avoid being caught and always finds a way to eat. If you can quaratine the tang for a week or so , it would allow the starry bleeny to bulk up and find all his needed escape routes.

[tylersarah]

I did some research on this and it seems that many people have the same problem. It was recommended to me to tape a small mirror to an area of the tank facing in. Now the tang sees his reflection and thinks it's another tang. This drives him kinda nuts and keeps him busy. I have seen the blenny much more now after installing the mirror.

The tang still goes after the blenny but not nearly as much.

Just thought i'd share for anyone that may want to try this.

[aleonn]

My Kole tang is the most docile of all my fish, but he does still occasionally chase my starry blenny if they bump into each other. There aren't any major fights or damage, but I do have lots of rockwork in my 180 gallon tank. If you can catch either fish, you can put him in an acclimation tank or in the refugium to cool off a little.

[btkrausen]

When I had a Kole tang it would harass my Tail Spot blenny to the point where he would rarely swim around. When I took the Kole tang out and gave him away...I kid you not the Tail spot blenny noticed immediately and was skimming circles around the entire tank..nonstop. He did it for an hour at least like it was a victory lap, haha.

Needless to say I'll never buy another Kole tang as I like blennies too much. I actually just bought the orange spotted from LADD tonight..can't wait :)

[ohioreef71]

It's funny how many different personalities a fish species can have. My kole eats the nori clip right next to my starry blenny and all other fish and no problems. I have learned to research as much as you can but in the end every tank and fish are different. They say clowns are peaceful but my smaller ocellaris killed my purple firefish don't know why. You never know what will happen when you get a new fish it's always a gamble.