Tang Compatibilty chart??

shag26272 · 05/26/2008, 05:58 PM

Interested in seeing which tangs are compatible with each other and how do you tell??? Most things ive heard is you cant keep the same kinds together but how do you tell if they are the same?? do you use the name?

Chibils · 05/26/2008, 08:50 PM

For the most part, it's Zebrasoma tangs that won't tolerate each other: yellow, purple, sailfin, Desjardini, gem, etc.

There are some tangs (read: clown, sohal, etc.) that are just plain mean.

jda · 05/27/2008, 10:02 AM

You can keep the same kinds together if you meet their needs. They require good quality water, lots of room and mostly LOTS of food. Most people fail with multiple tangs because they cram them into too small of tanks and then don't feed them because they want their reef water to be low in NO3 and PO4. You can ruin a reef keeping 3 or 4 tangs properly fed. Multiple tang tanks should be mostly limited to FO tanks where feeding and elevated N and P is not an issue.

Sohal and clown should be avoided by most people since very few have a tank large enough to keep them happy. They get VERY agressive when their needs are not met.

For your 75G, you should be looking at 0 tangs or perhaps 1 of the correct kind like maybe a bristletooth.

petsarenice · 05/27/2008, 10:06 AM

I've heard when putting several of the same tangs together you want to keep them in odd numbers. Also if you are mixing tangs I would avoid tangs of similar shape and color. A yellow tang and a purple may end up fighting (same shape) in a small tank, but a powder blue and a yellow will more than likely be okay (again, as long as the tank size is reasonable).

Laddy · 05/27/2008, 11:39 AM

jda is right on the money, well said.

shag26272 · 05/27/2008, 11:44 AM

Im pretty well informed on the sizes of tanks that these animals need, I just wasnt sure which ones could go together. I dont plan on having more then 1 but here is my situation. My tank is newly set up. About 2 weeks ago a good friend of mine had his tank bust at one of the seams early in the morning. We transferred all of his stuff to my empty tank including a medium size Sailfin tang. He is looking at a date sometime in July for a retransfer. Im just asking because If I were to buy a small tang right now for myself , I wouldnt want them to have any issues with each other.

shag26272 · 05/27/2008, 11:49 AM

here is a picture of all of the livestock, the only stuff that is mine is some GSP that someone gave me with my LR a few rics, and 3 chromis. The tank has been set up maybe 3-4 weeks and luckily everything has lived even though we had to break almost every rule in reefkeeping by adding all of this stuff at once to a new tank. Luckily the rock I bought the week before was from someone getting out of the hobby and it didnt have to cure, and also I tried to buy some good equipment for this setup. It will be sad to see all of this stuff go when he sets back up but he is going to hook me up with some nice frags to get me started.

kirkaz · 05/27/2008, 12:29 PM

The bigger the tank, the better you are with combining same family tangs....In a 150 for example, no chance I would have 2 acanthurus tangs. In the wild a lot of tangs are schooling fish, they just need space to get along.

jda · 05/27/2008, 12:43 PM

Since this tank is so new, I would go light on the fish for a while. Although the transported liverock/livestock is probably capable of handling the bio load, why risk it? New tanks, including those with transported liverock, can still suffer from ammonia/nitrate spikes if you put in too many fish.

Once again, any tang will get along with most any other tang provided that their needs are met. I think that you might be pretty thin on the needs list by putting a second tang in a 75G with even a smallish sailfin.

shag26272 · 05/27/2008, 12:44 PM

sounds good

05/26/2008, 05:58 PM	#1
shag26272 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 3,088	Tang Compatibilty chart?? Interested in seeing which tangs are compatible with each other and how do you tell??? Most things ive heard is you cant keep the same kinds together but how do you tell if they are the same?? do you use the name? __________________ .

05/26/2008, 08:50 PM	#2
Chibils halide loyalist Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sugar Hill, GA Posts: 2,213	For the most part, it's Zebrasoma tangs that won't tolerate each other: yellow, purple, sailfin, Desjardini, gem, etc. There are some tangs (read: clown, sohal, etc.) that are just plain mean. __________________ always learning Current Tank Info: 75G new world cichlid, 25G reef in planning

05/27/2008, 11:39 AM	#5
Laddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Standing Tall on the Quarterdeck Posts: 1,001	jda is right on the money, well said. __________________ James Hobbies: I enjoy moving water from point A, to point B, back to point A WANTED: True ATL Appleberry Palawanensis Frag, PM me. Current Tank Info: Current Build: 180 Reef; 55 holding tank

05/27/2008, 11:44 AM	#6
shag26272 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 3,088	Im pretty well informed on the sizes of tanks that these animals need, I just wasnt sure which ones could go together. I dont plan on having more then 1 but here is my situation. My tank is newly set up. About 2 weeks ago a good friend of mine had his tank bust at one of the seams early in the morning. We transferred all of his stuff to my empty tank including a medium size Sailfin tang. He is looking at a date sometime in July for a retransfer. Im just asking because If I were to buy a small tang right now for myself , I wouldnt want them to have any issues with each other. __________________ .

05/27/2008, 11:49 AM	#7
shag26272 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 3,088	here is a picture of all of the livestock, the only stuff that is mine is some GSP that someone gave me with my LR a few rics, and 3 chromis. The tank has been set up maybe 3-4 weeks and luckily everything has lived even though we had to break almost every rule in reefkeeping by adding all of this stuff at once to a new tank. Luckily the rock I bought the week before was from someone getting out of the hobby and it didnt have to cure, and also I tried to buy some good equipment for this setup. It will be sad to see all of this stuff go when he sets back up but he is going to hook me up with some nice frags to get me started. __________________ .

05/27/2008, 10:02 AM	#3
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	You can keep the same kinds together if you meet their needs. They require good quality water, lots of room and mostly LOTS of food. Most people fail with multiple tangs because they cram them into too small of tanks and then don't feed them because they want their reef water to be low in NO3 and PO4. You can ruin a reef keeping 3 or 4 tangs properly fed. Multiple tang tanks should be mostly limited to FO tanks where feeding and elevated N and P is not an issue. Sohal and clown should be avoided by most people since very few have a tank large enough to keep them happy. They get VERY agressive when their needs are not met. For your 75G, you should be looking at 0 tangs or perhaps 1 of the correct kind like maybe a bristletooth.

05/27/2008, 10:06 AM	#4
petsarenice Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 57	I've heard when putting several of the same tangs together you want to keep them in odd numbers. Also if you are mixing tangs I would avoid tangs of similar shape and color. A yellow tang and a purple may end up fighting (same shape) in a small tank, but a powder blue and a yellow will more than likely be okay (again, as long as the tank size is reasonable).

05/27/2008, 12:29 PM	#8
kirkaz Jade Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Peoria, AZ Posts: 1,760	The bigger the tank, the better you are with combining same family tangs....In a 150 for example, no chance I would have 2 acanthurus tangs. In the wild a lot of tangs are schooling fish, they just need space to get along.

05/27/2008, 12:43 PM	#9
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	Since this tank is so new, I would go light on the fish for a while. Although the transported liverock/livestock is probably capable of handling the bio load, why risk it? New tanks, including those with transported liverock, can still suffer from ammonia/nitrate spikes if you put in too many fish. Once again, any tang will get along with most any other tang provided that their needs are met. I think that you might be pretty thin on the needs list by putting a second tang in a 75G with even a smallish sailfin.

05/27/2008, 12:44 PM	#10
shag26272 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 3,088	sounds good __________________ .