Tang Troubles

[mseepman]

So Yesterday I placed a Red Sea Sailfin and an Orange Stripe Bristletooth Tang into my Display. They had been in the same tank together for a long time and had no animosity to each other. My big yellow in the display was a completely different matter. Although I've had the lights out over 24 hours, he has beat the live poop out of the Sailfin. It's upper fin is in tatters.

I have placed two mirrors around the tank and tacked two big pictures of yellow tangs to the outside glass all to no avail. Prior to the addition I only had two tangs in the tank...yellow and a hippo. The Hippo has been hiding the whole time the lights have been out.

My issue is that I can't keep all my SPS in the dark forever...am I missing something. This tank is almost 300g and over 7' long. It's not like there isn't space for them all. The Sailfin immediately made a home at the opposite end from the yellow. No one is bothering the Bristletooth that I've seen.

Any suggestions.:sad:

[Fishfreak]

I know exactly what you mean about tangs, they can be vicious. I have an 8 foot 400 gallon tank and never would I have thought that there would be that much aggression between tangs in a tank that size. I even tried using a 4 foot long mirror and that sort of worked. I have a powder blue that already killed a powder brown in my 8 foot tank. Recently I added an orange shoulder tang and being that they are both acanthurus, I was quite concerned about the powder blue again. I added him by using an acclimation box and keeping him in there for the first two days. The powder blue could see him and did he ever try getting him, but to no avail. After two days I let him out and although the powder blue still went after him, the aggression was way less. The orange shoulder still ended up receiving a small gash but after a little chasing and about two days, it has stopped and they get along fine. This seemed to work for me. Built the acclimation box out of some acrylic I had lying around, so it didn't really cost me anything.

[Aquattro]

I had a yellow, purple, sailfin and an achilles that lived together for years. Then they decided to go at each other to the point the yellow and purple had to be removed. Sometimes that's the only option. Oh, I tried to add a powder blue earlier in the year, that didn't work either.

[H2o2]

Time to say bye bye to that yellow and leave that picture of him hanging on the wall for reference and or darts

[mseepman]

Haha...you know I can't do that Harry. He was my second fish ever and he's been with me almost 8 years now. I gotta have some loyalty...although if I had a taser that worked under water I would have zapped him today.

[EmilyB]

Yellow's are the best. Get rid of the rest. :wink:

[Slyguy00]

My yellow tang always picked on my sail fin. His fin usually heals pretty fast though. I think its just the way it goes, some fish have personality clashes :mrgreen:

[mark]

So much do I want to get a YT but already have a Purple. Posts like this brings a reality check, zebrasoma can be jerks.

[darkreef]

All I hear is nasty stories about them yellow tangs refuse to own one .

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I just changed over two tanks and while I had my fish all caught, I added 3 Yellow tangs into my main tank that already has a Sohal (dominant tang) and an @sshole Lavender tang. As hoped, by adding the 3 YTs at the same time, the Sohal didn't know which to go after and after just a few shows of aggression, has pretty much left the three newbies alone. Whew.

[rickcasa]

Yellow's are the best. Get rid of the rest. :wink:

+1, you'll regret getting rid of it if you do. I'm trying to add another 2 but my purple is the one kicking butts. I think we have to add smaller tangs (like half their size) for the alphas not to feel threatened.

[mseepman]

Well a quick update...I turned the lights on...and the beatings continued. I had already been using a mirror but someone suggested a bigger one...so I went to Walmart and for $7 got a 4ft mirror that i've placed along one of the sides...has it worked???? Maybe a little. The YT is watching himself as often as he is beating on the others now...so maybe a 50% reduction. The other fish have all gone insane...the hippo is not thrilled and my blue fairy wrasse has gone bonkers. The Sailfin is now using one eye to watch for yellow and the other to attack itself in the mirror. Even the goby is open mouthing the mirror side in aggression.
How the hell did i get so many grumpy fish? Without the New additions...there has been zero aggression in my tank over the last year. Only when the yellow sees a new tang.

[Doug]

Sorry about the problems Mark. I had to laugh at your last post though, imaging all the fish you described. I remember Mike having similar problems and he stuck with the mirror and it eventually did the job.

Thats one problem I have with bare bottom. My male clown is always beating on that guy down there.