TOTALLY BAD IDEA? - Mixing Regal Tang and Powder Blue Tang

[Seek828]

Hi all,

Just came back from my LFS today and found that they have gotten some Powder Blue Tangs. They rarely get them.
They are slightly less than 3 inches long.

I was just getting ready to get my next fish for my 90G FOWLR and initially was thinking the Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus).

They also have one at around 3 inches long.

I really like both. But I know that with the similar color and body shape, there is a high possiblitiy that they will fight.

Anyone think there is any chance in the world that they will tolerate each other in a 90G? Anyone tried keeping them at the same time before?
What if I add them together at the same time?

Thanks for reading!

[digital-audiophile]

I've a regal and a powder brown (along with a purple tang) in my 90.

The purple has always been a jerk.. to what ever fish I add.. but the regal and the powder got along just fine from day one.

It may be different fish to fish but in my experience it went just fine :)

[mark]

Always wanted a Powder Blue but after having one on hold at a LFS only to die then reading further, seems their survival rate not the best.

[parkinsn]

I have a Blue with my PBT and they get along fine, it more my purple that i worry about. I put my blue and purple in on the same day so there was no problem there. I got a PBT from the LFS that they held for me for a month or so, he then went into my 20g QT for a month so i could get him fat before i threw him in with the other tangs, the blue never touched him but i thought my purple was going to kill him, but its been 3 months now no issues they all swim together. This is in a 120g 4'x2'. I would add them at the same time, that should keep the aggression down and they will hopefully establish a "pecking order" without too much fighting.

[christyf5]

I have a regal and PBT as well. The regal is king of the tank and I would have thought there would be some aggression upon adding the PBT, however it wasn't from the regal. My scopas (thougth was the most mellow fish ever!) was checking out the PBT and bugged him for about 2 weeks. I have lots of hidey holes and spot fed the PBT (fed the fish at one end of the tank and the PBT at the other). They're all fine now, sometimes there is some tail flashing back and forth between the two but other than that no problems.

As for their survival rate, no its not the best. I think they're ich magnets. Knock on wood I've never had any ich on mine, but I did have a neon goby in the tank at all times and he did a great job of keeping them all clean. Best you can do is get a healthy looking one that is eating at the LFS. I was pretty leery of trying one of these fish but happily I've had him for almost 2 years now :biggrin:

[naesco]

Hi all,

Just came back from my LFS today and found that they have gotten some Powder Blue Tangs. They rarely get them.
They are slightly less than 3 inches long.

I was just getting ready to get my next fish for my 90G FOWLR and initially was thinking the Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus).

They also have one at around 3 inches long.

I really like both. But I know that with the similar color and body shape, there is a high possiblitiy that they will fight.

Anyone think there is any chance in the world that they will tolerate each other in a 90G? Anyone tried keeping them at the same time before?
What if I add them together at the same time?

Thanks for reading!

The powder blue tang is a very difficult fish to keep. Typically it does well for a while than gets sick and dies for no apparent reason often taken a few of the other fish with them.
He is a link about the powder blue
http://wetwebmedia.com/powdbluetg.htm

The regal tang is an ich magnet and gets to the size of a pie plate and IMO is too large a fish for a 90.

If you are set a getting a tang consider the kole or yellow for a 90 however you have a trigger already so you may have problems with adding any tangs in a 90

[digital-audiophile]

Agreed that regals get to be very large over the long term but although they seem to grow fast in the first year, it seems to slow down from there. After I lost mine to a nasty jumping incident I brought one home from a fellow canreefer and he is still pretty small about 3 inches and he is at least two years old.

[christyf5]

I got my regal at about 5 inches or so. I'd say she's about 7 inches now and I've had her for 4 years.

[dkcrx]

I have had my regal for 8 years, got him at 6inch and is around 8inch now. seems to be the amount of food we supply is less then they would get in the wild due to us all wanting pristine water quality, maby a reason for the trend in slow growth. Not that i under feed, I go by belly size, if they start looking a bit on the thin side they get a large feeding for a few days then it's water change time.

[Seek828]

The powder blue tang is a very difficult fish to keep. Typically it does well for a while than gets sick and dies for no apparent reason often taken a few of the other fish with them.
He is a link about the powder blue
http://wetwebmedia.com/powdbluetg.htm

The regal tang is an ich magnet and gets to the size of a pie plate and IMO is too large a fish for a 90.

If you are set a getting a tang consider the kole or yellow for a 90 however you have a trigger already so you may have problems with adding any tangs in a 90
Yes I know of the diffculty level of both fish and also their sizes. I have kept Regal before with some success in the long past but never tried PBT.
I do know that eventually they will outgrow my tank and I will need an upgrade in the future to house both of them.
I was, more or less, putting the whole issue about disease and size aside for now and was just thinking if their coexistent is even possible to begin with before I go into the disease and size issues.
But hey, thanks so much for the warning!:biggrin:

[Seek828]

And also to everybody else, thanks so much for all the comments!

Seems like it is indeed possible to keep them together.

I noticed a lot of you ask your LFS to hold the fish for you. That sounds like a good plan. But how does it work for you guys? If the fish dies before the date you set to pick it up, do you still have to pay for it?

In my case I have a 45G QT with skimmer all ready for new fish.
Should I quarantine them by myself or ask the LFS to do it for me?

Also, if I ask the LFS to hold them, how long should I ask for?
I usually quarantine my fishes for 2 weeks if no disease is shown. Is that okay?

Thanks!!

[parkinsn]

And also to everybody else, thanks so much for all the comments!

Seems like it is indeed possible to keep them together.

I noticed a lot of you ask your LFS to hold the fish for you. That sounds like a good plan. But how does it work for you guys? If the fish dies before the date you set to pick it up, do you still have to pay for it?

In my case I have a 45G QT with skimmer all ready for new fish.
Should I quarantine them by myself or ask the LFS to do it for me?

Also, if I ask the LFS to hold them, how long should I ask for?
I usually quarantine my fishes for 2 weeks if no disease is shown. Is that okay?

Thanks!!

When you see something you like ask the LFS to hold it they should do it for you. When fish come in they are stressed and they may not eat right away or at all, a good LFS will hold the fish for you until it is eating proper foods. Also a good LFS will not let the fish go if they dont think it will do well. Sorry about what im going to say retailers, but I would rather have the LFS take the loss of a fish than me, they can make their money back on something else to balance for the lost fish we cant. Ask your LFS to hold the fish till it is looking healthy and eating good, you can always ask them to feed it in front of you. For a PBT I would go longer than 2 weeks in QT as (correct me if im wrong) Ich takes 4 weeks to work its self out of the fish and PBT's are ich magnets. As for the fish dying before you pick it up some LFS will make you pay ahead of time and some wont, so keep your receipt and they will refund you or give store credit if it dies in their care.

[Seek828]

When you see something you like ask the LFS to hold it they should do it for you. When fish come in they are stressed and they may not eat right away or at all, a good LFS will hold the fish for you until it is eating proper foods. Also a good LFS will not let the fish go if they dont think it will do well. Sorry about what im going to say retailers, but I would rather have the LFS take the loss of a fish than me, they can make their money back on something else to balance for the lost fish we cant. Ask your LFS to hold the fish till it is looking healthy and eating good, you can always ask them to feed it in front of you. For a PBT I would go longer than 2 weeks in QT as (correct me if im wrong) Ich takes 4 weeks to work its self out of the fish and PBT's are ich magnets. As for the fish dying before you pick it up some LFS will make you pay ahead of time and some wont, so keep your receipt and they will refund you or give store credit if it dies in their care.


wow great comment! Thanks!
ya I went back to the LFS today and the two PBTs I saw yesterday were already sold :sad:
However, the Regal is still there and I will talk to the manager tomorrow asking him to at least hold it for 1 week or so in the store for me. (He was not working today)

One more question though, I should still quarantine the new fish myself after asking the LFS to hold it for a while for me right?
Just want to make sure.

[naesco]

When you see something you like ask the LFS to hold it they should do it for you. When fish come in they are stressed and they may not eat right away or at all, a good LFS will hold the fish for you until it is eating proper foods. Also a good LFS will not let the fish go if they dont think it will do well. Sorry about what im going to say retailers, but I would rather have the LFS take the loss of a fish than me, they can make their money back on something else to balance for the lost fish we cant. Ask your LFS to hold the fish till it is looking healthy and eating good, you can always ask them to feed it in front of you. For a PBT I would go longer than 2 weeks in QT as (correct me if im wrong) Ich takes 4 weeks to work its self out of the fish and PBT's are ich magnets. As for the fish dying before you pick it up some LFS will make you pay ahead of time and some wont, so keep your receipt and they will refund you or give store credit if it dies in their care.

Really good advice parkinson.
The fish should have the following.
The eyes should be crystal clear.
There should not be any fuzz, spots, tears or redness on the fins or elsewhere.
There should not be any discolouration on the fish anywhere.
The fish should be active and appear just as interested in you as you are in it.
Lastly, you should SEE it eating.
Do not accept the fish or feel obligated in any way to buy it if it is not 100% healthy.
There will always be another.

[Trigger Man]

wow great comment! Thanks!
ya I went back to the LFS today and the two PBTs I saw yesterday were already sold :sad:
However, the Regal is still there and I will talk to the manager tomorrow asking him to at least hold it for 1 week or so in the store for me. (He was not working today)

One more question though, I should still quarantine the new fish myself after asking the LFS to hold it for a while for me right?
Just want to make sure.

For the most part when asking to hold a fish you don't have to say how long, just say you want to buy it and will pick it up when it starts eating well in the store. I have had fish that were good to be picked up a few days later, yet I've had fish that took over a month to be eating well and then I took them home.
You should still quarantine the new fish after picking it up at the lfs, as the lfs goes though a lot of stock and diseases are always being introduced into the water.

[Seek828]

For the most part when asking to hold a fish you don't have to say how long, just say you want to buy it and will pick it up when it starts eating well in the store. I have had fish that were good to be picked up a few days later, yet I've had fish that took over a month to be eating well and then I took them home.
You should still quarantine the new fish after picking it up at the lfs, as the lfs goes though a lot of stock and diseases are always being introduced into the water.

Got it!
I'll talk to the manager tomorrow and see how it goes!
Thanks

[parkinsn]

One more question though, I should still quarantine the new fish myself after asking the LFS to hold it for a while for me right?
Just want to make sure.

I would still QT it even if they hold it for. If the LFS puts new stock in the same system then your back to square 1 on the cycle. If it is by itself for a month and medicated you would more than likely be ok not to QT. But QT at home is nice because then you can medicate and make sure you are happy with the state of the fish before it goes in your display.

[Seek828]

I would still QT it even if they hold it for. If the LFS puts new stock in the same system then your back to square 1 on the cycle. If it is by itself for a month and medicated you would more than likely be ok not to QT. But QT at home is nice because then you can medicate and make sure you are happy with the state of the fish before it goes in your display.

Ya I was thinking along the same line
I think QT at home also let the fish slowly adept to tank life and build up its strength before seeing other tankmate

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I have both types of tangs together in the same tank, but its a 6' 210g reef. The PB only goes after other PBs, just like my Regal only chased a bit after other Regals & my school of YTs go after newly introduced YTs.

My Powder Brown tang, on the other hand, attacks everything new that is placed in his 120g fowlr.

For the Powder Brown, I have a hang on tank plexi box that I use to keep the new fish in until the PB gets used to it. Then I release & it's no problem.

Anthony