Tang!!!
 

Looking to set up a 120 gal. 48 x 18 x 30

Looking for 2 tangs that would best fit my tank! And need suggestions and help on picking

I want a purple tang for sure
What other tangs can I add with it?

Here are my thoughts, tell me if it might be a bad idea for which species and why. Thanks
Also, tell me about their color, personalities, other tangs that might be great for me, thank
-scopas
-powder blue
-yellow (last resort maybe)
-miminc lemon peel
-Kole tang

Don't want anything too big, want colors! Thanks so much, much appreciated

I would stay away from a powder blue in a 120/4 ft tank. Just my 2 pennies.

Sounds good!

Stay away from a second Zebrosoma (Scopas/Yellow). Powder Blue needs a bigger tank.

May i ask my stay away?

I would not put a purple tang in that small of a tank with other tangs. I have known too many people that had to remove a purple tang because they kill other tangs and sometimes get very aggressive to their fish like angels. It is not that it wont be happy in there it just can be aggressive. As a single you probably are fine.

A kole would be ok. Mixing tangs in a smaller tank can get tricky and most tangs recommended are close the kole in shape like bristletooth tangs. They can be aggressive to each other. Maybe a yellow tang and a Kole and I would introduce them together. possibly a Scopas.

You do not want to have two Zebrosoma in a 120 together. Purples are known to be one of the more aggressive Tangs but if you have your heart set on two tangs and one being a purple i would go with the Kole. Stays smaller and looks very different than the purple.

(Says the guy with a Yellow, Sailfin, Regal, and Blonde Naso in a 180...haha)

Sounds awesome, I've had my eyes set on the purple. But I was planning on adding the tangs together. Not only that but my tank is pretty tall so I'm thinking of just adding a lot of tall rock scapes so that if they do aggressive they can run around and hide.
Just worried that this aggression might lead to TOO much stress, then the ich problem comes. But if theres just so much problems with a purple and a kole, then I'll just keep one.

What if I introduce them together? And they're going to be the same size. :fish2:

I think introducing them together is a good idea. The purple is a beautiful fish, and I can totally see why you would want one, but IME, the purple is allot more active and can me more aggressive than a yellow.

I have a purple, yellow, kole, and a bastard desjardini sailfin in my 225g. The yellow is a swimmer, but much less active than my purple. The scopas is much like the yellow, but grows pretty large from what I've seen. If I were in your shoes, I'd go with the yellow and the kole. Hands down, the most beautiful tang (to me anyway), is the yellow eye kole tang.

Make sure you get a QT tank and QT your tangs and all other livestock before they are added to your tank. Be prepared to treat them for disease if necessary. If you do it right, you will not have to worry about ich...

Best of luck...

Understandable! You guys are awesome and the yellow tang sounds good right now.
Although may I ask if I can do a scopas tang and a Kole tang? I like the brown dark fade in the scoppas that's why, I think this tang is under rated

4 feet of swimming length is the issue. I might opt for 1 tang and leave it at that. Tangs are touchy. I had an Atlantic blue, hippo and purple tang in my 200. They all got along great for 15 years until the hippo died. Now the Atlantic Blue pics on the Purple all the time...
If you can't resist, you will end up feeling guilty once they grow and having to get a larger tank soon!
Good luck

I should just settle with a purple tang lol

My main problem is that I want other medium sized with in there other than a tang, what fishes are available? (Something with color and reef safe)

Juvi Chevron tank has beautiful colors. My local store's display tank has a Chevron that has grown slowly.

I have just known and heard of too many people having to remove purple tangs.. It doesn't always happen right away either and they can kill in no time. It is not just other tangs either it is angels and butterflies. Purples just can be vicious compered to other tangs. Some times it works but mostly it dont unless large tank with multiple tangs. I think some of the people that say they have had no issues may just have not had a issue yet with purples and other tangs. The key being yet and I think in larger tang with multiple tangs they work or by them selves.

Quick search on youtube. watch the first and you can see what I mean by relentless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em2pV6wlSkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvtRuYreh90

Height does not make too much difference when it comes to territory. I have a kole in a 90 and it is aggressive as can be to my other fish when they are in his territory which has gotten pretty big now. He will bull rush the other fish just trying to support dominance. I have anthias because they are open water and stay out of his territory.


Also once a tang is in a small tank it is hard to add other fish of certain species too.. I tried to add a bangii cardinal and he almost killed it in minutes. I literally reached in and grabbed the fish because he was so stressed. I think the biggest problem with tangs is once they dont like another fish it becomes relentless.

That doesn't sound so good lol. I think I'll just do one tang, wether purple, yellow, or scoppas. I thought they don't bother other fishes unless it's another tang

It could work. It is just hard in a 48 x18 inch tank to get two tangs. Sometimes it works and sometimes it dont. It helps adding them together. Tangs of similar body shape are harder. I am not a tang police and dont agree with most of the rule of thumbs anyway.. I believe in square footage more than length to a extent anyway.

Its a territory thing mostly, he has about two feet under a ledge no one is allowed in. Outside that area my kole just likes to make sure others know he is king. Just certain fish I have to watch out for.

I highly recommend a single kole or bristle tooth for your tank and is your best bet. Yellow and Scopas next..

Scoppas and Kole is my bests choice right now.

Tell me more about tour anthias? Don't know much about them and what kind do you have ? Any suggested for me?v

Not trying to step on shred5's info, but wanted to add this about anthias. Long read, but definitely worth it for the information on anthias... http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=266

I have 100 gallon 5ft long. My three big fish are lemon peel tang, purple tang, and copper banded butterfly. They get along great with very little issues. I did put the purple in dead last though. No issues what so ever. Been together over a year.

Hmm interesting, copper and eating any corals?

That is actually a good read. I find it pretty much dead on..
If you want a shoal, ignitus and dispar seem to be the best.

I have ignitus which are pretty hardy once established but dont ship well.
They are very hard to get to eat dried food but are not hard to get on frozen food like cyclopeese, mysis and their favorite Calanus. They are very agressive eaters. They need lots of feedings though. They have very little aggression between each other. Dispars are about the same as ignitus in pretty much every way.

I also have lyretails which are aggressive as can be. They do not shoal together. My male does shoal with my ignitus so If I were to do it again just one lyretail. Lyretails dont shoal normally in a reef tank. They are very hardy and can get away with 3 or 4 feedings. They are aggressive eaters and I had them on very small pellets in a week. In smaller tanks they are sometimes hard to keep multiples because sometimes they beat up on the smaller one till it dies and so on.

Another hardy one is bartletts but again I would only keep one. They all seem to turn male and fight.

Resplendent Anthias and Randall's Anthias are another good choice. I dont have allot of experience with these but make a great choice in a smaller reef. They are a little harder to keep but are hardy once established. These seem to shoal but not as much in open water. They seem to stick a little closer to the rock work.

Most people have not had issues mixing some species too.. Just one male to a species though.

Anthias like fast moving water..


I think what is great about most anthias is they like the open water mostly. They also seem to bring the other fish out some.

The deeper water anthias will some times hide or look for cover from the bright lights they also can be harder to keep.

Thinking of doing dispar just not sure how many for a 120 gallon tank?i think open space wise, my tank would be great.