tang concern

Pyro22 · 12/23/2009, 02:09 PM

Yesterday I received a yellow tang. I've had 2 tangs in the same tank in the past with no problems. But for some reason my Atlantic blue wont leave it alone even my clown is picking at it.

Is there anything I can do besides getting rid of the yellow tang

nolen84 · 12/23/2009, 02:14 PM

you can try and wait it out, but sometimes that is too late. you might have to decide on which one you want. how big is your tank?

blueridge · 12/23/2009, 02:15 PM

I have used a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it to wall off a small section of the tank to give the new addition some peace. This helps everyone get used to one another. This is impractical in a tank filled with live rock though.

glh156 · 12/23/2009, 02:34 PM

Have your Clowns found an anemone to pair with in your tank and are the clowns large in phyical size? are they Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish?

When they get large, if they and Maroon and have paired with anemone they can be come VERY agressive...

Pyro22 · 12/23/2009, 05:30 PM

I have a percula clown and they seem to have made zoos there home
I would've never thought they'd been mean
Well lets hope they become friendly before someone stresses out

RegalAngel · 12/23/2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueridge

I have used a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it to wall off a small section of the tank to give the new addition some peace. This helps everyone get used to one another. This is impractical in a tank filled with live rock though.

You can also make a partition with eggcrate and cut plastic tubing over the edges for squeezing against the tank sides. I have two for my 50g QT, and even have two for my 300g FO tank to isolate fishes if needed after removing certain sections of decor.

robs.mark · 12/23/2009, 06:16 PM

How big is your tank? im not the tang police, however if you plan on putting two tangs of the same body shape in the same tank ie. atlantic blue/yellow/scopes/purple/gem etc you need a large tank. ( 250g + imo). If not your asking for trouble, they will fight and one will lose. Sometimes this problem can be overcome by adding both juvanile fish at the same time. if your tank is in excess of 100g you could maybe keep two tangs of different body shapes ie. yellow and a hippo/bristle tooth/naso/unicorn etc.

cliff717 · 12/23/2009, 06:42 PM

you may want to wait for a bit i have found that when one gets beat enough they will become submissive and the dominant tang won't bother with it anymore.

fatdaddy · 12/23/2009, 06:54 PM

How beat up is the yellow? Look at it's fins/tail and look for damage.

Chris27 · 12/23/2009, 08:38 PM

It's not impossible to keep two tangs in one tank, here are some suggestions to help you out.

1. Re-aquascape, by doing this everyone needs to stake out some new territory, instead of fighting for what they have already.

2. Introduce them at the same time.

3. Choose tangs from different families, ie. Hippo, Yellow, Naso, instead of a Yellow, Sailfin and Scopas.

4. Neuter them by clipping off their tangs with fingernail clippers.

Good luck - BTW, I have a yellow, hippo and clown tang in my tank and they all get along with each other just fine - I did have to move a very small sailfin out, as it was getting picked on by the yellow and clown tangs.

glh156 · 12/23/2009, 09:15 PM

Pyro22, how much room are you working with?

Pyro22 · 12/24/2009, 11:01 AM

Unfortunately I'm not working with much room. I only have a 75 gal. The yellow was a christmas present from my girl. She just thought it looked pretty. Now I gotta try something.

The tangs are both about 2 inches. I tried to move some rock around but BC of corals I'm limited to movement unless I take every piece out.

The yellow tang just wants to swim and the blue sneaks up on him. Seems the blue is stressing more. He yellow only has a small piece of tail missing and I think its from the percula.

Lets hope I can get them to be friends. By the way can anyone give advice on trying to catch the blue with rock in the tank.

Pyro22 · 12/24/2009, 11:05 AM

Is neutering them safe and does anyone have any reading on this technique

DevilBoy · 12/24/2009, 11:06 AM

Clowns can be aggressive once established. They are in the damsel family and them buggers can be mean.

DevilBoy · 12/24/2009, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro22

Is neutering them safe and does anyone have any reading on this technique

I am sure he was joking about neutering the fish.....

Chris27 · 12/24/2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevilBoy

I am sure he was joking about neutering the fish.....

Not at all - by cutting off the tangs (primary defense mechanism) they will just be slapping each other with their tails. It won't take them too long to realize that all the slapping is getting them nowhere.

Chris27 · 12/24/2009, 11:34 AM

All you need to do is hold the fish in your palm, and cut off the tang with a very sharp pair of fingernail clippers. After your done, put them in a bucket with some saltwater and some Prime to help with their slime coat. It's very easy, and only takes a few min. It's best done while moving them from the QT to the DT.

fatdaddy · 12/24/2009, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro22

Lets hope I can get them to be friends. By the way can anyone give advice on trying to catch the blue with rock in the tank.

2"? I think you'll be fine. They just need some time to settle in.

I found turning off the lights works to settle them down. I've done that when introducing a new fish.

fatdaddy · 12/24/2009, 12:18 PM

btw, make sure that yellow is a pacific yellow. sometimes they get mixed up with the carribean yellow which is actually a juvie atlantic tang. If so, then sparks will fly when it matures.

pimpman75 · 12/25/2009, 11:16 AM

place a mirror or a picture of a yellow tang on the sides of your tank. the fishes will get used to seeing the yellow tang and stop picking on it so much.

Jurgs · 12/25/2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatdaddy

2"? I think you'll be fine. They just need some time to settle in.

I found turning off the lights works to settle them down. I've done that when introducing a new fish.

I woudld also say turn off the lights, let them settle. Good luck man

Pyro22 · 12/25/2009, 03:21 PM

Its been 3 days now and it looks like the blue might be calming. He doesn't seem so aggressive anyone. At first he'd hide and sneak attack the yellow, no he's swimming around and just seems to make sure the yellow just keeps to one side.

Is this good? Or just false hope?

Also the clowns are back to normal. Swimming around leaving him alone.

csdavis · 12/25/2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro22

Its been 3 days now and it looks like the blue might be calming. He doesn't seem so aggressive anyone. At first he'd hide and sneak attack the yellow, no he's swimming around and just seems to make sure the yellow just keeps to one side.

Is this good? Or just false hope?

Also the clowns are back to normal. Swimming around leaving him alone.

I was actually wondering how the yellow one was holding up, just to make sure it wasn't starting to get stressed out and brake out in a parasite or something like ich. Does it seem to be eating and getting acclimated to its new home?

armani4o3 · 12/25/2009, 04:26 PM

in that small of a tank 2 tangs should not be together and what will you do when they out grow that than it will not take to long

Bigshow · 12/26/2009, 11:33 AM

I have a blue regal, yellow, purple, scopa and sailfin tangs. They way to have more than one is to establish them in your tanks in pairs. I started off with a blue regal and scopa and then about two months later introduced the purple and yellow. No one seemed to pick on the sailfin when he was introduced.

12/23/2009, 02:09 PM	#1
Pyro22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 189	tang concern Yesterday I received a yellow tang. I've had 2 tangs in the same tank in the past with no problems. But for some reason my Atlantic blue wont leave it alone even my clown is picking at it. Is there anything I can do besides getting rid of the yellow tang

12/23/2009, 02:34 PM	#4
glh156 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fairport Ny Posts: 71	Have your Clowns found an anemone to pair with in your tank and are the clowns large in phyical size? are they Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish? When they get large, if they and Maroon and have paired with anemone they can be come VERY agressive... __________________ Member: 8+yrs Reefing, URS of NY, Lifreef CA Reactor, Neptune Apex pro +Power bar+DC8+1 DC4+AquaSurf+Lunar Simulator(5) and 65 Gal + 40 Gal custom frag table. Note - Although I don't post a lot, I've been doing the REEF gig for a long time, so don't let the post count fool you.. :) Current Tank Info: 65 gal Reef

12/23/2009, 06:16 PM	#7
robs.mark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 1,461	How big is your tank? im not the tang police, however if you plan on putting two tangs of the same body shape in the same tank ie. atlantic blue/yellow/scopes/purple/gem etc you need a large tank. ( 250g + imo). If not your asking for trouble, they will fight and one will lose. Sometimes this problem can be overcome by adding both juvanile fish at the same time. if your tank is in excess of 100g you could maybe keep two tangs of different body shapes ie. yellow and a hippo/bristle tooth/naso/unicorn etc. __________________ knowledge is power! Current Tank Info: Lagoon

12/23/2009, 06:54 PM	#9
fatdaddy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast Florida Posts: 1,191	How beat up is the yellow? Look at it's fins/tail and look for damage. __________________ "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle

12/23/2009, 09:15 PM	#11
glh156 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fairport Ny Posts: 71	Pyro22, how much room are you working with? __________________ Member: 8+yrs Reefing, URS of NY, Lifreef CA Reactor, Neptune Apex pro +Power bar+DC8+1 DC4+AquaSurf+Lunar Simulator(5) and 65 Gal + 40 Gal custom frag table. Note - Although I don't post a lot, I've been doing the REEF gig for a long time, so don't let the post count fool you.. :) Current Tank Info: 65 gal Reef

12/23/2009, 02:14 PM	#2
nolen84 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Austin TX Posts: 44	you can try and wait it out, but sometimes that is too late. you might have to decide on which one you want. how big is your tank?

12/23/2009, 02:15 PM	#3
blueridge Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 63	I have used a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it to wall off a small section of the tank to give the new addition some peace. This helps everyone get used to one another. This is impractical in a tank filled with live rock though.

12/23/2009, 05:30 PM	#5
Pyro22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 189	I have a percula clown and they seem to have made zoos there home I would've never thought they'd been mean Well lets hope they become friendly before someone stresses out

12/23/2009, 06:42 PM	#8
cliff717 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 146	you may want to wait for a bit i have found that when one gets beat enough they will become submissive and the dominant tang won't bother with it anymore.

12/23/2009, 08:38 PM	#10
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	It's not impossible to keep two tangs in one tank, here are some suggestions to help you out. 1. Re-aquascape, by doing this everyone needs to stake out some new territory, instead of fighting for what they have already. 2. Introduce them at the same time. 3. Choose tangs from different families, ie. Hippo, Yellow, Naso, instead of a Yellow, Sailfin and Scopas. 4. Neuter them by clipping off their tangs with fingernail clippers. Good luck - BTW, I have a yellow, hippo and clown tang in my tank and they all get along with each other just fine - I did have to move a very small sailfin out, as it was getting picked on by the yellow and clown tangs.

12/24/2009, 11:01 AM	#12
Pyro22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 189	Unfortunately I'm not working with much room. I only have a 75 gal. The yellow was a christmas present from my girl. She just thought it looked pretty. Now I gotta try something. The tangs are both about 2 inches. I tried to move some rock around but BC of corals I'm limited to movement unless I take every piece out. The yellow tang just wants to swim and the blue sneaks up on him. Seems the blue is stressing more. He yellow only has a small piece of tail missing and I think its from the percula. Lets hope I can get them to be friends. By the way can anyone give advice on trying to catch the blue with rock in the tank.

12/24/2009, 11:05 AM	#13
Pyro22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 189	Is neutering them safe and does anyone have any reading on this technique

12/24/2009, 11:06 AM	#14
DevilBoy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wooster, Ohio Posts: 1,724	Clowns can be aggressive once established. They are in the damsel family and them buggers can be mean.

12/24/2009, 11:34 AM	#17
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	All you need to do is hold the fish in your palm, and cut off the tang with a very sharp pair of fingernail clippers. After your done, put them in a bucket with some saltwater and some Prime to help with their slime coat. It's very easy, and only takes a few min. It's best done while moving them from the QT to the DT.

12/24/2009, 12:18 PM	#19
fatdaddy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast Florida Posts: 1,191	btw, make sure that yellow is a pacific yellow. sometimes they get mixed up with the carribean yellow which is actually a juvie atlantic tang. If so, then sparks will fly when it matures. __________________ "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle

12/25/2009, 11:16 AM	#20
pimpman75 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Pembroke Pines, FL Posts: 52	place a mirror or a picture of a yellow tang on the sides of your tank. the fishes will get used to seeing the yellow tang and stop picking on it so much. __________________ THE REEF CHEIF.. Current Tank Info: 120 perfecto REEF TANK

12/25/2009, 03:21 PM	#22
Pyro22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 189	Its been 3 days now and it looks like the blue might be calming. He doesn't seem so aggressive anyone. At first he'd hide and sneak attack the yellow, no he's swimming around and just seems to make sure the yellow just keeps to one side. Is this good? Or just false hope? Also the clowns are back to normal. Swimming around leaving him alone.

12/25/2009, 04:26 PM	#24
armani4o3 Moved On Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: reading pa Posts: 222	in that small of a tank 2 tangs should not be together and what will you do when they out grow that than it will not take to long

12/26/2009, 11:33 AM	#25
Bigshow Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Paseo District/Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 256	I have a blue regal, yellow, purple, scopa and sailfin tangs. They way to have more than one is to establish them in your tanks in pairs. I started off with a blue regal and scopa and then about two months later introduced the purple and yellow. No one seemed to pick on the sailfin when he was introduced.