i think my yellow tang is aggressive

[pastina]

not sure on this one, but i have a hunch my yellow tang is making life a bit uneasy for my other fish.
inhabitants are, 3" niger trigger, 3" valentini puffer, 1.5" yellow tailed blue damsel, 5" yellow headed sleeper goby, 12" snowflake eel and a 5" naso tang.
the tank is 55g, i know i know, but its a grow out tank, not a forever home.
everybody was doing great until about 5 weeks ago when i added a 4" yellow tang. over the next few weeks i noticed my naso tang becoming shy and hiding alot, with his camoflage colors showing most of the time.
i kinda figured the yellow tang must be bothering him but i could never catch him in the act because the yellow tang is timid around me and hides when he sees me.
so the other day i decided its time to move my naso tang into his 220g permanent home, hes acting like his old self again.
the yellow tang is soon to follow but i dunno, i think hes beating up everyone in the 55g. i noticed him "poking" or head butting kinda, my vanlentini puffer, and today i noticed my niger had a few cuts on him that look like mini stab wounds.
if hes being a bully then there is no way i want to add him to my very peaceful 220g where everyone gets along.
could it be true? could this sweet faced yellow tang be a brute? or am i just worrying again

[dobejazz]

Yellow tangs can be really mean - I wouldn't add it to the 220

[Wiskey]

I agree with Kelli,.. some yellow tangs are really mean, others are not so bad,.. I've always had good luck with them, but I've heard horror stories.

Whiskey

[Doug1]

Aggression can be a reaction to stress of moving, too small of space, or the prison yard tactic of striking first to avoid becoming the target of aggressive

[Loverotties]

They're all right!

[Elegance Coral]

I think the problem is that there is simply not enough territory to go around in the 55gl. Once everyone is moved to the 220gl I believe this behavior will stop.

[partobe]

I have a yellow tang in my 150 and I'm lucky he's pretty mellow lol I mad a rhyme
Mellow Yellow oh well it was kinda funny na not really back to thread

[Leonardo's Reef]

I agree with Elegance Coral, when you move them to a larger tank with more space the agression should be much less.

Leonardo

[pastina]

im afraid if i move him he will still be psycho and then i'll be stuck with him because theres no way of getting a fish out of there unless i tear down the tank.
so when he attacks hes using his "tail"?
im trying to watch him to see what he does, but hes like a child, he doesnt do anything when he knows im around.

as for moving him to lesson aggression, well im not sure if that works.
a few years ago i had central american cichlids growing out in the 55g, aggression wasnt too bad until they reached the 4" mark, thats when i moved them into the 220 gallon. that never stopped their aggression, they still would fight, and within six months the aggression got so bad nearly half were murdered. i soon ended up with only 3 cichlids, i gave them away at that point. the tank was heavily planted with tons of hiding places but it didnt help much.
so thats why i dont really buy that "bigger tank, mellows them out" deal
maybe in a tank the size of shamu's it would matter, but 220 gallons isnt very large when ya think about territorial space.
if it gets worse then i guess i'll have to find him a home
i didnt realize yellow tangs can be meanies

[tellycoleman]

I think all tangs can be territorial in the right condition.
I would stock your 220 first and then add the yellow tang last.
if you add him first he is gonna think the entire tank is his territory. Not good since he has aggresive behavior.
is he well fed?
I think he should be ok in the 220 gallon.
Even if he isnt tangs can be easily caught with the lights off lights on method.
I have caught my yellow tang 7 or 8 times very very very easily using this method.
they dont even move away from you.
just make sure all the lights are off for 2 or 3 hours ( no light at all in room) find him with a flashlight, then turn on all tank lights full force. He will be blinded for about 30-45 seconds.
if he is hiding in rock use a turkey baster to blow water at him and he will come out An easy catch. Dont do it during the day cause enouph ambient light will keep him seeing. Just set your alam to 3 in the morning and its easy

[ChrisPrusha]

I think it will be a much different story in the 220.

[yellow submarine]

in a word... "who knows what will happen if moved"

fish personalities can change when put in a new environment. heck, once I had to QT some fish and upon returning to the "home" tank a few weeks later....the bully of the tank took a new role: the ugly step-sister being chased around the tank by everyone else.

life's a mystery.... except for one rule: when my wife is not happy, the whole family is not happy!

[ChrisPrusha]

Originally Posted by yellow submarine

life's a mystery.... except for one rule: when my wife is not happy, the whole family is not happy!

Word.