tang selection

[leveldrummer]

i already have a yellow tang, thats about 4-5 inches, and a gold rim, thats about 3 inches, my lfs just got a pair of beautiful healthy powder blues, both are about 5 inchs, im wonding what chance i have of ONE of them getting along with my other 2 tangs, i hear mixed things about the aggresion of powder blues. tank is a 120 gallon.

[crvz]

Probably under 10% with the gold rim, as they are both Acanthurus species and will get grumpy as they age, if the PB gets acclimated (which can be a difficult thing with other intimidating fish in the tank). Personally, I wouldnt try it, but you could be a source of experience if you do! The question is, are you willing to put the life of a fish on the line to gain said experience (i've surely done it in the past, but I never feel good about it when it doesnt work out).

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by leveldrummer

i already have a yellow tang, thats about 4-5 inches, and a gold rim, thats about 3 inches, my lfs just got a pair of beautiful healthy powder blues, both are about 5 inchs, im wonding what chance i have of ONE of them getting along with my other 2 tangs, i hear mixed things about the aggresion of powder blues. tank is a 120 gallon.

You'll need to limit the number of Tangs in the tank to TWO TOTAL... This i not to say that even then you won't have issues with one of the Powder Blues within a year. This will be very likely with two PBT's and another conspecific (or worse, more of them). Powder blues are just not aggressive enough feeders: in tanks with other tangs, the other Tangs will concentrate on feeding while the PBT's will will display aggressive behavior towards the other tangs while defending their turf. You'll see the results of this as a gradual wasting away of the PBT's in such a tank. They will defend what they perceive to be their territory, expending energy as agressive swimming while the other herbiverous fishes will eat the food available. If you want to see demo of this, look at the Planet Earth series on the Ocean. There is a film series where a shoal of Convict Tangs (or Pacific Blues, don't remember which) works over a site claimed by a pair of Powder Blues. The PBT's aggresively try to fight off the entire shoal, while the rest of the Convicts strip the site of all vegetation... As this is normal behavior for these fish, I cannot recommend that they be set into a system of such size with any other tangs, maybe not even as a pair. In addition, the Yellow Tang is a much better herbivore and is much more hardy than the PBT's, keeping vegetative growth in the tank to a minimum (with the posible exception of Cyano or Bryopsis) and living well for many years with little specialized feeding needed. The PBT's on the other hand, can still be picky eaters even when they are the only fish in a system.

I'm not saying absolutely no, but the purchase of PBT's alone is often a poor investment, not to consider housing them with conspecifics...

These fishes have poor long-term survival rates in most aquaria even under ideal conditions, even worse when sharing the column with other tangs. For tanks where they must share the water column with corals, the corals, especially with stony reeftop species, will tend to brown due to the amount of feeding the fish will need and the subsequent phosphate and nitrate release into the water column. You will need to decide whether the growth of brilliant coloration in the corals is more important than keeping the fishes and make your purchases acordingly. Regardless, I still would not recommend the PBT with two or three more conspecific Tangs in a 120 USG tank. They may not directly kill one another initially, but they will fail to thrive, and eventually some of these fish will lose out in the cmpetition for space and food. These fishes all have >10 year lifespans in the wild (if not eaten...), yet seldom live to be more than one or two years old in systems with multiple tangs. Not even considering the financial cost, you'll need to make the right decision to do the right thing.


HTH

[salt-rookie]

I respectfully disagree tdwyatt. I have 5 in my 180 and everything is doing great.....I do religious 15% water changes weekly, though.

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by salt-rookie

I respectfully disagree tdwyatt. I have 5 in my 180 and everything is doing great.....I do religious 15% water changes weekly, though.

Just reporting the percentages.

All fish are individuals, and as with any population, there are ends of the bell curve, both good and bad. True success occurs when you've reached 2 or more years of a group of fishes living together as a group without any losses, keeping in mind that the lifespan for most tangs is more than 10 years.

This is especially true for PBT's: there is a reason they have the reputation they have gained in the hobby.


HTH

[Loverotties]

I have to agree with Tom.If he had the powder blue already and was adding the gold rim now,then I say that would work.You always when planning a tank with fish is to put the peaceful fish in and put the most aggressive fish in last.

[Bloke]

Originally Posted by tdwyatt

You'll need to limit the number of Tangs in the tank to TWO TOTAL...

I have a Desjardin's Tang, Purple Tang, Kole Tang, Blue Hippo, and Powder Blue in my tank... All without troubles.

The PB was added last and is the biggest of them all. To acclimate him, I bought him from the LFS and waited 4 weeks before brining him home to make sure he was healthy and eating and getting fat. Then I brought him home, and drip acclimated him for 3 hours. He went into QT for another 2 weeks and then drip acclimated again into the DT. When adding him to the DT I did it at night and made sure ALL the lights were off and that it was completely dark. When everyone awoke in the morning things were pleasant. No one showed signs of fin damage.

The PB did get a slight case of ick, but I run an 18w UV, feed with garlic almost everyday, have 2 cleaner shrimps, and 2 cleaner wrasses in the tank.

He's done fine as have all the tangs. I think problems with fish have to be taken on a case by case basis, really.

[mcliffy2]

Bloke does point out a key aspect...the PB is 5 in and Gold Rim is 3 in, I think that does increase your chances of success. I've seen your corals (on that other board ), so I'm guessing a tank rearrange isn't an option. How confident are you in your ability to catch the PB if they dont get along?

[tdwyatt]

just remember they live 10 years, and long term success of these types of conditiions is not the norm.

[leveldrummer]

Originally Posted by Bloke

I have a Desjardin's Tang, Purple Tang, Kole Tang, Blue Hippo, and Powder Blue in my tank... All without troubles.

The PB was added last and is the biggest of them all. To acclimate him, I bought him from the LFS and waited 4 weeks before brining him home to make sure he was healthy and eating and getting fat. Then I brought him home, and drip acclimated him for 3 hours. He went into QT for another 2 weeks and then drip acclimated again into the DT. When adding him to the DT I did it at night and made sure ALL the lights were off and that it was completely dark. When everyone awoke in the morning things were pleasant. No one showed signs of fin damage.

The PB did get a slight case of ick, but I run an 18w UV, feed with garlic almost everyday, have 2 cleaner shrimps, and 2 cleaner wrasses in the tank.

He's done fine as have all the tangs. I think problems with fish have to be taken on a case by case basis, really.

are all these in your 90? and what size are they now, i just sold a large sailfin (not that large actually, 6 inches or so) because i know once he gets much larger, it will be very hard to sell him, some of those fish are going to get very very large. you might want to rethink your stocking plan.

dont get me confused with the tang police. but i do see problems with a 16" fish in a tank thats 4' x 18" lol.

[leveldrummer]

Originally Posted by mcliffy2

Bloke does point out a key aspect...the PB is 5 in and Gold Rim is 3 in, I think that does increase your chances of success. I've seen your corals (on that other board ), so I'm guessing a tank rearrange isn't an option. How confident are you in your ability to catch the PB if they dont get along?

i could catch him, but i always enjoy not catching fish much better, to me it isnt always worth the risks, it is a pretty fish, but i can do without, at least till i upgrade!

and no, there is no way i could rearrange my tank.

[ReefNeck]

I have a Powder Blue, A Hippo, A Sailfin & a Naso all in my 120G Show tank. The Powder blue was the late comer and he quickly established him/herself as the ruler of the tangs. He is a bit of a bully but does not seriously harm the others. The is a little bit of constant bickering going on but not to the extent of injury. Been together several months now.