Sheesh, at least you only had to hear it once. I work at a LFS and have to hear that phrase EVERY time I go in :evil:
As for your Naso, they are not that hard to take care of as long as you get a healthy specimen to begin with. After handling hundreds of surgeonfish I can say that any tang that is supposedly an "Expert Only" fish can be kept if you get it from a good wholesaler who in turn received it from a fisherman who knew what the heck he was doing when he caught it and held it before shipment. Stress during capture and transit are one of the leading causes of death in fish. I have had PBT's that immediately started eating while yellow tangs perished. MAC certified fish consistently do better than all others. I also highly recommend Quality Marine as a wholesaler.
As for Acanthurus being the most belligerent, it depends on which one. In my experience I would rank tangs in order of most to least belligerent as such:
Very highly Aggressive: These are the tangs we can house with triggers, Eels, Puffers, large wrasses, and heniochus (which is a real mean fish believe it or not) with no trouble.
Acanthurus Sohal (Sohal)
Acanthurus lineatus (Clown),
Rather Aggressive: These tangs are bullies who pester other surgeonfish to establish dominance and gain control of food.
Acanthurus leucosternon (powder Blue)
Zebrasoma xanthurum (Purple tang)
Zebrasoma scopes (Scopas tang)
Zebrasoma flavescenes (yellow tang)
Mid-Aggressive: These to mind their own business unless it concerns another tang.
Acanthurus achillis (Achilles tang)
Zebrasoma Veliferum (Sailfin Tang)
ctenochaetus strigosus (Kole’s tang)
ctenochaetus Truncatus (Square-tail)
zebrasoma desjardinii (Indian Ocean sailfin tang)
Low-Aggressive: These surgeonfish don’t care about other tangs unless they are similar in form (Naso to Naso) or color (Juv. Yellow mimic & Juv. Yellow shoulder).
Naso Vlamingi (Vlamingi Tang)
Acanthurus japonicus (powder brown tang)
Acanthurus Pyroferus (Mimic tang)
Naso Breviostris (Spotted Unicorn)
Naso Lituratus (Naso Tang)
Acanthurus Chirugus (Doctorfish or sometimes called White-ring Tang)
Acanthurus Thompsoni (Thompson’s Surgeonfish or White-Tail Tang)
Naso Breviostris (Palefin Unicornfish)
Naso Unicornis (Bluespine Unicornfish)
Passive: These are happy-go-lucky guys that tend to not bother others at all.
Ctenochaetus Tomiensis (Tomini Tang)
Acanthus Olivacaeus (Orange Shoulder Tang)
Acanthurus Triostegus (convict tang)
Acanthurus nigricans (Whitecheek tang or sometimes called powder grey)
Acanthurus Tristis (Indian Mimic Tang-Eibl)
Paracanthurus Hepatus (Palette Blue tang)
I cannot comment on Acnthurus Coerruleus (Atlantic Blue Tang), Zebrasoma Rostratum (Longnose Black Tang), Acanthurus Tennentii (Lieutenant Tang), Acanthurus Nigrofuscus (Brown Tang), Ctenochaetus Binotatus (Twospot Tang), Ctenochaetus Hawaiiensis (Chevron or Hawaiian Tang), Acanthurus Mata (Elongate Tang), Acanthurus guttatus (jeweled tang), or Zebrasomma Gemmatum (Gem Tang). We have not carried these before and thus I have no experience with them.
Size, health, and individual personality need to be taken into account when housing tangs together. A Very aggressive tang can be easily kept with a passive tang if the passive member is much larger when introduced and housed first, and in a large enough tank to avoid the aggressive tang.
Now that I’ve rambled on for far too long, I’d say that your order is just fine.
P.S. Have you considered a Convict Tang? They have the most beautiful pearly look when they are healthy
