Tangs

[trevbo44]

I hear tangs don't get alone very well. I have been told to avoid a tang in a 75 gallon unless I opt for a Kole Tang. Would a Kole get along with a Blue Hippo tang or a Yellow tang?

 

[camaroracer214]

for a 75 i'd stick with one tang...either a yellow, kole, scopas, or something along those lines. most tangs require large volume tanks to swim and lots of live rock on which to graze...something a 4ft tank is obviously limited on. not to mention aggression. tangs can be very aggressive toward each other. i've seen, in a 105 gallon coral/frag tank (like 3'x5'x10" or something like that) one vlamingii tang go after a chevrontang. there's plenty of swimming room and the two tangs are completely different shapes and colors. again, i'd go with one tang, but you could always add a bunch of smaller community fish.

 

[Brian5000]

I would definitely avoid the hippo tang all together. The max size on it is a foot and it might feel crowded in a 75 gallon.

I have a yellow tank in my 75 with good results. If you want two, the problem would be that neither one has much room to run away if the other get rowdy. Yellow tangs and Scopas tangs are supposed to be particularly intolerant of other tangs.
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[Brian5000]

If you want a second "larger" fish for your tank, there are a few options that are kinda sorta reef safe:

Dwarf angels: may nip soft corals but generally does not kill them. They have a wide range of personalities depending on the individual; some are nice, some not so much.

Copperbanded and longnose butterfly: again, may nip soft corals but generally does not kill them.

Niger and select other triggers: won't hurt corals but cleaner shrimp may be a problem.

Foxface rabbitfish: vegitarian like tangs; causion when handling (venomous spines)
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[dadstank]

this brings out a question of my own... currently i have a 55 with 1 fairly large sailfin tang. for the two years, she has lived with a blue damsel only. when i go to my new 120 i want to add some kind of "schooling" fish. i would like to get 4-5 of them. little guys. nothing big. but that is all i will add. i think it would be cool to have the tang, who is large to extra large by LFS standards, and a group of small little fishes moving in a group.....

ideas for that?

 

[Brian5000]

Chromi or flasher wrasses come to mind...
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[Anonymous]

Chromis are nice, but they get kind of large too, I had the dominate one of my school of originally 6 (which got widdled down by an unknown reason) was nearly 3 inches long. Anthias are nice color fish, but from I've been told multiple feeds a day are needed which has kept me away from them. Flasher (or Fairy) wrasses are another idea, a bit on the pricy side, and make sure your top is covered but might be worth it.

 

[Razor]

I've always kept tangs in my tank and while everyone is correct about the space needed for the larger tangs, I have never had any problems keeping mutiple types together.

You have to understand that it's not the fact that they're tangs that make them aggressive, it's their shape. Tangs will attack other tangs of the same shape. Also, each tang has a different aggression level. I've found that your biggest tang should be your least aggressive and your most aggressive should be your smallest. Also, if you avoid mixing tangs of the same shape you'll avoid issues. I currently have the following in my tank, and they're listed in the order they were put in:

1. Unicorn Tang
2. Blue Hippo Tang
3. Blonde Naso Tang
4. Kole Eye Tang
5. 4 small - Yellow Tangs

The list above is the biggest to the smallest. The yellow tangs are by far the most aggressive type I have, but being that they're the smallest and were put in last, they never had a chance to be aggressive.

My tangs are also very territorial within the tank. Each has it's own place to "sleep" and new tangs have to find their own place. Therefore, to avoid stressing out my established tangs, I always turn out the lights and let my tangs "go home" before I add any new fish. This way when the new fish hit the water everyone knows what areas of the tank are taken and new fish avoid conflict by picking a hiding spot that's not filled.

This all sounds like I'm some crazy Tang guy, but it's what has worked for me.

 

[Ben1]

How big is your tank Razor?

 

[Razor]

155 Gallon Bowfront

 

[jandree22]

dadstank, I'd vote for green chromis. they're relatively cheap, nice color, and very active. Once they're in your tank, they'll live forever, but for some reason (probably collection methods, unfortunately) I always lose about 50% of the ones I buy within the first week. Happened twice from two different LFS. Fortunately they're only $4, but still sucks.

Regarding the tang, I have a yellow tang in my 75, and I've had it for about 4 years IIRC... it's been doing great. However, I do feel that it'd be happier in a 6' tank, very active and fast swimmer. This isn't Tang-to-Tang, but I tried to put in a Heniochus and the yellow tang wasn't havin it... chased the thing non-stop so I had to return it. Leaves the Coral Beauty, ocellaris clowns, and chromis alone. I dunno!

 

[Razor]

One word of advice, chromis and damsels are very closely related. If you get a school of blue/green chromis you'll be very happy and they're relatively cheap. But, a lot of people get tempted by what some stores call Bluefin Chromis, which look nice and cute with their yellow stripe and blue fin and turn into the most aggressive bastards ever.

In my first tank I got a school of them, which grew quickly and started messing with everything in my tank. They ended up being introduced to a Lionfish, who did some house cleaning for me

 

[jandree22]

In my first tank I got a school of them, which grew quickly and started messing with everything in my tank. They ended up being introduced to a Lionfish, who did some house cleaning for me

Priceless. :lol:

 

[Ret_Talbot]

Niger and select other triggers: won't hurt corals but cleaner shrimp may be a problem.

Foxface rabbitfish: vegitarian like tangs; causion when handling (venomous spines)

As far as triggers, I love the blue jaw for a "reef compatible with caution" trigger. Also stays a manageable size. IMO all rabbitfish our reef compatible WITH EXTREME CAUTION.

 

[Ret_Talbot]

Chromis are nice, but they get kind of large too, I had the dominate one of my school of originally 6 (which got widdled down by an unknown reason) was nearly 3 inches long. Anthias are nice color fish, but from I've been told multiple feeds a day are needed which has kept me away from them. Flasher (or Fairy) wrasses are another idea, a bit on the pricy side, and make sure your top is covered but might be worth it.

Don't just limit yourself to the flasher (genus Paracheilinus) or fairy (genus Cirrhilabrus) wrasses. There are a ton of other wrasses that are reef same, colorful and stay really small.