3 Acanthurus Together?

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I am planning my 180 gallon, and as the title said, was wondering what everyone thought of adding 3 tangs of the Acanthurus genus as well as 1 of the Zebrasoma genus? I don't think my tank is big enough for 4 tangs, so if you guys could help me with that, it would be great. The only other inhabitants I am planning are some small Fairy, Leopard and Flasher Wrasses, and some Gobies, a pair of Mandarins, and Blennies with maybe a few Dartfish.

The species of Tang I would like to add are as follows:

Whitecheek Tang (Acanthurus nigricans)
Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum)

Also, do you guys think I would have agression problems with the other intended inhabitants? If you think that those tangs will work together, how would you add them? All at once, or one at a time? I will hopefully be getting smaller tangs so they can grow together. Thanks for the help :)
 
I have a 150g and had a serious problem with a purple tang mixed with my powder blue and tomini. The purple was removed. I think you might want to shorten your list :) Definitely no go on the three extremely similar acanthurus tangs, IMO.
 
SDguy said:
I have a 150g and had a serious problem with a purple tang mixed with my powder blue and tomini. The purple was removed. I think you might want to shorten your list :) Definitely no go on the three extremely similar acanthurus tangs, IMO.
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That's what I was worried about. :worried2: Originally I was planning on 1 Acanthurus and 1 Zebrasoma, but I just can't decide on the Acanthurus. I was doing quite a bit of reading on the subject and from what I found, 2 of the same genus is REALLY not a good idea and 3 is iffy at best.
 
Bigger tank :D I've ready lots of threads where it works when they are young but when they mature (in bigger tanks too)....
 
Yea. Trust me tangs fighting will not be good and if you really start to get attached to them you'd only want the best that you could provide for them. It's great that youre asking since it seems like you want to plan things out
 
enjetek said:
Yea. Trust me tangs fighting will not be good and if you really start to get attached to them you'd only want the best that you could provide for them. It's great that youre asking since it seems like you want to plan things out
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I do want the best for them since I am taking them away from their natural home. This will be my first saltwater tank after ages of freshwater LOL. So I'm just kinda tanking it slow, and asking a few stupid questions along the way. :D
 
SDguy said:
How about the purple, one acanthurus, and maybe even a bristlettoth?
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I am not too fond of the Bristletooths...Beautiful fish, just not for me. ;) I really also like the Pacific Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus). It is an Acanthurus but does not resemble the other 3 as closely.
 
It's better to ask 'stupid' questions then to go out and make a mistake that could have been avoided. Sdguys idea is good with mixing up the types you choose. All of them look great
 
enjetek said:
It's better to ask 'stupid' questions then to go out and make a mistake that could have been avoided. Sdguys idea is good with mixing up the types you choose. All of them look great
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I am most worried about agressiveness and space issues. Do you think mixing 2 somewhat different Acanthurus would work. I feel like it is still extremely iffy and want to minimize the stress and agressiveness between inhabitants?
 
I know blues are aggressive, have read browns can be aggressive, and i have not seen anything about the white cheeks
 
enjetek said:
I know blues are aggressive, have read browns can be aggressive, and i have not seen anything about the white cheeks
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From what I have read, both Powders are aggressive, with the Powder Blue being the more aggressive of the two. The Purple is also extremely aggressive. It said the Atlantic Blue Tang prefers to be kept in groups, although I intend to do more research on that.
 
go to blue zoo aquatics' site. look at all the acanthurus types and notice how they are the bad boys in most tanks. just be ready to separate them if they start fighting if you choose to get 2 of them with the purple.
 
enjetek said:
go to blue zoo aquatics' site. look at all the acanthurus types and notice how they are the bad boys in most tanks. just be ready to separate them if they start fighting if you choose to get 2 of them with the purple.
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BlueZoo is actually where I read that the Atlantic Blue Tangs like groups. :lmao: I would really like to have a Whitecheek, maybe two Atlantic Blue's and a Purple Tang.

Here is what BlueZoo says about the Atlantic Blues:

Atlantic Blue Tangs come in shades of light to dark blue depending on diet, health, stress, and environment. They are somewhat of a challenge to keep as they do not easily adjust to captivity. Because of this, smaller specimens are recommended. Juveniles come in bright yellow with blue edged fins and lose their coloration around 3 to 5 inches depending on the individual fish. If housed in a large aquarium, they can be kept in pairs or small groups and actually prefer this over being solitary. Atlantic Blue Tangs will spend their day picking at rockwork in search for hair algae to eat.
 
The problem is that it says it needs to be in a large aquarium. I honestly would put 1 or 2 only in a tank that size if they or it were appropriate
 
All these fish will be 7-8" in no time, I would only put 2 tangs in there myself. You might be able to get away with 3 if one is the purple and the other 2 are very different acanthurus. For what its worth my orange shoulder tang use to be a very passive tang, so maybe try that one with the whitecheek. Make sure you add them all at the same size if possible and it will help if they are all slightly different sizes.
 
I keep a powder blue, purple and a hippo in a 285. In a 180 Id go with one acanthurus and one zebrascoma.
 
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