3 tangs in one home

[90g-reefer]

I am looking for advice on the best way to get these guys to live together. I want 3 tangs a chevron, yellow & a purple. If I add the yellow first then the purple and the chevron, will that cut back on territory issues. Or should I add them all at once?

 

[Blownsvt]

no experience with a purple or chevron tangs but i added all 4 of my tangs seperately with the yellow going in last and it worked out well for me.

 

[SeasonedReefer]

I have had up to 3 or four tangs in my 90 at one time a purple a sailfin, clown and a blue tang. If you decide to add them 1 at a time i suggest getting them all around the same size size really makes alot of difference imo I had my sailfin and then added a blue about the same size a few months later they bickered for one night and were fine after words then a year later i added the purple they also faught hard the first day or so then became best buds. Now the purple and the sailfin get along great! My recommendation go cheveron, yellow then purple the purples become really a real bad @$$ when they are put in first and don't like other tangs in there territory this is my experiance any ways. Three tangs in a 90 can be done. Take your time if you feel there will be territory issues you could add them all at once but thats your choice.

 

[sedor]

I think your going to have problems with the yellow and the purple. Your best bet would be to add them all at once IMO.

 

[agreeive?fish]

either all at once, or cheveron in first then yellow and purple at the same time

 

[fishyheaven]

i had no problem with my yellow and purple together. my purple was in first but my yellow was way bigger. i would suggest adding the purple last and probably a tad smaller than the other two IMO.

 

[iFrag]

Not all in a 90... the purple tang will terrorize the yellow tang and the chevron. Even in my 120 I think im pushing it with a yellow and purple tang. Purple tangs are bullies in most cases. You should be able to get away with 1 chevron or 1 yellow tang. When your talking 3 tangs thats when you need a 6' tank.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Even two is pushing it for a 90 gallon IMO. The chevron is one of the larger bristletooths and gets nearly a foot long, way too big for a 90. The yellow and purple aren't going to like each other much. I think you might be able to do a yellow and one of the smaller bristletooths like a Tomini.

 

[iFrag]

hey kahuna hows the mimic tang in your reef?

 

[90g-reefer]

Are ether of the three fish easily stressed like hippos or powder blues. Would having the three together stress them out leading to an ICH breakout?

 

[iFrag]

It would create a war zone. You can try it out but most likely you will end up with 2 tangs stuck to a corner and one p***ed off purple tang giving it hell.

 

[Finsky]

08/08/06 Sailfin Tang - 5"
02/07/07 Powder Blue Tang - 4 1/2"
10/23/07 Purple tang - 4"
11/28/07 Yellow bellied regal blue tang - 5"
06/13/09 Vlamingii Tang - 4 1/2"

They all get along after they settled their pecking order over a few days. I keep some dither species like four striped damsels, yellow tailed damsels, two six line wrasses. I have not seen any aggression for months except for the 2" Larmark Angel added a month ago being initiated, a few days of charging behavior, by the "Official Tank" initiator, the Powder Blue Tang. Now with the last fish in acclimated, everybody is swimming peacfully around. The 3 1/2" Indo-Pacific Angel is 16 months and the 3 1/2" Majestic Angel is 10 months in the tank.

Food plays a very important part in making a healthy and happy community tank along with extreme filtration along with alot of live rock and circulation in a scale of two 3,250 gph water pumps. I cut up seaweek with a pair of scissors and feed like flake food on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at a minimum. I also feed my two red rose bubble tip anemones, one hosted over a year with a pair of Cinnamon clowns and the other hosted by a pair of Clarkii clowns over the past two months, once a week on weekends with 1/4" to 1/2" pieces of razor clams, small scallops, and small shrimp and the left overs go to the fish in smaller cut up pieces. I saw the Tacoma Zoo and Aquarium feeding their reef fish with cutup sea food from a tray. I would think they would have to feed seaweed in non-viewing hours.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

hey kahuna hows the mimic tang in your reef?

I love this fish and have had him since he was a very small juvenile. He gets into it from time to time with the bristletooth but is pretty laid back in general. One of the nicest tangs I have ever kept.

 

[iFrag]

Care to post a picture of it?

 

[68551]

I have a yellow & a purple tang in a 92 for about 3 days & the yellow is the agressor....The purple holds his own but I can't wait til the purple gets bigger than the yellow & stands up more for himself....Every rock the purple eats off the yellow wants to eat the same spot & pushes him away....There is a fair amount of tail hitting & I'm just hoping they decide whos boss....I have waited a long tome for these fish to be added to my tank & really want it to work out....
I don't think I would expect 3 tangs in under 100 gal to be peaceful beccause of tight quarters....I've read that with 3 the agression would be divided up more among 3 fish instead of 2 but I think it would be too stressful for them to be so cramped especially as they get bigger.
This thread was especially interesting to me because after 3 days of it not being worked out in my tank I was starting to feel that 2 in a 92 gal was not going to work but if you have had 3 & it works there is hope...I guess it depends mostly on the personality of the individual fish....

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Here are a few pics of my mimic from teeny little juvie at about 1 1/2 inches to his current size, around 5 inches.

 

[iFrag]

thats awesome, how long did u have him?

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I've had him since may of 2006 and he has been a great addition. As you can see he has gone from the all yellow Herald's angel mimic coloration to very dark. His coloration is still highly variable and he is able to go from a very dark, almost charcoal gray to a very bright yellow with dark fins depending on his mood.

 

[anbosu]

That is pretty cool, I haven't seen mine go bright yellow, but mine was a half black mimic anyway. What is interesting to me is the marking on the gills and around the eyes can be bright orange at time, and with the yellow edging on the tail can look really striking.

 

[Reeftanks6]

i think 3 is pushing in it a 90 i have 2 a sailfin and a kole love them in there.