blue hippo tangs

[blunoser]

i have 3 hippo tangs in my tank and lately 2 how them have been acting unusal together. They do a very close circling of each other and then with press tails together, when side by side. Is this a mating behaviour and if so what knid of success would there be

 

[mwp]

Any way possible to post a video? I suspect most all of us here have never seen Tangs actually mating, so it'd be hard for us to judge the behavior. I'd have to ask how large the tangs are as well? On the surface, what you describe sounds much more like aggression than anything else.

Matt

 

[Baalz]

Sounds like aggression to me, they have blades in their tails that they will use.

 

[billsreef]

I've had the pleasure of watching Hippo Tangs spawn in the reef tank at Atlantis Marine World. It happens only when the main lights are turned off simulating sunset, and is more of a long spawning run. Circling around like you describe sounds more like territorial aggression, especially if it's happening during the daytime.