For those with multiple Zebrasomas in an 8 footer...

[Haffs09]

Would you do it again?

I made an impulse buy (the first in a very long while!) a couple of weeks ago and picked up 4 yellow tangs. My tank is 94"x30"x30" and I'm a few weeks away from adding all my tangs at once and letting them sort things out. The entire system is ~500gals and you can read more http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1831347

So my question is, for those that have a similar size tank with multiple zebrasomas, what has your experience been? Do you regret having them together? Have you had to fish them out as they matured? I'm interested in hearing some feedback.

Scattered among 7 tanks, here's the list of all the tangs I currently have:

5 Yellows 3-4"
1 Purple 3" (currently the lone resident in the DT)
1 Desjardini 5"
1 Hippo 6"
1 Tomini 3"
1 Lavendar 4"
1 Powder blue 3.5"
1 Achilles 3"

The largest yellow and hippo have been with me for almost 10 years. I've had the powder blue and desjardini together since Nov.'10. The rest have been gathered over the past couple of months and are under observation.

 

[dogstar74]

Let's see a pic of this tank. Sounds amazing.

 

[dahenley]

an update would be nice

 

[reefgal]

Sounds like you will be dealing with some very stressed out tangs who will be easy pickins for parasites. My personal experience with a powder blue tang was that it was extremely aggressive and not at all tolerant of other tangs. I've watched four yellow tangs in a 180 gallon tank fight constantly. (They were the only fish present!) Even in this size tank, your tangs are going to be irritated and stressed.

 

[asmodeus]

go for it i added 4 yellows to my 240 with a kole, sailfin. oranhe shoulder tang and i used the mirror on one end and they didnt care with in 4 -5 mins that they were landed in the tank. All of them dont even fight not a pick its great.

 

[hugo209]

I have 1 purple tang, 1 yellow, 1 scopas, 1 sailfin, and they all get along fine... But IMO it all depends on the fish itself. Just like human's have different personality's so do fish too.. I would add the Purple Tang last, because they tend to be a little more aggresive than the Yellow's..

 

[Haffs09]

Thanks for all your comments, keep them coming!

dogstar and dahenley - check out my link. I hope to update it this weekend.

reefgal - thanks for the input. The powder blue does spar with the desjardini, but they're only in a 75 gal right now. I'll watch him/her closely when it goes in. If it can play nice, it's outta there! I'm hoping to minimize risk of infection by making sure all the tangs are eating well do not have any visible signs of disease. For the fish that haven't been with me for an extended period of time, all of them are currently under observation and won't be introduced until I'm satisfied they are healthy. In terms of stress, I'm hoping aggression is dispersed among many rather than on a single individual....we'll see.

asmodeus and hugo - how long have you had your fish together? The purple tang is the lone resident in the display tank right now. He's the smallest of all the zebrasomas I have and I haven't created my aquascaping yet. I figure giving the little guy a little more time in the tank prior to introducing the others will only help.

 

[dahenley]

I will say that that is a lot of tangs...

I forgot to mention that i have
1-powder blue
1-Sail Fin
1-Orange Sholder
1-regal tang
(no longer have the yellow or the clown tang)

i think that the 4 is good, but i could add another if i want. (the power blue is the boss and lets every fish in the tank know)

adding 4-5 more tangs would be pushing it. (unless they are 1-2 in tangs.. but in a 8 foot tank, they will grow in fast.

(my 240 is 96x24x24)

i re-did my rock, and have a bonsai style scaping and it gives lots more swim room, but you going to be at the point to where there isnt as much swim room. especially as corals grow in.
just my opinion.. but you have 8" on me in both directions, and may change my mind if i were to see a tank that big in person....

 

[albano]

I have 9 tangs in my 450g DT. ... 2 purple, 1 yellow, 2 hippo, 1 XL Barienne, 1 L Sailfin, 1 kole, 1 bristletooth...no problems, all seem fine, doing great...were all added at the same time, except Barienne

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[kkiel02]

The only problem I would worry about is the Achilles and Powder Blue. I would add the sailfin first then the yellows and purple together.

I have no personal experience with the lavender but in our local club there is an evil one that got kicked out of a 600 gallon FO display tank because it was beating his other fish up including a powder blue i believe.

 

[serpentman]

I have several zebrosoma's (1 purple, 4 yellow and a bristletooth) in addition to a hippo and vlamingi in my 300g. I can say this, the bristletooth flies under the radar and the purple gets along with the yellows. The hippo and the vlamingi are oblivious.

HOWEVER, after 6+ months the multiple yellows have recently declared war on one another, 2 of which I fear are not long for this world. I believe this is largely and indirectly due to the vlamingi. Its such a hog, it'll devour an entire sheet of nori in minutes so its very hard to feed the rest of the tangs. Honestly, I have no regrets, however, I am going to try and remove the cow in hopes that more food available will settle things down.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I added my second yellow tang about a 2 months ago,it is 3'' long and the first yellow is 5''.The big one showed some aggression for a couple days then quit.They get along great now.The tangs you mention should be ok in a 500 gallon set-up.My tank is a 240 8ft long,I have a 7'' hippo tang in there as well.

 

[Haffs09]

Albano - gorgeous tank! How long have they all been together?

Kkiel02 - I am concerned about the powder blue and achilles. There's a local 225gal display tank that has both and they coexist. Both are full size too, and I believe the powder blue was in the tank before the achilles. When they go in, I'll watch very closely. If those two don't get along after the initial scuffle, then the powder blue is outta there!

Serpentman and Snakemanvet - thanks for the input!

In terms of aquascaping, I plan on building a several pillar type structures in the center of the tank, leaving plenty of swimming room in front and behind. I plan to work on those in the next week or so. Hopefully, with lots of flow, hiding spaces and nori, all will be happy.

Keep the comments coming!

 

[albano]

new tank has been running since last June, before that they were in 3 separate tanks (130g-170g) holding 2-3 tangs each, some as long as 5 years

 

[cromedogg33]

I have a 180g with 4 tangs and see no problems. 1-yellow 1-hippo 1-clown 1-tomini

Hippo is the biggest followed by yellow then clown and last the tomini. I have no problems at all. The yellow is the boss of the tank but the clown will eventually take that role over. I've found by multiple feedings and overfeeding that my tank gets along extremely well.

 

[sarmo]

i have regrets from adding one to many Tangs, a powder blue. if i could, i'd harpoon my powder blue. he is a pig and complete PIA. he has killed a red see sailfin, purple, yellow and now he has my last hippo nearly starved. both the sailfin and the hippo are/were much larger that the powder blue. my tank is a 500gal. i have 400-500 lbs of live rock with tons of places to hide.
i would throw the powder blue out on driveway and let the cats eat him!!!! otherwise i think you are fine

 

[albano]

i would throw the powder blue out on driveway and let the cats eat him!!!!

Don't sugar-coat it...Tell us how you really feel!

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Wow some passion here for sure but at the end its just the nature of the fish

I've been very lucky then judging by some of the stories told here.

All my Tangs go happy Maybe is the 1000 gal they have to swim


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[sarmo]

the key is to do research. Powder blues are beautiful. i thought i had enough space but i was wrong!!!
don't get me wrong, i love Tangs. that's why i had so many. i just didn't understant the space requirements of the Powder Blue.

 

[hpfunk]

My 7" red sea sailfin and 5"yellow-belly hippo killed my new 3" clown tang today. I got the clown tang one week ago and he was eating fine at the LFS before purchase and the first feeding in my 180g display. After that he was bullied around the tank all week, and I never saw him eat after the first time. Ill just have to try again I guess.