How long before the yellow tang quits?

[t5Nitro]

I just got a powder brown tang in and he is about 4". I also had a yellow tang that I transfered to the 125 with the powder brown. They were put in the tank yesterday so it hasn't been a full 2 days yet. The yellow tang is smaller than the powder brown and he swims around like high strung to no end. The powder brown, anthias, and 2 clowns swim smoothly but the yellow tang is just high strung toward the powder brown. The powder brown really doesn't defend, he just backs away and tries to get away. The yellow one follows him, if the powder brown goes one way, he will actually go behind rocks in the same direction and try to get him.

How long before the yellow tang calms down?

 

[t5Nitro]

anyone?

 

[cooltankmate]

probably you got an aggressive yellow tang. i used to have 2 yellow tangs. 1 of them being very aggressive to the other one. then i bought a purple tang and he beat up the purple also. so i got rip of the agressive yellow tang. and now, my purple tang is the boss. lucky that now i got a peaceful yellow tang hehe
anyway, yellow tang can be very aggressive. so it's pure luck if you get an aggressive one or a peaceful one like mine

 

[t5Nitro]

What kind of tang do you think could go in with a powder brown, 3 anthias, and 2 clowns without being aggresive? Naso are cool but would outgrow the tank, but that may take years. Do you think a purple would work? I was told from a store that their purple tang took out every fish they put in with it (frag tank, big tank though) and also a foxface which are venomous so I guess the venomous fins don't do much. This yellow tang has always been this way, only fish he hasn't really bothered was my 2 clowns for some reason.

Constantly swimming with his fins up in the new tank very fast like, the powder brown swims so peacefully and then the other one chases him down and tries to slap him.

I don't even know why they would do that, if the one isn't bothering him, why would the yellow chase him down from the other side of the tank to go get him? I do like the yellow tang, just I don't want it if it stays like that.

 

[Michelle L]

Give it a little bit of time. It may take a couple of weeks for him to accept the Powder Brown. Yellows can be very aggressive but most times they stop picking on the other fish.

I have a huge yellow in my 220 that is the devil in a yellow suit. I added a good sized Powder Blue tang and he whooped on the PBT for several weeks before he finally left him alone. He still flares or swats his tail at the PBT, but the aggression is almost gone.

 

[prugs]

Hang a mirror on the side of the tank.

 

[t5Nitro]

Won't that scare the powder brown though also? This yellow one will be flushed soon if he doesn't knock it off. He is really bad toward him, seems like it got worse.

 

[Michelle L]

The mirror trick isn't to scare the fish, it's to provide a distraction. Chances are that he'll hate a fish that looks just like him even more than the powder brown and start attacking the mirror, and give the powder brown some peace.

 

[t5Nitro]

Ok, otherwise I'll need to 'rent' a sohal for the yellow tang and see how tough he is.

 

[flameangel88]

The YT I'd was very agressive toward the new Purple Tank I added which was much bigger in size and I can say size didn't matter. The YT will pretty much pick on all new comers for a couple of days and then it should settle down and the exception is anything it looks like themslf (I always wonder how they know what they look like when they don't have mirrors in the ocean ).

 

[t5Nitro]

Well, I do hope it settles down, it's 3 days now, more time yet? I put a small mirror on the side but it didn't help anymore than a few seconds, he looks at it then he sees the powder brown come out and goes after him.

What's with the powder brown? Doesn't he know he has a scalpel and he is larger than the yellow??

Plus I think I noticed a few scratching on the overflow, not much though, and I am soaking the food in garlic xtreme. He still doesn't eat anyway, a very small amount from the algae clip and some off the rocks. He is a fat powder brown though, just doesn't eat. I hope it's not because of that yellow tang.

Is that actually normal? Any of you have a tank with similar size or larger even where a tang just followed another everywhere to slap it or flare at it, and when it could slap, it slapped it?

 

[flameangel88]

I was lucky that I'd a hippo in the tank first and after adding the YT in, the YT went after the hippo (both were about the same size). The YT settled down after it established who was the boss and any new comers gets the same beating for about 2-3 days. I thought the samething about the scalpel and couldn't figure out why the hippo doesn't use it like the YT does.

 

[t5Nitro]

Hmm, well it is 2 days now, I put the yellow tang in and the powder brown tang in (bigger than the YT) in at the same time on Tuesday. I thought it was 3 days. The thing I noticed was it looks like the powder brown might have a little shrunken stomache, he hasn't ate since I got him, he does pick on the rocks a little, not much, and a little on the algae clip, but not much. Is that because the YT is harrasing him?

 

[flameangel88]

If I could catch the YT the YT would have been long gone but I've about 130+ lbs of LRs and I wasn't about to move it. Last year after I added a blueface angel it was constantly harrassed by the majestic angel I'd to to move the blueface out for almost 6 weeks and it ate very well during that time. I re-introduced the blueface back and it was getting constant harassment from the majestic but this time the blueface was much stronger and both are doing well now. But I was monitoring very closely and it was mostly chasing and not nipping. If you can catch either one then I'd separate them for a couple of weeks.

 

[t5Nitro]

I basically destroyed my 46 gallon trying to get the YT out. Now he is in a 125 with a lot more rock and most is epoxied together. I will never get him out.

I don't want to take the powder brown out because he is more peaceful and should get territory.

 

[t5Nitro]

Any ideas? How long can a tang go without eating? I tried twice to catch the yellow tang today, no luck.

I think it may be getting better, there still might be a lot of chasing around, but maybe not as much slapping. I just observed both tangs at the algae clip and the powder brown ate 6 bites and the yellow a few bites after him with no slapping, kind of like waiting in line (is this only because I was standing right there? The yellow tang doesn't like being near me since I chase him with nets lol).

We brought a little mirrior and stuck it on the side of the tank, it occupies him for a while here are there. Then we brought a full length mirrior to the side of the tank. Seems like every once in a while he will flare at the glass wall and swim back and forth.

It seems like it may be getting better on the slapping part, not the chasing around and hovering. Maybe this is only because I am in the room though and stand close. I wish I had a video camera to capture it while I was out of the room.

The powder browns stomache is a bit shrunk in, and I looked at photos from when I first got him (Tuesday) and it looks about the same, I thought it just was like that today:

I think you can notice a little shrunk stomache there, unless thats how they all look. Eating on the algae clip here and there, but no foods yet. How long before he should eat on frozen brine, pellets, flakes or anything else? I read that sometimes powder browns take a few days before they eat?

 

[xxseawolf]

did you have those 2 tangs in your 46g? if you did that is part of the problem. there isnt enough swim space for 2 tangs in a 46g. good luck.

 

[t5Nitro]

No, the yellow tang was in the 46 gallon, and I wanted to upgrade mainly for him and one other tang, plus more room for a lot more corals. I just got the powder brown in Tuesday, and had the yellow one for many months, maybe close to 5-6 months. The powder brown went from the box it shipped in, to the 125 float acclimated and the yellow was cought by net and acclimated to the 125 through a bucket. The powder brown was in before the yellow for maybe 30 minutes. I did that because people always suggest adding tangs in together.

Is 2-3 days maybe might not be enough time to give the yellow one time to settle down, but the fact that the powder brown hasn't been eating anything but a small part of algae clip a day.

I was told maybe it was the YT that he didn't eat. I did target feed the powder brown and he didn't eat, kind of swims away from the food.

I have frozen brine that I soak in garlic xtreme, formula 1 pellets, formula 2 flakes, algae clips (he eats little of this, but eats it anyway), and zoo plankton. I think the most he ate is some algae clip, and he did try 1 piece of the flake and I think he spit it back out. Otherwise such as feeding time, he just sits in the rocks and doesn't come out to eat. After feeding time, he is out and about and one of the most friendly fish and one of the least skiddish I have seen out of the bag, you can put your head right by his on the glass and he doesn't take off, so it's not that he's scared of you being near the tank while feeding.

When I got him Tuesday when the lights were out when I introduced him, he was constantly smashing into the glass wall. I don't know if that was to get to know his surroundings or what, but he went to the side of the tank and tried to swim through it, and he couldn't, so then he swam half way the tank length and a higher speed right back into the glass with his nose, seems like he quit that now, but I have never watched a fish do that before.

 

[AquaKnight]

Have you tried spot feeding the PB with a baster? I would try some mysis too.

I think the YT will settle down in a bit, mine didn't even accept a new mandarin add first.

 

[t5Nitro]

What kind of other tang can go in with a powder brown in a 125 with 3 anthias and 2 clowns? I also want a magnificant foxface. I have him in the same tank and put a piece of eggcrate in and got the YT in a 1/4 of the tank.

The powder brown seems to swim so much easier now. I will leave the eggcrate up for a week and maybe look to check if he is still aggresive, if so, I will look for another tang. Which kind do you recommend?