Purple Tang compatibility

lhemphill

lhemphill

Member
Today I bought a 2" purple tang for my reef tank. I currently do not have any corals yet, but I will in a month +. He is sharing the tank with a pair of ocellaris clowns-Sm. We plan to add Orange Diamond Gobies and various types of shrimps. I have 60g-I know its small for this fish. I will only be having this tank for 18-24 months.

My questions is what will be a good tankmates with this guy. I like the fox face, but am concerned about it eating polyps/anenomes. Will they nip anenomes?

I have been doing countless hours of research, but I want experienced first- hand knowledge.

Thanks
 
Dimensions of the tank? You should not add any more fish that get over 4-5" and look more into the smaller fish like a flasher wrasse and a royal gramma. You can only do two Diamond gobies if they are a bonded pair, so I would stick with just one. You are more than likley going to have problems with your purple tang being aggressive to anything else you add to the tank. Tangs are always a fish that you add to your tank.
 
Reefing Newbie said:
Tangs are always a fish that you add to your tank.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you didn't mean to write this....


FIREFISHPAT said:
Nice reef fish are Anthias lots to pick from.
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Nice, but usually kept in groups. 60 Gallons is not the ideal size for these fish. Plus, they may require multiple feedings per day to thrive.


dzfish17 said:
I would take it back and buy fish that are appropriate for your current tank. I know you have every intention of getting a larger tank but it doesnt always happen... "life" gets in the way. Buy a PT when you actually have the bigger tank. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946079
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Exactly. Many people say "I won't keep it once it gets big" or "Ill get a bigger tank when I need to". This is not the attitude to have in this hobby. Do it right the first time. It will save you time, money, and you will be a happier reefer. :)
 
Reefing Newbie said:
Dimensions of the tank? You should not add any more fish that get over 4-5" and look more into the smaller fish like a flasher wrasse and a royal gramma. You can only do two Diamond gobies if they are a bonded pair, so I would stick with just one. You are more than likley going to have problems with your purple tang being aggressive to anything else you add to the tank. Tangs are always a fish that you add to your tank.
Click to expand...

First, I want to say that my goal has always been to keep a responsible reef aquarium, and I knew tangs were too big for my tank. The owner assured me this was not the case, and I foolishly believed him.

My tank is 48"L x 18T x 13D. I have 70 lbs of LR and 100lbs of LS. For some reason I took the recommendation of the LFS owner which is out of character for me. I do have this fish now, which I really do like him. I do not believe the LFS will do much for credit, but I would rather have a happy tank then my $120 back. The Purple tang is fairly small, but I know he will grow. I was thinking of doing more simi-aggressive fish with him if I keep him, although I don't want to endanger my ocellaris. (unless I just did that). A blue spotted puffer would be nice since they stay within 5in, but I want anenomes. It seems I cannot have all that I want in this tank and need to make some decisions.

How fast will the tang grow?
 
dzfish17 said:
I would take it back and buy fish that are appropriate for your current tank. I know you have every intention of getting a larger tank but it doesnt always happen... "life" gets in the way. Buy a PT when you actually have the bigger tank. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946079
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This is great information, thank you. It seems to be difficult to get truthful and accurate information about almost anything regarding compatibililty and environmental needs for fish from anyone who works a the LFS.
 
You do have 4' long tank, that will help. PT grow pretty fast. When he is too big you can decide what to do with him.
I think the post above was add tangs last. PT are aggressive. He shouldn't be now because he is small but in time he will.
I wouldn't add any other algae eaters. A fox face needs a bigger tank to. Soon the tang will think all the algae is his and in time he'll think all the mysis is his too.
I would look into semi aggressive wrasses maybe a mystery.
 
Ooops, I sorta forgot to add the word last in my reply. Stupid phone! I think faster than my phone can type. It should have read, "Tangs are a fish you always add to the tank last".
 
I have had a purple tang for many years. In my experience, it has never eaten any corals(sps) or anemones. It was added last to the system and is housed with two other tangs of different species and angels.

Thanks, Steve
 
sbeason said:
I have had a purple tang for many years. In my experience, it has never eaten any corals(sps) or anemones. It was added last to the system and is housed with two other tangs of different species and angels.

Thanks, Steve
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I am glad to hear that the Purple Tang doesn't touch your corals. What size tank do you have?
 
I have a Purple Tang, Blue Regal Tang, Foxface, A pair of Percula Clowns with a Green Long Tenticle Anenome, Scooter Blennie, Flame Hawk Fish and a Mandarin Dragonet all doing well with about 100 lbs LR and a mix of LPS and SPS. 90 gallon tank.
 
mwmp5 said:
I have a Purple Tang, Blue Regal Tang, Foxface, A pair of Percula Clowns with a Green Long Tenticle Anenome, Scooter Blennie, Flame Hawk Fish and a Mandarin Dragonet all doing well with about 100 lbs LR and a mix of LPS and SPS. 90 gallon tank.
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How long have you had them in your 90g tank?
 
The desire to have that certain fish which you know you shouldn't always ends up costing dearly. For the fish and the wallet !! I've bought some fish which for whatever reason had to be taken out of my tank, and it's always a PITB. Imagine how the poor fish feels !! How much fun would it be to relocate to a new place every couple of months? Specially if the new location isn't the right place for you !
 
I personally think that while perhaps the decision to have this fish in your current tank wasn't a great one, I also feel that what's done is done and a 2" PT should be fine in a 48" long tank for the time being until it outgrows it. Having said that, as tough a decision as it may be, I wouldn't add any other fish at all to the tank because either the PT will show aggression to newcomers or new fish will just take up viable space and resources from the PT or both. Good luck and hope he does well for you.
 
dzfish17 said:
I would take it back and buy fish that are appropriate for your current tank. I know you have every intention of getting a larger tank but it doesnt always happen... "life" gets in the way. Buy a PT when you actually have the bigger tank. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946079
Click to expand...

This is great advice, which I did take. I traded the fish to a local reefer for some paly's and zoa's. Im sure the fish is happy in his new home all buy himself in a large frag tank.

As far are the larger tank is concerned, I just purchased a 187 gallon 60x24x30 tank last week. I understand that egg comes before the chicken, so the tang wouldn't have worked anyways. I bought the larger tank because it is where i want to be in two years, figured why wait and keep spending money on a system I am going to shut down.

Thanks all for the advice, I am learning that learning the hard way is sometimes the best way to get things to sink in.
 
Great approach, and good luck with the bigger tank. It will give you a lot more flexibility to do what you want with the tank (a bigger selection of fish will be suitable for the larger tank). As others have said it is best to put your tangs in last and many won't tolerate fish being introduced after the tang, particularly if they feel cramped.
 
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