Purple Tang

[Mangodude]

Hi, I've considered purchasing a purple tang for my 120gal. reef. I have a yellow tang in there, would they get along alright?

Also, how many yellow tangs can I keep together? As mentioned earlier I already have one (he's about 4 inches), if I were to put two more in there would the form a school? or do I need more than three?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

They'll jostle a little at first try to get the purple same size as the yellow or even a little bigger since the yellow is established. 3 yellows would be pretty in a 120 with some smaller wrasses, angel, etc.

 

[Mangodude]

Thanks for the input. I will keep that in mind. I already have a little dwarf pygmy angel in there and a sixline wrasse so I guess all I need are the tangs. Do you think three is enough?

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

3 yellows will be plenty in a 120 with your other fish. If you are getting a purple, you might just do one of those and if you had to get another tang maybe something other thanb zebrasoma like a small acanthurus or something.

 

[Toddrtrex]

IMO...

If you already have a yellow in a 120, I wouldn't try to any other yellows in there. And as for the purple, I would pass too -- they are way too aggressive, even more so in smaller tanks.

I used to have a purple in my 75, and had to sell it for 2 reasons --- first, too big for a 4 foot tank. Second, it was getting too mean, it was drawing blood from my male Clarkii.

 

[TampaReefer79]

IMO...

If you already have a yellow in a 120, I wouldn't try to any other yellows in there. And as for the purple, I would pass too -- they are way too aggressive, even more so in smaller tanks.

I used to have a purple in my 75, and had to sell it for 2 reasons --- first, too big for a 4 foot tank. Second, it was getting too mean, it was drawing blood from my male Clarkii.

First of all, hey mango what's goin on?!

Secondly, yeah I agree with Todd 100%. Since you already have a tang in your 120, leave it at that. 3 yellow tangs in my old 180 didn't work out, so I'm thinking they wouldn't work in a 120. lol And adding a purple to an established yellows tank is bad news.

 

[sanchoy]

you will likely never see a shoal (school) of tangs in an aquarium unless you have 1,000 gallon + size. Can you keep a yellow and purple absolutely. Will they fight, of course. I currently have a yellow and purple together in the 250 and they are doing fine. a couple of sword fights but nothing too major.

 

[agreeive?fish]

I added a yellow and a purple at the same time to my 7ft ~200g and had to move the yellow to my 6ft ~210g because of the purples agression towards the yellow..but the purple dosent even notice the sailfin in his tank..ofcourse the sailfin is huge and been in the tank for about 4-5 years

 

[jubjub]

yeah i tried a yellow and a purple in my 5foot 100gallon... that wasnt a good thing purples are mean lil boogers....when i added the purple the yellow didnt like it started to bully the purple until the purple bullied back both fish got pretty beat up, i ended up selling the yellow

 

[Mangodude]

Alright, thanks everyone for the advice. I will probaby just stay away from purples then. How about angels? I already have a pygmy, can I put, say a flame angel? I would like to add a few more fish but not sure about compatibility, I've heard so many different opinions.

TampaR79, do I know you? I've had many people come buy stuff from me and I wasn't sure if you were one.

I already have a sixline wrase can I put a bigger wrasse in there or will they fight? I've seen several people do it with no problems at all but would like another opinoin.

 

[duastina]

my .02 I have had a purple and a yellow together in my 210gal for 2 years now and they are doing great a show of fins here and there but for the most part the swim together even share the same sleeping spot... yet when I first got the purple I already had a yellow and the purple beat it up and it ended up dying within the first month, I got another yellow this time the same size and the have been great ever since. I dont know if the first yellow was slightly smaller or if it was becasue he was there first.

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

I've had a purple, yellow, desardini together in the same tank. All same size all added at the same time. they would nick each other now and then, but my sohal does it to my pyramids from time to time.

Have a PBT with the sohal, yellow and purple right now.:rollface:

3 yellows or 1 of each would be fine in a 120 IMO.

 

[ejk17]

Interesting thread. IMO try it if you like, if you really want it no one is going to stop you. Im going to add a larger purple to my 90 with a smaller yellow existing in it now, this weekend probably. Ill post how it goes.

 

[barrettrhoades]

I recommend NOT putting two of the same genus tangs together into a 120. Yea they might get along for a while, but they will definitely be stressed, and ultimately one will win. It makes a difference adding them at the same time, but if one is already established, only add a tang of a different species.

 

[ejk17]

I recommend NOT putting two of the same genus tangs together into a 120. Yea they might get along for a while, but they will definitely be stressed, and ultimately one will win. It makes a difference adding them at the same time, but if one is already established, only add a tang of a different species.

Personal exp barrett? I have seen many tanks do great with this type of fish setup. Its more the individual fish rather than just incompatible

 

[mikid]

tangs

tangs

just to voice my 2 cents....i beleive that most of the problems with tangs isnt so much that certain ones are more aggressive...is that in a tank most people just put in what they like and dont think of there tank as a enviroment for your fishes....like red sea,indian ocean,pacific,atlantic,hawaian, etc...if you stick with the fish from a certain area i believe your fish will get along much better.....for 3 1 /2year ive been keeping a red sea tank...seem to be more aggressive reef fish but the tangs get along....from my purple,dejarden(rest in peace), to the sohal....graduated to large friends tank....thats just my opinion.......:rollface:

 

[MTH]

I have 2 purples and 2 yellows in the same tank and surprisingly the larger yellow is the most aggressive of the 4. The Purples are high energy zipping around but the one yellow is always displaying and looking for trouble.

 

[brandon7491]

In my 4ft 110gallon tank i have a purple tang that was established for a year and the added a small yellow. In the beginning the purple was aggressive towards the yellow but over about a week he left the yellow alone. It has been 7months since i have had the yellow tang with the purple tang and there are no issues. Yes there are some skirmishes between the two but nothing major.

 

[StripestheEel]

Just keep in mind guys these fish need space.

I only have 5 tangs in my 700 gallon system.

We all want the best for our fish; in a perfect world this would mean that they would all be left in the ocean but as humans we are selfish so we stick them in a glass box.

So when we do that, we want them to exhibit the natural behaviours as much as possible. In order to do this we don't want to overcrowd the tank with multiple fish of the same genus. 2 or 3 yellows won't school, 200-300 will.

The best thing to do is have a few showpiece style fish and fill the rest of the tank with smaller specimens such as anthias.

 

[Mangodude]

Thanks everybody for opinons! I never thought this thread would get so interesting!

I will drop the whole schooling yellowfish idea but may still go after a purple.

StripesTheEel: any type of anthias your recommend over others?

Thanks