tang and flame angel issues

[nateskooter]

I recently bought a flame angel and put it into a 55 gal. tank with a yellow tang and plenty of live rock. the yellow tang will not seem to tolerate the flame angel. He chases the flame angel and swims backwards flicking his tail at the flame angel. Can these 2 fish peacefully coexist?

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Not in a tank THAT size!! That Tang will grow to around 10"..Tangs need a lot of swimming room. Aggression is only one of the problems that arise when placing Tangs in tanks that are too small.. this is normal behavior for the Tang..Find him a new home, with someone that has a 120+ tank!

 

[onereefnotenuf]

a yellow tang does not not need a 120 imo. 55 is a bit small but a 75 will do fine. I do agree that the tang should be in a bigger tank. that is probably the reason for the aggression, however you will hear from a bunch of people who have them in 55's without this problem. there is a thread at the top of this section called "what tang for my 30 gal" that has one author's recommendation for minimum tank size for tangs.

 

[Omar H]

I don`t recall yellow tangs being that large. They're more like 6 or 7". But still a 55 is small for this fish. A yellow tang will be better off in a tank at least 6' long. I'd say ditch (return it to the store or trade it) the YT and keep the flame. Now flames can also turn out to be rather nastie, but still very beautiful.

Oh, and read the thread recommended in the previous post. It's very informative.

JMO, Omar

 

[bigbris1]

Its all about the order in which you add the fish to the tank. I hate the "tang police" NO size tank is big enough, really.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7495610#post7495610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigbris1
Its all about the order in which you add the fish to the tank. I hate the "tang police" NO size tank is big enough, really.

You 'hate the Tang police' nice.
I think it irresponsible for anyone to place a large fish that averages out at 8" [yes, its true, look it up] is aggressive and needs a large swimming area into a 55....my opinion! A lot of people feel the same and when we speak up, here comes a few to holler 'tang police' and start in with the unnecessary comments. Just because you WANT a certain fish, does not mean you should buy it. You need to make sure this fish can THRIVE in your care. Would you buy a Great Dane and keep it in your bathroom? Not a real good place for such a large dog. I could go on, but I must go feed my fish, including two Tangs....who reside happily in an 8' , 240 gallon tank...

 

[tangyreefer05]

Do you think a blue tang or any would be fine in a 90g? Could I also add a dwarf angel before or after the tang? I am thinking that all tangs would outgrow my 90g, I would like a blue tang but if it just wont work out down the road (12" fish), I could get a smaller tang like a kole or yellow, however im worried that the yellow will be aggressive to my dwarf angel or clowns. My main worry is getting a fish that will want to make it hell for the others.

Thanks

 

[wliang]

I have a yellow tang in a 50 gal and I recently put in a potter angel. The yellow tang did the same thing and was chasing after the angel.

The next morning the yellow tang stopped chasing the angel and both fish seems to be getting along well now.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7495750#post7495750 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangyreefer05
Do you think a blue tang or any would be fine in a 90g? Could I also add a dwarf angel before or after the tang? I am thinking that all tangs would outgrow my 90g, I would like a blue tang but if it just wont work out down the road (12" fish), I could get a smaller tang like a kole or yellow, however im worried that the yellow will be aggressive to my dwarf angel or clowns. My main worry is getting a fish that will want to make it hell for the others.

Thanks

I responded to your thread

 

[Confooseld]

yellow tangs do not get 10" but I do agree about the tank size stuff.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Agree w/butterfy girl...

That said, probably your best bet would be to distract your tang as much as possible by placing some live macro algae in the tank

Is your flame angel backed into a corner somewhere? Or is he allowed to swim around & is only picked on occasionally? If this is the case & there is no actual physicality, they'll probably be fine.

People who say 55g is big enough for a tang, in my opinion, need to go observe them for a while in large public tank - like 10,000g +. When you see how they act/behave/swim in that situation it helps give perspective on what you are seeing in a smaller tank. Once you have something to compare it to, an unstressed fish, it's easier to identify a stressed fish

 

[Buster4900]

I have a yellow tang in a 110 gallon then added a flame angel. No problems.

 

[bigbris1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7495737#post7495737 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BTTRFLYGRL
You 'hate the Tang police' nice.
I think it irresponsible for anyone to place a large fish that averages out at 8" [yes, its true, look it up] is aggressive and needs a large swimming area into a 55....my opinion!

The FACT of the matter is whenever you remove an animal from its natural habitat & place it in a closed system, no matter how large, it is not big enough. Also, many other factors have to be considered such as free swimming space, tankmates, etc.

The "fact" that a certain fish reaches a certain size is merely relative. Anyone who owns a fish for long enough that will top out at an unacceptable size in their aquarium, I would think, would take the neccessary steps to correct the situation.