tang eating clam mantle

[Hens4Fish]

So now my yellow tang is picking at my crocea clam mantle. Has anyone heard of this? They have been in the same tank together for 4 months and just this morning he started nipping. The other tangs are not bothering it at all. Any ideas or experience. Willthey stop bothering the clam after a while, or do they get a taste for them?

 

[Bebo77]

never had that happen with any of my clams or tangs...

 

[Omar H]

I had a kole tang do it and previously a foxface. I think (no scientific evidence of course) that this behavior actually results from the fish not having enough "natural" food source to browse on, so they go for the slime in corals and clams. The foxface had been in the tank for about 6 months and the kole tang for about 2 years. Both had grown significantly in the time I had them.

Just for the record, blue tang (paracanthurus hepatus) has shared the tank for 2 years now (though tang has been with me for about 6 years) without any incidents with the clams or the corals (please note that at this stage, P. hepatus is not inclined towards eating algae of any type, but is more of an omnivore. Mine truly loves bristleworms).

Omar

 

[Yum Cimil]

I had a hippo tang do that. I sold the clams, I have had the hippo over six years and won’t part with him. They get the taste for them and It won’t stop.

 

[thor32766]

wow that is crazy and very rare. I have four clams in my tang tank and they have been with them for 2 yrs and never even look at them. But crazy things do happen.

 

[Hens4Fish]

Well, I had to remove the clams, they were getting torn apart by one yellow tang, just one. I have 4 other tangs in there and no one bothered them. The clams are now in my other tank fully extended and happy. I guess all part of being a reefer.

 

[JC1]

pick one clam or tang

 

[ezcompany]

i have seen some purple tangs at the lfs pick on clams. i dunno what the tang is called so i'm saying purple. all 50 clams or so were closed.

 

[midgetwaiter]

I had a Blue Hippo tang rip up a teardrop maxima and an open brain coral. I lost the clam and the coral is kind of hanging in there, I'm not sure if it will recover.

If you're sure take action quickly. I waited to long to remove the fish because I couldn't figure out what the problem was so I lost the clam.