Tang stocking question please

[Shooter7]

Would like to get some input on the idea of mixing a purple tang in with a scopas tang in my 120 gal tank. Would be the only tangs in there and the tank is not real heavily stocked otherwise. Would the purple and scopas have major problems or no? Scopas has been in the tank for about 4 months and is very healthy. thanks

 

[AquaReeferMan]

How long is your tank?? If its 4 foot I wouldnt try it, purples can get real aggressive. They also have the same body shape this also means trouble. Ive seen tangs with different body shapes live together peacefully but the ones with the same shape tend to fight.

 

[thor32766]

what are the dimensions of the tank? are you dead set on a purple?

 

[Fade]

Dave I have all kinds of tangs in they same tank as you have seen and they all get togather just fine. In my 215 there was a litttle aggression but not real bad.

 

[Fade]

They tangs at MS are really small also so in a 4 foot tank I think you would be fine for a while.

 

[Shooter7]

It's a 4x2x2. No, not dead set on it. Just have been trying to come up with one more larger size fish that I can do in this tank and can't decide on what to get. LFS just posted their sales for the week and they had purple tangs on sale, so that got me thinking. I like the scopas myself, but it is also the only fish that my wife had any input on getting and she just loves him, so he's not going to be leaving the tank anytime soon.

Current stock is:

Scopas tang
Foxface
2 small ocellaris clowns
1 blue green chromis
1 male and 2 female lyretail anthias
Mandarin

I'm kind of on the lower side in the amount of rock I have in the actual tank, so there is more swimming room, have more rock in the sump/fuge for a total of around 175 lbs. About 150 gal total system volume.

 

[Shooter7]

Hey John, how's it goin'?

 

[Fade]

Not bad how you been ?

 

[Shooter7]

You don't wanna know.

Yeah, your tangs get along....but they've only got what, like 4 times the water volume of my tank to play in and have their own space? :lol:

 

[thefishgy18]

Dave....alot of times tangs will work if you add them at the same time.....in a 4 ft. tank i don't thing you will have a problem....just as long the purple is not a ton bigger then the scopas...i work at a LFS and see 4-5 tangs in 55's all the time with them never picking on each other....the only problem we usually have is either same species or when one is much larger then the other.....just my 2 cents

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks for the input so far.

The Scopas is still a fairly small guy, maybe a few inches long at best. And, as you could probably see from the earlier posting from one of my local reefer cohorts, he says the purple tangs at the place I'm talking about possibly going are rather small themselves. My scopas has been in my tank around 4 months or so and is a model citizen.

 

[cbell]

there are exceptions to every rule.

but the rule is (for a tank your size) on tang per body family.

Zebrasoma scopas
Zebrasoma xanthurum (purple tang)

my doctor has a 150g with 1 yellow tand and 1 scopas. they are beating each other up pretty bad.