tang trio
- Thread starter Benny Z
- Start date
deepblueat2814
In Memoriam
I am a Tang lover. My 210 gal reef tank is full of 8 different tangs. Powder blue, hippo, blonde naso, yellow, achilles, purple, and sailfin. The key is to introduce them all at the same time so that everyone starts at ground zero in terms of establishing territory.
Good luck
Good luck
Benny Z
In Memoriam
thanks!
i will definately introduce them all at the same time.
i've been working part time at a lfs. my plan is to order them all at the same time and let them swim around in seperate copper (.10 ppm) fish only tanks for a couple of weeks to watch/qt them, then bring them home. my 200g is currently running at 1.013 sg and has no coral/inverts yet, so if a problem pops up i can pretty quickly get down to 1.009. i know the achilles is an ich-prone specimen, so i'm hoping this plan will prevent any problems.
i know copper isn't good on tangs, but i'm thinking they'll be ok for a couple of weeks. any advice against this?
i will definately introduce them all at the same time.
i've been working part time at a lfs. my plan is to order them all at the same time and let them swim around in seperate copper (.10 ppm) fish only tanks for a couple of weeks to watch/qt them, then bring them home. my 200g is currently running at 1.013 sg and has no coral/inverts yet, so if a problem pops up i can pretty quickly get down to 1.009. i know the achilles is an ich-prone specimen, so i'm hoping this plan will prevent any problems.
i know copper isn't good on tangs, but i'm thinking they'll be ok for a couple of weeks. any advice against this?
I don't think that you will have to add those all at the same time to be successful. Just get healthy specimins, QT them properly and feed them enough food.
You might have better luck QTing the fish in a QT tank instead of in the display. Competition for food and harassment can damage the fish as much as parasites. With the 1.009 display, you are really only solving 1 of the 3 problems.
Watch your ammonia if you do add 3 tangs to a new tank at once.
Good luck.
You might have better luck QTing the fish in a QT tank instead of in the display. Competition for food and harassment can damage the fish as much as parasites. With the 1.009 display, you are really only solving 1 of the 3 problems.
Watch your ammonia if you do add 3 tangs to a new tank at once.
Good luck.
Benny Z
In Memoriam
i will watch ammonia. i'm also ordering 4 female lyretails for my male and will add them at least a week before i bring the tangs home.
i'm hoping to get the tangs eating algae sheets while at the store, so that should take care of 2 of the 3 issues.
we have the orange shoulder at the store now (1 week + 1 day) and he is eating both mysis (i know, not prefered diet) and on tuesday i witnessed him eating off the algae clip, so i think he's good to go.
should i go ahead and bring that one home, then introduce the two others later? ...and if so, should i put him in my sump (100g stock tank) and then move him to the display when i add the others?
thanks for all the help!
- ben
i'm hoping to get the tangs eating algae sheets while at the store, so that should take care of 2 of the 3 issues.
we have the orange shoulder at the store now (1 week + 1 day) and he is eating both mysis (i know, not prefered diet) and on tuesday i witnessed him eating off the algae clip, so i think he's good to go.
should i go ahead and bring that one home, then introduce the two others later? ...and if so, should i put him in my sump (100g stock tank) and then move him to the display when i add the others?
thanks for all the help!
- ben
ronjeremy
New member
personally, i would go with hypo for a couple weeks..the copper is a risk,especially at 10ppm(that could be lethal).....5ppm is the normal treatment level..also, don't let the fish EVER touch the water in your store..this will enormously lower the chances of them catching something...as soon as they arrive, take them home and put them directly in qt
I agree with Ron on the QT. Since you work at the store, just bring them home out of the suppliers bags.
Mysis is very good for tangs. Of course, they need their veggies, but meat will keep them fat, growing and happy. A well fed tang is a non-agressive tang. You should be feeding them enough to see them growing about 1-2" a year. They should be fat, colorful and graceful. Supplement their food with vitamins and fatty acids.
Anthias, wrasses and a lot of other true reef fish don't always do well with hypo salinity. Do your homework or you could kill them. This is another good reason to not do hypo in a display.
I have 2 purples, Powder Blue, Powder Blue x Goldrim Hybrid, Black, Hippo and Chocolate in my tank. Purple was first, then Chocolate and PBT. I guess that I am saying that a quality home (good reef-like water quality), lots of food and a healthy fish is more important than order. Too many people focus on order. Order might be important, but not as important as the other things (IME) and people overlook them b/c they are focused on order.
Mysis is very good for tangs. Of course, they need their veggies, but meat will keep them fat, growing and happy. A well fed tang is a non-agressive tang. You should be feeding them enough to see them growing about 1-2" a year. They should be fat, colorful and graceful. Supplement their food with vitamins and fatty acids.
Anthias, wrasses and a lot of other true reef fish don't always do well with hypo salinity. Do your homework or you could kill them. This is another good reason to not do hypo in a display.
I have 2 purples, Powder Blue, Powder Blue x Goldrim Hybrid, Black, Hippo and Chocolate in my tank. Purple was first, then Chocolate and PBT. I guess that I am saying that a quality home (good reef-like water quality), lots of food and a healthy fish is more important than order. Too many people focus on order. Order might be important, but not as important as the other things (IME) and people overlook them b/c they are focused on order.
Benny Z
In Memoriam
i have had good luck bringing my other fish home direct from the supplier. (anthias, fairy/flasher wrasses)
my line of thinking with letting them swim in the copper tank was that the achilles is so prone to ich outbreaks. the fish we've been getting from this supplier, however, have for the most part come in healthy. we've seen minimal issues and have had very minimal losses...and we're placing rather large orders and moving these fish quickly.
i guess i'll set up a spare 40br tonight and get it going for qt.
thanks again for all the input...much appreciated!
my line of thinking with letting them swim in the copper tank was that the achilles is so prone to ich outbreaks. the fish we've been getting from this supplier, however, have for the most part come in healthy. we've seen minimal issues and have had very minimal losses...and we're placing rather large orders and moving these fish quickly.
i guess i'll set up a spare 40br tonight and get it going for qt.
thanks again for all the input...much appreciated!
ronjeremy
New member
any of those tangs are going to be prone to ich..if you have had good luck with the supplier, that is a plus..i would definately not put them in the store water..if i buy from a local store, i tell them to leave it in the bag and call as soon as it arrives..it could save you alot of trouble
Michelle L
New member
I am watching this thread closely (and am going to hijack it for a minute...sorry Ben!). I am a friend of Ben's and am also eventually thinking of adding an Achilles. I would also like to add a powder blue. My setup is listed in my signature line; the tank is about a 220-ish gallon (bought it used, unsure of the volume.)
My issue is that I have a very large yellow tang who is an absolute brute. He's enormously fat, gets lots of food, and is the dominant fish in the tank. He's bold enough that he will nibble my fingers or even take a swipe at me with his tail when my hands are in the tank if I don't feed him.
The other inhabitants are a starry eyed blenny and a falco hawkfish. Two weeks ago I added a magnificent foxface who was equal to his size, and he bullied it relentlessly up until the last couple of days. He's backed off now, but I wsn't sure he was going to. Now they appear to be friends but there is still the occasional whip of the tail.
I would pull him and place him in my 55 QT while I introduced new fish, but he would be impossible to catch with my rockwork. Do I stand a chance of success with adding fragile tangs such as the ones I mentioned? Also, I hear that Achilled and PBT will co-exist in a tank my size but it just doesn't seem big enough for both. Opinions? I have great water quality, circulation, etc., but I don't don't know if that would matter....?
Again, sorry Ben!!
My issue is that I have a very large yellow tang who is an absolute brute. He's enormously fat, gets lots of food, and is the dominant fish in the tank. He's bold enough that he will nibble my fingers or even take a swipe at me with his tail when my hands are in the tank if I don't feed him.
The other inhabitants are a starry eyed blenny and a falco hawkfish. Two weeks ago I added a magnificent foxface who was equal to his size, and he bullied it relentlessly up until the last couple of days. He's backed off now, but I wsn't sure he was going to. Now they appear to be friends but there is still the occasional whip of the tail.
I would pull him and place him in my 55 QT while I introduced new fish, but he would be impossible to catch with my rockwork. Do I stand a chance of success with adding fragile tangs such as the ones I mentioned? Also, I hear that Achilled and PBT will co-exist in a tank my size but it just doesn't seem big enough for both. Opinions? I have great water quality, circulation, etc., but I don't don't know if that would matter....?
Again, sorry Ben!!
Last edited:
ronjeremy
New member
i don't know if i would try those 2 together..they are both from the Acanthurus family..the PB can be very aggressive..try to find out the exact specs of the tank, especially length...i have seen several Acanthurus sp. together before, but only in large systems..the Achilles is also not a very hardy shipper..it can be difficult to find a healthy specimen
Michelle L
New member
Thanks guys! You both said what I expected to hear, but you never know. I hear success stories about combining tangs in this hobby sometimes, although it is infrequent. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.....
Achilles and PBT are very hardy once acclimated. Most of the issues with them can be avoided with QT and isolation. I would isolate and QT them for 3-4 weeks or more. My QT is acutally hooked onto my main system most of the time (for ease). If I have a fish that needs medicated, I will take it offline for the duration of the QT. I have only ever needed to medicate a fish once. Usually, not fighting for food or being harassed can keep parasites low enough that the fish can fight them off by themselves.
I got an achilles about 6 months ago. It never got any parasites and ate well from day 1. It was fat and happy, but died about 4 months later for no reason whatsoever. It was never a bully. I had it in with a PBT which never cared that it was in there.
I also have a PBT hybrid in with my PBT. They are hardly away from each other.
I would say to catch the yellow, it could really help. If it is very big, then perhaps moving it on to an owner with a larger tank is a good idea and you can get a smaller one. In my 210 (7 footer), I use eggcrate to cut the tank into thirds or fourths depending on where the fish hide. It is easy to catch them and remove the rock if you partition out the tank.
I got an achilles about 6 months ago. It never got any parasites and ate well from day 1. It was fat and happy, but died about 4 months later for no reason whatsoever. It was never a bully. I had it in with a PBT which never cared that it was in there.
I also have a PBT hybrid in with my PBT. They are hardly away from each other.
I would say to catch the yellow, it could really help. If it is very big, then perhaps moving it on to an owner with a larger tank is a good idea and you can get a smaller one. In my 210 (7 footer), I use eggcrate to cut the tank into thirds or fourths depending on where the fish hide. It is easy to catch them and remove the rock if you partition out the tank.
