What is up with my yellow tang?

Calappidae

Harlequin Shrimp
My yellow tang nipped off every single antenna on my peppermint shrimp :headwalls: so much for being a benifical cleaner... he hides from the fish and is almost as lifeless as a molt.. jumps around and hides behind the fliter.. infact, in the middle of writing this my tang is chasing it around the tank nipping his tail.. and he is missing a leg.. I got him in a small glass cup right now to get him away from it but what is going on? Tang acks fine around my scarlet cleaner but is trying to kill my peppermint.. and the peppermint up at the library cleans their yellow tang regularly..

and yes there is an algae clip...

I posted this in both, other inverts for what to do for the pep, and reef fishes for whatever is wrong with my tang..


Is this common behavior for tangs to be this aggressive torwards cleaners like peps or no? I also have harlequin shrimp and sexy shrimp which the tang completely ignores..
 
This is unusual for a tang, but like they say every fish is different. There's something about that pep shrimp that your YT finds tasty. :crazy1:
 
My sailfin gets along perfectly fine with him.. and the yellow tang never bothers anything but the pep.. i was kinda worried about it eating my sexy shrimp but I think I should be more worried about the cleaners. :uhoh2:
 
My sailfin gets along perfectly fine with him.. and the yellow tang never bothers anything but the pep.. i was kinda worried about it eating my sexy shrimp but I think I should be more worried about the cleaners. :uhoh2:

It may just be that one shrimp, or it may become a shrimp-eating tang. It's hard to tell with fish once they deviate from "normal" behavior for their species. I've known plenty of people who have had to remove "reef safe" tangs from their tank because they start picking on corals. I also know a guy with a Raccoon Butterfly in a fully stocked reef. Go figure :wildone:
 
That's funny.... I added a cleaner shrimp about two weeks ago and our normally very peaceful yellow tang started nipping at its antennas and going after him. Eventually, the cleaner shrimp setup shop under my Purple Gigantea and has since had no threats or anything from the tang..
 
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His tail is ripped up, antennas missing, 1 leg missing, and he is crouched down like he is out of water or something. Poor thing :worried:
 
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His tail is ripped up, antennas missing, 1 leg missing, and he is crouched down like he is out of water or something. Poor thing :worried:

Might be best to rehome him. Maybe you know someone with a nano reef? With small sissy fish that the shrimp wouldn't have to worry about?
 
I put some of the peppermint shrimps in our sump, and they are as happy as could be. Safe & sound!
 
Is this fish still shoved into a 10g tank?

1.5 inch (finally measured) tang in the 10g while my HT cycles so I can add it to my 125 gallon when thats up and running in a couple weeks, yes, and it should be gone out of there in about a week, in a HT for a few weeks to be treated, then in a nice proper 125 gallon where it belongs. Reason I snagged it so early was because all it's tankmates had internal parasites including it and I tried to save it's life (petco). It also was in a puny 5 gallon so I figured I'd still be helping it out for now as either way it would need to be in a small HT. I have a hard time letting things like that go by. I do not see half of the worms that were sticking out of it's tail ever since the cleaner was added but thats begining to back fire.

I'm inclined to ask... Is the tang hungry? What is he being fed/how much/how often?

PE mysis+vegy clip+New life spectrum marine fish formula pellets.

Vegy clip always there, the snails get it before the tang... and it will eat the pellets. I usually sprinkle pellets around the top and it scavenges the ones on the bottom rather then anything sinking/floating. Today it payed no attention to the food and it rather go for the antennas of the cleaner... After each feeding, my sandbed is covered in the pellets... I'm over feeding if anything.

Or I'll switch to mysis every few days instead of pellets.. quater a cube I'd say?

There is also a rock with hair algae I purposely put in there and it picks at that every once in a while.
 
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I've got the same problem with my YT. Eats the antennae of my fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp. He used to feed really well and is just not eating much anymore. Stomach is starting to cave in.....feeding all the stuff he loves....not sure what his deal is.
 
I've got the same problem with my YT. Eats the antennae of my fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp. He used to feed really well and is just not eating much anymore. Stomach is starting to cave in.....feeding all the stuff he loves....not sure what his deal is.

Our YT eats daily, and grazes on algae all day long but still has a little sunken in look to him as well. We've had him for almost a year, so no idea..
 
You guys would be shocked at how much food a tang has to pack away to look healthy. Now, if this food requirement is being met and the fish isn't gaining weight, I would recommend treating the fish for internal parasites that may be robbing it of nutrients.
 
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