Aggressive yellow eye spotted tang

[ElusiveKumquat]

So I had a very small yellow eyed spotted tang in my 75 since I set it up. I had a Tomini tang in my 45 which is plumbed into the same system. The Tomini is slightly larger. I moved the Tomini over and it has been 2 days of non stop abuse from the yellow eye. I have a mirror up which distracts it a little bit. Anything else I can try besides removing one of them? I want to also add a sailfin that is larger than the 2. Was wondering too if that would maybe help with the aggression? It's killing me to watch this since I've had the Tomini longer.

 

[ebushrow]

My easiest suggestion but sometimes the hardest to do....change the landscape if you can...it disorient all of them at the same time and allows territories to be set up with all the inhabitants at the same time....like I said ...easy attempt to fix...often very difficult to accomplish with our reefs....maybe you can add some rock without corals to the larger display if you can't move things due to corals...

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

My easiest suggestion but sometimes the hardest to do....change the landscape if you can...it disorient all of them at the same time and allows territories to be set up with all the inhabitants at the same time....like I said ...easy attempt to fix...often very difficult to accomplish with our reefs....maybe you can add some rock without corals to the larger display if you can't move things due to corals...

Unfortunately I can't change it due to corals and I just love how it is. Any thoughts on adding sailfin? I've heard that the zebrasoma family can be more aggressive. Hoping that it would maybe calm things down.

 

[melypr1985]

@4FordFamily has quite a bit of experience with tangs and aggression. He even wrote an article on what to do to help with it.
Tang Aggression - Understanding and Combating

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

@4FordFamily has quite a bit of experience with tangs and aggression. He even wrote an article on what to do to help with it.
Tang Aggression - Understanding and Combating

That was a great article thank you!

 

[Bbaz123456]

2 tangs +75 gallons= 2 many tangs

+Sailfin=disaster!!!!

 

[4FordFamily]

You might be fine with 2 small tangs in a 75 temporarily but not two bristletooth tangs (I assume your yellow eye is a kole tang and a tomini is also a bristletooth tang), and definitely not a sailfin that will grow 1-2 inches per year.

Your issue is you have two tangs that are both very closely related and not added at the same time. They may get over their issues or they may never as a result. You may try using a social acclimation box or rehoming one of them.

Aggression is often increased in smaller quarters as well, so that's another issue.

If you bought two different bristletooth together and added them together you may be fine as I don't find bristletooth to be aggressive in those situations but it's never a guarantee because they are such a direct "threat" to their food source.

I have two bristletooth in one of my tanks (a Chevron and a Kole) but they're with 8 other tangs so aggression is spread although I've never seen an ounce of aggression with them from them or to them from any other tang. They were all added simultaneously with the exception of another Achilles that worked because there was an existing Achilles they were used to seeing and that I thought wasn't going to make it. Now they paired up which was a crazy string of luck but yeah.

I actually like tangs of the bristletooth family in 75 gallons because of their slow growth rate, less propensity for aggression, and small maximum length. But again together it's not typically a good idea.

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

You might be fine with 2 small tangs in a 75 temporarily but not two bristletooth tangs (I assume your yellow eye is a kole tang and a tomini is also a bristletooth tang), and definitely not a sailfin that will grow 1-2 inches per year.

Your issue is you have two tangs that are both very closely related and not added at the same time. They may get over their issues or they may never as a result. You may try using a social acclimation box or rehoming one of them.

Aggression is often increased in smaller quarters as well, so that's another issue.

If you bought two different bristletooth together and added them together you may be fine as I don't find bristletooth to be aggressive in those situations but it's never a guarantee because they are such a direct "threat" to their food source.

I have two bristletooth in one of my tanks (a Chevron and a Kole) but they're with 8 other tangs so aggression is spread although I've never seen an ounce of aggression with them from them or to them from any other tang. They were all added simultaneously with the exception of another Achilles that worked because there was an existing Achilles they were used to seeing and that I thought wasn't going to make it. Now they paired up which was a crazy string of luck but yeah.

I actually like tangs of the bristletooth family in 75 gallons because of their slow growth rate, less propensity for aggression, and small maximum length. But again together it's not typically a good idea.

Well thank you so much for your help and knowledge. I will not be getting a sailfin! The 2 tang seem to be calming down. If I need to I will remove one of them.

 

[4FordFamily]

Well thank you so much for your help and knowledge. I will not be getting a sailfin! The 2 tang seem to be calming down. If I need to I will remove one of them.

They don't typically hold long grudges

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

They don't typically hold long grudges

Thats good. I'm so happy that they may be fine together. So you said you think it's a kole tang. This one just has spots no horizontal lines. Is it still a kole tang just different variant?

 

[4FordFamily]

Thats good. I'm so happy that they may be fine together. So you said you think it's a kole tang. This one just has spots no horizontal lines. Is it still a kole tang just different variant?

I'll have to see a photo but I believe there are only two kinds of tangs with yellow eyes a kole and square tail bristletooth which may be what you describe if it doesn't have stripes.

There may be other less common bristletooth cousins with some degree of yellow eyes. Speaking of tang eye color, I really like carribean blue tangs with their blue eyes

Juv

Adult

Unrelated Caribbean blue juvenile

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

I'll have to see a photo but I believe there are only two kinds of tangs with yellow eyes a kole and square tail bristletooth which may be what you describe if it doesn't have stripes.

There may be other less common bristletooth cousins with some degree of yellow eyes. Speaking of tang eye color, I really like carribean blue tangs with their blue eyes

Juv

Adult

Unrelated Caribbean blue juvenile

The first two photos are what it looks like.

 

[4FordFamily]

The first two photos are what it looks like.

Square tail bristletooth

 

[ElusiveKumquat]

Square tail bristletooth

Awesome thanks for the ID! And thanks for the info. They are both perfectly fine with each other now.