aggressive yellow tang help

ChrissyTina62 · Mar 4, 2015

I have a yellow tang on my tank which has become extremely aggressive. I believe hes killed 3 fish, and terrorizes the other fish still alive in the tank. He has even started to go after me and the tools i use to clean the tank.
I had resolved to remove him from the tank, however this would involve dismantling the live rock to catch him which will be a huge job.
Someone else suggested instead a second tang, saying they are less aggressive when there is more then one. So id like advice and suggestions. Remove or bring in a friend?
I thought that tangs should be kept in odd numbers, and dont think the tanks large enough for 3 (75 gallons) .
Any help is welcome, thank you!

haleyf1024 · Mar 4, 2015

You could try taping a mirror onto the tank, sometimes they go after the reflexion instead of tankmates. I also taped pictures of the same breed on and it worked

Reefing Madness · Mar 4, 2015

Re-arraange the rock work, he won't know his territory for awhile, and by then hopefully he settles down.

DMan · Mar 5, 2015

Im no police but in this case your tank may be just to small for that tang. If its a full grown tang the tank is probably to small. You may have to replace it with a smaller younger yellow tang. In my 90 I can keep tangs about 3 years( and that is pushing it) before they outgrow it. But I'm OK with that, because I either sell them or trade them for a juvi tang and I'm good for a couple more years. Rearranging the rock may work, if only for a little while. But if it is a space issue then the yang will continue to be aggressive. Can't really blame them. I'd be grouchy if I was kept in cramped quarters.

ChrissyTina62 · Mar 5, 2015

Thanks for the replies. I have had him about 9-10 months, hes medium size I would say. I think im going to take hime out - as much as a pain as that would be - so the other fish can be happy and he can find a happier home.

cdness · Mar 5, 2015

I had my yellow tang for well over 5 years... I got him from a friend who had him for 3 years prior to me. He turned into a bully when I still had my 75G tank and moved him to a friend's house with a 125G. Since then he has found a different home so I hope he is safe. I do understand the aggressive nature of this fish. When they turn, there is no fixing it.

ChrissyTina62 · Mar 5, 2015

I had one 10+ years ago in another tank of mine and he was a sweetheart, would come and eat right out of your hand. I had him for 2 years, but I had to give everything away when i moved cross country. This one my kids named Steve, Now hes known as Steve the jerk.

haleyf1024 · Mar 5, 2015

Once a tang turns, there is usually no going back unless you put them in a larger tank or take them out for 6 weeks so they forget their territory. I have a Purple and a Powder Blue, and thankfully for now they are sweet, the Purple is best friends with a valentini puffer and the powder is best friends with a lyretail anthia. My marine betta chases the purple if he is hungry lol.

Humblefish · Mar 5, 2015

I've had several YTs over the years and one was actually my very first non-damsel/clownfish. I love the way they look. Those big brown eyes contrasting against that bright yellow... I saw that and just had to make the leap to SW! However, with all that being said, I will probably never own another one. IME; they almost always turn aggressive and bully any fish they can. A large YT can be a real jerk. :smile:

gidenski · Mar 6, 2015

In my tank's case, it is the purple tang that is causing the problem for me. He's a juvenile and he's nearly beaten to death yellow's and sailfins about 1/3 bigger. Some fish just have bad attitudes. :boxing:

BryanD · Mar 6, 2015

I've had one for over 7 years now, first in a 55, now in a 65, and he had never been aggressive. In fact, when I added a royal dottyback last Feb., it started giving my pajama cardinalfish some grief, and the yellow tang stepped in and played peacemaker. Him and the PJ had been the only fish in the tank for over 5 years, when the royal dottyback would rush the PJ, the yellow tang would swim in between them, LOL!. Royal finally figured out if he tried to mess with the PJ he would have the yellow to deal with and pretty much leaves the PJ alone now. But I added a lawn mower blenny 2 months ago and the yellow figured out it munched on some of the same algae he did so now he'll swim real close to the blenny when feeding time arrives. Actually brushes up against it sometimes, though not with its "scalpel". The blenny just ignores him and eats anyways. The behavior hasn't gotten any worse, hope it doesn't, love them both!