Hardy reef safe fish , that can handle their own against a purple tang or damsels?

[Duffybubbleboy]

I have a 150 gallon Sps dominated tank with 8 damsels and one purple tang, two clowns and a golby. i can’t seem to get up my N or P up to where I would like them. I’m dosing neo nitro and it doesn’t seem to raise anything . In the end I’m thinking I just have too many sinks but I don’t want to turn off my skimmer or lower my cheato lights as things just don’t seem as stable with out both running full bore. So with out a debate on nutrients , I need more fish but my fish are insanely mean. I put two yellow damsels in my tank and one was killed the first night but the other seems to be ok hiding . I was thinking I wanted to try anthias ,
either one of the larger solidary ones or 4 of the social ones. But I don’t want to kill expense or cheap fish, The question is will these fish be able to fend off damsels and if not , should I just buy a baby grouper and let it do the job? i would like more tangs but my 9 year old purple tang would kill anything on sight.


So if anthias would not be hardy or bold enough , what fish do you recommend being able to fly under the radar of the PT and be big or tough enough to smack down some damsels if need be. I have a bare bottom so some fish are also out of the question , but other than that I have a lot of room really the tank is under stocked for the amount of Sps and nems I have . Simply over feeding and dosing seems to not work out great , as some one has has to resist the urge to change my water weekly , my Sps just seems less happy than when I had a large panther grouper in there and just the purple tang , the purple tang defied my belief when it bullied and harassed the panther grouper into not eating .. so this is one of those demonically powerful purple tangs.

I’m really tempted to get a big enough group it can face off with the tang if need be , the damsels I love. It don’t care if they get eaten at this point and my purple tang is 9 Im not getting rid of her, just wondering if anyone has any ideas for a larger fish or multiple medium fish that can hang out in cell block D and be ok.
if anthias are out I’m thinking six line wrasse or something that is bold that can put these damsels into place. All ideas are welcome . the tank is

 

[GHOSTLY]

Perhaps a watchman goby? They just do there own thing from what I've seen but for active fish id say maybe an orchid dottyback. My lfs has one in a 150g with 3 tangs (purple, yellow, and naso (?)) Along with 4 damsels and the orchid dottyback has been there for years

 

[argiBK]

I’d consider a Genicanthus Angel pair. They occupy the open water space in the tank and won’t compete with the PT for food/territory. There have also been a few mated pairs for sale online as of late.

Another option might be a trigger from the Xanthichthys genus.

If you go with a dottyback, I’d probably choose something a bit more aggressive than an orchid. Sunrise, Splended, Elongated could probably stand up to the damsels and too small for the PT to chase through the rockwork. Note, these guys turn heel quickly and be even bigger punks.

 

[OrionN]

Put a few fairy wrasse in there. They will be fine. You can put a tang or two in there. Use a mirror on the tank for a few days. Your purple will be very interested I. His image and leave any new táng alone.
I was also suggest a harem of Flame angels but you must feed them well. If you do, they will leave your coral alone.

 

[i cant think]

Honestly, nothing will be 100%. The Purple Tang is the most aggressive Zebrasoma. I know the Genicanthus angels we got in at the LFS were often victims of the oval bodied tangs such as Ctenochaetus tangs and may not be ignored by all purples however the majority of purples ignored the Genicanthus angels.
Most other Angels will also be victims of tangs - again, likely due to their diet of algae and body shapes.
Fairy Wrasses are a good move to get past the tang however the damsels (depending on species) may become an issue.
Gobies will likely get past both of the aggressor species however they don’t hold a huge bioload.
A Dottyback is a good choice as they can hold their own however they may become rather nasty towards new introductions depending on the species.
I also agree with the Xanthichthys trigger. They’re large and can easily hold their own to a tang and damsel.

I’d also recommend a smaller Coris species. Although long term you will likely be unable to add other wrasses, this genus is able to withstand most aggressive species. You often find a species of this genus (Usually either Coris gaimard or Coris formosa) to be in large aggressive tanks.
I will also warn you that every single rock needs to be glued down with a Coris wrasse as once they age they can move large (3-5lbs) rocks around.

 

[Sump Crab]

A larger melanarus wrasse is a fairly tough fish and also great at eating pests!

 

[A Young Reefer]

my purple tang hates anything yellow; yellow wrasse, fox face, copper band etc...

 

[Slicktop]

Try these anthias, they are bad butt... I don't know the name of these but they are hardy.. Another suggestion would be a blue throat trigger.. Other than being a pig, great reef fish

 

[A Young Reefer]

Try these anthias, they are bad butt... I don't know the name of these but they are hardy.. Another suggestion would be a blue throat trigger.. Other than being a pig, great reef fish

those are bimac anthias, one of my dream fish for sure.

 

[exnisstech]

I pulled my 7 inch purple and put him in time out in a spare tank for 2 weeks while I introduced 2 yellow tangs in my 180g and all is well. If anything my hippo has been mre aggressive but not enough to be concerning. Removing the aggressive fish temporarily is probably best as then it becomes the new kid on the block. Being able to rearrange rock work helps even more. I'm not too familiar with anthias but from what I have read they probably wouldn't handle aggression well and most need multiple feedings through out the day. I do have 6 disbar in QT right now that are doing great but I'm feeding fresh hatched brine nauplii and cyclops 5 times a day.

 

[Duffybubbleboy]

Thanks for the input everyone, I have rearranged my rocks and added some more, I put in 3 more yellow damsels and one lawn mower blenny so far. I plan on updating this tank to a modern 150 soon that’s wider rather than taller within the next year or two So the fish can have more room to go side to side in the tank. I think I have room for more 1 bigger fish or 3/4 smaller ones. The purple tang is so far ignoring the new damsels but sometimes gets angry at the blenny for eating his algae I guess hehe.

 

[Duffybubbleboy]

So I moved a lot of coral and rocks around and I’m still not done, this seems to chilled pit the PT out but he still is occasionally chasing the blenny a a little as well do the damels but the now the BLenny
bites back and runs away just out smarts them.

 

[Duffybubbleboy]

Ignore the messed up stylo, it had Dino’s or some black algae on it so I burned it all off using kalk and HP. It is the reason I’m trying to up my N and P, I also tossed the gorgon in the trash as I learned they host tons of Dinos and expel them, I just don’t have the bioload. With the new fish, halving my cheato time, adding reef roids , My N is now reading 5PPM and P is still zero to .o3o ppm. Which is better than both all ways reading zero. I’m honestly fine with the numbers but just a tad higher to get my acros colored back up is the goal.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I've always had good luck adding foxfaces to tangs. They can protect themselves, graze algae all day and poop accordingly.