how do you add tangs

[john hill]

i see alot of tanks with 5 or 6 tangs in them
so my ? is how do you get all the tangs in there without them tearing the crap out of each other i set up a 224g tang just to have a bunch of tangs now i have two and they will tear the crap out of any other tang that i put in
do i need to add them all at once
i would like to get
sohal
purple
sailfin
kole
i really like powder blues but dont think i will try them out yet
i have a blue hippo and a verry small vlamingi
if you add them all at one time does it mess anything up

 

[mhowe9]

Here are my thoughts.

1) The Sohal goes in last ... it is the most agressive of the bunch

2 I would add the Kole, Sailfin, and Purple at the same time since the are similar body shapes.

I would move the rock work around when introducing them as well. It will mix up the territories and make the transition easier

 

[mnherper]

be careful with the Sohal they can be mean.at lfs i work at i seen a few of them kill other fish.there was one that killed tangs,Butterflys,a Grouper and lots of Damsels.i am not saying there bad just be careful.with tangs add as many as you can at once.and when you mix family like Zebrasoma try adding 3 or more thet seems to the lessen aggression.

 

[chefbone]

I have a 37 gallon tank and I really like the blonde naso. Can I get away with putting a small one in a tank that size? I am hooked on this hobby and do plan on setting up a much larger tank in the future to move him into as I do realize the size they can grow to.

 

[memorisa]

I have five tangs in my tank too, a purple and 4 yellow. I added 3 yellows after about a year.
Even though I did best I could the tangs fought a bit. At first I made sure to add them in the dark, also added them all at once. (adding them in dark is a good pointer that I had gotten tho)
Then I changed the rockwork, and all is fine since then.

 

[memorisa]

I have a 37 gallon tank and I really like the blonde naso. Can I get away with putting a small one in a tank that size? I am hooked on this hobby and do plan on setting up a much larger tank in the future to move him into as I do realize the size they can grow to.

I wouldn't try. The naso gets quite large, even if you could find a tiny tiny naso, he will be crammed in there. they like to swim around alot. either upgrade sooner or wait till you upgrade. taht would be my 2cents.

 

[robharold]

There are several methods to use when adding new tangs to the tank.

First, I've always been told add them in odd numbers 3, 5 etc. Also, Another trick is to place a mirror on the outside of the tank. They ones in there will be so ticked that another of that kind is in their territory they will spend more time fighting the mirror than the newcomers.

HTH

 

[nahtanoj]

i use a small acrylic vented tank. i add the new tang into the acrylic tank, which is in my main tank. the tangs do their dance, flare at each other, let each other know who and what they are, after about an hour or two they are bored of it, that is when i open the box and let the new tang exit when ready. it has worked every time for me, and i showed this to a buddy who succesfully paired up a set up multi color angels which had previously duked it out to near death.
sohal-very mean, try to find an established one that you know the personality. a LFS here has a beautiful one, but they've had it for 4 months due to the fact it kills anything that is put with it, including triggers twice it's size.

 

[john hill]

i think i will try the tank inside the tank thing thanks

 

[SeaSlug]

Seeing how you have two tangs in there already , here is what I would do if it were my tank .
1. Catch the two in there and seperate them .
2. Redo the aquascape .
3. Add all tangs together with the lights off .
4. I would do this at night so the lights are off at least 4 hours .
Exspect some show of aggression , even in the ocean with all the room in the world , different tangs will posture for territory and feeding grounds .