I’ve never tried having more than one tang in a tank but have one big enough now to try. I have seen people have success with multiple tangs in large setups by heavy feeding, lots of hiding spots, and having tangs of different shapes and colors. Though I’ve not seen this mentioned, I have noticed there’s usually multiple tangs and not just two as I have. I have a yellow tang and a powder brown tang and both are almost the same size at about 3" in a 3'6 x 5' 300 gallon setup. Both are fat and healthy voracious eaters with the PBT bold enough to be hand fed almost from the day it arrived, so they are pretty evenly matched.
The PBT went in first, about a week earlier than the YT, because I knew the yellow could be a little testy sometimes with the 4” maroon clown that’s in the other tank that it came from. It’s never done any serious damage to the clown but has backed up and made threats almost daily. I had intended on separating the two tangs for several days with an egg crate divider, but the first night the YT was in the tank it found its way under the divider to the other side. When I woke up the two of them were swimming together and seemingly comfortable with one another. I left them out together all day yesterday and saw the YT a couple times back up and a little tail swatting between the two especially as the lights went dim and they prepared to find a spot to rest for the night. Neither chases or dominates the other, and I’ve not seen the scalpels come out but not positive. Neither seems afraid of the other and sometimes they swim very close together making the exact same turns in unison and parallel to each other like some sort of water ballet. Sometimes either one will go over to the other. I’m not sure if this is just fish swimming together or if they are sizing each other up? There have been no real nasty encounters, so I’m wondering if a little bickering is normal and will be ok? The last thing I want is for the PBT to get stressed and would rather separate permanently or sell the YT, so I’m not sure if they are swimming together because its fun for them or if its part of a constant showing that neither are afraid of each other. There's only a very small maroon in with them which they hardly notice. Wondering if adding a dwarf angel or some other fish about the same size would help to distract from each other. I don't really want any more tangs, except maybe a hippo at some point in the future or a tomingi.
Just looking to hear from other tang owners, if I'm heading for trouble, or if this is just what tangs do when they are together.
The PBT went in first, about a week earlier than the YT, because I knew the yellow could be a little testy sometimes with the 4” maroon clown that’s in the other tank that it came from. It’s never done any serious damage to the clown but has backed up and made threats almost daily. I had intended on separating the two tangs for several days with an egg crate divider, but the first night the YT was in the tank it found its way under the divider to the other side. When I woke up the two of them were swimming together and seemingly comfortable with one another. I left them out together all day yesterday and saw the YT a couple times back up and a little tail swatting between the two especially as the lights went dim and they prepared to find a spot to rest for the night. Neither chases or dominates the other, and I’ve not seen the scalpels come out but not positive. Neither seems afraid of the other and sometimes they swim very close together making the exact same turns in unison and parallel to each other like some sort of water ballet. Sometimes either one will go over to the other. I’m not sure if this is just fish swimming together or if they are sizing each other up? There have been no real nasty encounters, so I’m wondering if a little bickering is normal and will be ok? The last thing I want is for the PBT to get stressed and would rather separate permanently or sell the YT, so I’m not sure if they are swimming together because its fun for them or if its part of a constant showing that neither are afraid of each other. There's only a very small maroon in with them which they hardly notice. Wondering if adding a dwarf angel or some other fish about the same size would help to distract from each other. I don't really want any more tangs, except maybe a hippo at some point in the future or a tomingi.
Just looking to hear from other tang owners, if I'm heading for trouble, or if this is just what tangs do when they are together.
