Kole tang vs Lawnmower Blenny….what the heck !

[hans4811]

Recently purchased a beautiful new Kole tang at my LFS…somewhat of an impulse buy..I know I know…

…already had 2 clowns, 2 wrasses, 2 dwarf angels, a filefish and a lawnmower Blenny. All about in the 2-4” range in a Red Sea 250, a 55g display…plenty of rock and hidy holes for all. Was for the most part a pretty calm tank, the flame angel running off the wrasses when they get too near…nothing unusual there.

In comes the Kole, about the same size, say 2-3”. Went smoothly, no aggression from the other fish and visa versa. Was shy the first few hours as expected, next day was grazing like nothing happened ! Established a new pecking order and life went on…was pumped.

Jump ahead a few weeks and now I see the Kole harassing the Lanwmower Blenny of all fish. I was thinking that there might of been an issue with the Coral Beauty angel if anything cause of the body similarities, but the Blenny ?! I’m guessing cause he’s a grazer as well and has the same eating habits.

I feed them 3x a day frozen and some Nori everyday, so they all look well fed.

Used to see the Blenny all day long picking at the rocks and walls, but now every time he comes out the Kole chases him away. He’s still eating when I feed, but rarely see him anymore. When he does come out to feed, he sits on top of a powerhead, getting away from Kole till the food is dropped in.

First time owning a tang and not sure what to expect…feel awful for the poor Blenny. Is he gonna continue with this behavior to starve him out or will it subside with time ? Like I said before, had the Kole in tank for about 3 weeks now and had the Blenny for 3 years !

Have I made a huge mistake here? Hate to have to get rid of either of them, but dayyyum…

Any ideas…anybody else got a Kole and Blenny together ?

Totally did NOT see this coming…are all tangs just buttholes ?

Adding a pic of tank so you can see what we’re dealing with here…you can Blenny on bottom left also…(pre-Kole)

 

[hans4811]

….sorry bout the blues..not a photographer, obviously !

 

[Waters]

I have seen that exact issue with those two fish several times. They compete for the same food source.....any algae eating fish is potentially a target for an angry tang (every tang I have ever had has been angry lol).

 

[hans4811]

I have seen that exact issue with those two fish several times. They compete for the same food source.....any algae eating fish is potentially a target for an angry tang (every tang I have ever had has been angry lol).

Right ! So ever seen a ‘good’ outcome of it ? Hoping angry tang will mellow and becomes more amenable to the situation…or am I just dreaming ?

 

[kbnh]

I put in my starry blenny a few months ago and my two spot bristletooth goes after him non stop also. There has been a few days of peace as it seems like the blenny had enough and decided to show the tang that he can bite too as there was a big bite mark(didn’t break the skin) on the tang. While being harassed the blenny has shown quite a bit of resolve as he gets bullied then immediately after the bully leaves he goes out and continues to eat.

if your blenny doesn’t have injuries and eats well then I’d say give it some more time, but don’t be afraid to rehome a fish, as I want to do eventually with my two spot. Both are great algae eaters for me but the two spot is such an a**hole to all the fish so he would be gone for me.

 

[hans4811]

I put in my starry blenny a few months ago and my two spot bristletooth goes after him non stop also. There has been a few days of peace as it seems like the blenny had enough and decided to show the tang that he can bite too as there was a big bite mark(didn’t break the skin) on the tang. While being harassed the blenny has shown quite a bit of resolve as he gets bullied then immediately after the bully leaves he goes out and continues to eat.

if your blenny doesn’t have injuries and eats well then I’d say give it some more time, but don’t be afraid to rehome a fish, as I want to do eventually with my two spot. Both are great algae eaters for me but the two spot is such an a**hole to all the fish so he would be gone for me.

My Blenny was initially doing that, coming out after the Kole left, but not now. For example, haven’t seen him out yet this morning after feeding.

Hoping my Blenny has the same resolve, may just give it some time like you say. The Kole is fine with the other fish…just this poor Blenny.

Had to look up a 2 spot….gorgeous fish !

 

[blaxsun]

Lawnmower blennies love barnacle clusters. Not only do they provide multiple hiding/sleeping locations - but they facilitate a lot of algae growth in and outside the barnacles. So it functions as a bed and breakfast - they can nibble on adjacent algae while chilling.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Back when I had both, the Kole went after the blenny all the time. Same food. It is a struggle. They were together for many years, so it was not a fatal issue.

 

[Cell]

My starry was the boss of the tank until I added a kole tang which had the blenny hiding 24/7 and had to be moved.

 

[Singspot]

Kole will likely not let the blenny survive.

My friends kole killed his large established blenny in 300g tank.

 

[hans4811]

Lawnmower blennies love barnacle clusters. Not only do they provide multiple hiding/sleeping locations - but they facilitate a lot of algae growth in and outside the barnacles. So it functions as a bed and breakfast - they can nibble on adjacent algae while chilling.

Good to know…didn’t know that !

 

[hans4811]

Back when I had both, the Kole went after the blenny all the time. Same food. It is a struggle. They were together for many years, so it was not a fatal issue.

Sooo, I’ve got a chance….lol

 

[hans4811]

My starry was the boss of the tank until I added a kole tang which had the blenny hiding 24/7 and had to be moved.

Same here with my lawnmower…was boss.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Kole is not the friendliest of tangs. They are great algae eaters but a relative of the devil , reason I have 21 tangs and Kole is not one of them from past experience. You can try isolation in an acclimation box for a couple of weeks but may change nothing with the behavior

 

[hans4811]

Kole will likely not let the blenny survive.

My friends kole killed his large established blenny in 300g tank.

Oh man…NOT what I wanted to hear…but thanks.

 

[hans4811]

Kole is not the friendliest of tangs. They are great algae eaters but a relative of the devil , reason I have 21 tangs and Kole is not one of them from past experience. You can try isolation in an acclimation box for a couple of weeks but may change nothing with the behavior

Oh greeeat…I pick the devil for my first one…crap

 

[vetteguy53081]

Oh greeeat…I pick the devil for my first one…crap

Try isolation first. It works in some instances

 

[i cant think]

Recently purchased a beautiful new Kole tang at my LFS…somewhat of an impulse buy..I know I know…

…already had 2 clowns, 2 wrasses, 2 dwarf angels, a filefish and a lawnmower Blenny. All about in the 2-4” range in a Red Sea 250, a 55g display…plenty of rock and hidy holes for all. Was for the most part a pretty calm tank, the flame angel running off the wrasses when they get too near…nothing unusual there.

In comes the Kole, about the same size, say 2-3”. Went smoothly, no aggression from the other fish and visa versa. Was shy the first few hours as expected, next day was grazing like nothing happened ! Established a new pecking order and life went on…was pumped.

Jump ahead a few weeks and now I see the Kole harassing the Lanwmower Blenny of all fish. I was thinking that there might of been an issue with the Coral Beauty angel if anything cause of the body similarities, but the Blenny ?! I’m guessing cause he’s a grazer as well and has the same eating habits.

I feed them 3x a day frozen and some Nori everyday, so they all look well fed.

Used to see the Blenny all day long picking at the rocks and walls, but now every time he comes out the Kole chases him away. He’s still eating when I feed, but rarely see him anymore. When he does come out to feed, he sits on top of a powerhead, getting away from Kole till the food is dropped in.

First time owning a tang and not sure what to expect…feel awful for the poor Blenny. Is he gonna continue with this behavior to starve him out or will it subside with time ? Like I said before, had the Kole in tank for about 3 weeks now and had the Blenny for 3 years !

Have I made a huge mistake here? Hate to have to get rid of either of them, but dayyyum…

Any ideas…anybody else got a Kole and Blenny together ?

Totally did NOT see this coming…are all tangs just buttholes ?

Honestly, in a 55G tank I’m not surprised. These tangs need 4’ tanks at a minimum and even then my Twin Spot will sometimes chase my blenny - Escenius lineatus. I would like to say, that is not a true Kole. True Koles are Ctenochaetus strigosus and impossible to get hold of. You have a Ctenochaetus flavicauda - White Tail Bristletooth Tang.

Again, you have a 55G tank… this is a 3’ (at best) tank size with a tang in. That’s never going to work well unfortunately. No tang is big enough for this tank, they all need Atleast 4’ - once you exit the Ctenochaetus genus they need 5’ and larger tanks.
I know I’m sounding like the tang police but it really has to be said in this case - I’ve found people keeping these tangs in 3’ tanks are what gets them a bad wrap. Obviously I know each fish is their own and some are just outright nasty like the strigosus however the flavicauda is a notoriously peaceful species.

 

[hans4811]

Honestly, in a 55G tank I’m not surprised. These tangs need 4’ tanks at a minimum and even then my Twin Spot will sometimes chase my blenny - Escenius lineatus. I would like to say, that is not a true Kole. True Koles are Ctenochaetus strigosus and impossible to get hold of. You have a Ctenochaetus flavicauda - White Tail Bristletooth Tang.

Again, you have a 55G tank… this is a 3’ (at best) tank size with a tang in. That’s never going to work well unfortunately. No tang is big enough for this tank, they all need Atleast 4’ - once you exit the Ctenochaetus genus they need 5’ and larger tanks.
I know I’m sounding like the tang police but it really has to be said in this case - I’ve found people keeping these tangs in 3’ tanks are what gets them a bad wrap. Obviously I know each fish is their own and some are just outright nasty like the strigosus however the flavicauda is a notoriously peaceful species.

Spots on the head and not stripes..right. And I figured as much with the ban being on and it being cheap…a 150 bucs…but figured with the size of it being small..literally would fit in the palm of your hand…thought it might be okay. I’ve seen some other RS tanks with a small tang and thought I’d try. Thinking I could keep it for a couple of years and rehome…well, that may be sooner than later…we’ll see. Thanks for the reply and being honest….no offense taken.

 

[Tamberav]

Tangs are mean. I tried two different Koles at different times and both had to be rehomed. They harassed fish, even wrasse, they would harass a certain fish and if that one was removed, they would pick a new fish to harass.

I have a Yellow Tang instead which causes me NO problems with other tank mates.