Murder Tang

[ScottF]

Yeah, I have gone thru a few, the one I have now will be the last. I also started him off in a 75 gallon and was eating but just wasn't happy. One day I just said F it, if your not going to make it, I dont want him to die in the small tank.. So I added him to the display and he turned it all around. happy and healthy now!

I think they need a ton of flow to thrive. Not sure what the current is like in your 75. Maybe that is what did the trick.

 

[ScottF]

In many cases, a vicious tang never changes their behavior. Powder blue, sohol tang and clown tang are examples of tangs that will be a nightmare. I have 26 tangs and hiding and space are essential.

That seals it then. Between this and am3gross's comments about removing it not working for them, I am definitely going to get donate it.

 

[littlefoxx]

That many powder tangs will be like thunderdome tang style

 

[jk1knight]

I have your exact same tank with multiple tangs: yellow tang, clown tang, powder blue tang, blue hippo tang, nano tang, and 2 sailfin tangs. I took over a friend's livestock when he broke down his tank so I didn’t intend for it to end up this way. As you can see on this thread, everyone’s experience is different. I have found that feeding heavy dramatically minimizes tang aggression. I also have a complex rock structure with lots of hiding spaces which minimizes any aggression. Introducing new tang fish in an acrylic acclimation box has been a game changer for me so that the fish can all get used to each other without any physical fighting. When I release the fish after 1-2 weeks, no one seems to care. My clown tang was exhibiting aggressive behavior, but a 12 inch by 12 inch mirror from Home Depot or Lowes fixed to the side of the tank with 3M adhesive strips totally fixed the problem. It was actually quite entertaining to watch the clown tang wear itself out attacking its reflection for 3 days before it finally gave up. The clown tang left everyone else alone during that time and after that. You may want to try the above methods before getting rid of such a beautiful fish. You might be able to make it work with the mirror trick and heavy feeding and an acclimation box. It is worth a try in my humble opinion. Good luck!

 

[2KMILLER]

I made the mistake of adding a gold-rimmed tang as my first (not-bottom dwelling) fish. Some new fish he completely ignores. Like my little clown, hawkfish and my midas blenny. Other fish he harasses, but they can hold their own. Like my foxface, melanurus and my bluejaw trigger pair. He straight up murdered my tomini tang. He's a jerk that basically had the tank to himself for way too long.

I managed to catch him with an acrylic fish trap/acclimation box from PNW Custom. He is residing in my sump and fuge as of yesterday. Today I added three juvenile yellow tangs, a small filefish and a tiny baby mandarin from Biota. Some time soon I should be receiving a powder blue tang, powder brown tang, blue hippo tang and a lemonpeel angel from Marine Collectors.

The big question is, will keeping him out of the main tank for a few weeks allow the pecking order in the tank to reset or will he go on a murder spree if I reintroduce him? Everyone in the tank seems happier with him gone. Do I donate him to one of my LFS? He is a beautiful fish.

 

[2KMILLER]

And powder blue tangs are powder kegs. There will be a whole new pecking order.

I donated my foxface to a local restaurant with a saltwater tank.

 

[ScottF]

Bruno the murder tang now resides in a display tank at Ocean View Aquariums. The guy initially put him in one of the tanks with fish to sell, took a good look at him and scooped him out and into the display tank.