Rehoming FULL GROWN blue eye kole tang - LFS says too big, so did everyone else... even me...

ilikefish69

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Kind of funny the "is this already being discussed" is one of my posts when I first got this fish " IT'S HUGE" lol

I have a full grown blue eyed kole tang who is far and above the largest fish in my tank. Be nice, I introduced her into a 75 gallon tank, after placing the order for a 2-3" fish online. When the fish was received, it was bigger than that. It was full grown. Now I know what you think "ya right it's probably just a little chubby" but I mean this is a big fish.

I want a CBB in my tank, I have kept a leopard fat and happy so I think I have a nice mix of many types of gourmet fish food items all combined and soaked and freezed and it's healthy and the fish love it. However the aggression from the tang was an issue. I tried moving, adding, stacking rocks. I made a little egg crate cage for the CBB. I did the mirror, I turned the lights off, I fed tremendous amounts of frozen food, I took the entire week off of work so I could monitor and intervene when needed. It lived for 8 days, and I believe the aggression from the tang caused it to stop eating.

So I've started the process of trying to rehome the tang. First attempt was a FB marketplace post. I had an extremely high amount of interest. I am upfront about the situation. It is an aggressive (to smaller fish, larger fish TBD) fish, and it is a full grown fish, and it only poops in one corner of the tank. I kid you not, I have to get a turkey baster and keep a single corner of my tank's sandbed turned over, or it turns a brownish tint. She poops in a corner. I have only ever seen her poop in the corner, and she poops a lot.

I had every single one of the buyers back out of FB marketplace, and said it was too big. Well DUH I said that it was big, idiot. No I’m just kidding they were nice and I do not blame them one bit.

Fast forward to my LFS, and also a few fish store I do business with online. None of them want the fish either. It is too big. I don’t know what to do with this fish. Can I drive it to a coast and return it to the water? That sounds like a horrible idea.
I purchased the fish for $60. I would like to purchase another CBB fish, and would like to get the 60 from the tang to purchase the CBB. It works out in my head, trust me.



I am in the Lafayette area in Indiana. That is northwest of Indianapolis about an hour fifteen. I would drive 2-3 hours in any direction if there was someone who wants my fish. Bonus points if you want to come to me. I do not want to ship the fish – she is too big. It would have to be shipped in a huge bucket or something, a big just will not do.

What are the other options, if no one local and no LFS wants the fish ?
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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What are the other options, if no one local and no LFS wants the fish ?
If no one else will take it, you can always offer it to a public aquarium. If they don't take it and no else will, then you'd probably have to euthanize it (there is a thread or two on here about humane euthanasia of fish if you need info on it - I believe most people use clove oil for it).

Returning the fish to the ocean is a bad idea (it could introduce nonnative diseases to local fish populations, it could breed and turn into an invasive species like lionfish have in Florida, etc., and each nonnative fish returned to the ocean is a PR blackeye for the hobby which could lead to/speed up regulation/restriction of the hobby).
 

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Returning the fish to the ocean is a bad idea (it could introduce nonnative diseases to local fish populations, it could breed and turn into an invasive species like lionfish have in Florida, etc., and each nonnative fish returned to the ocean is a PR blackeye for the hobby which could lead to/speed up regulation/restriction of the hobby).

Not to mention in most cases, if not all, it is highly illegal.
 
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ilikefish69

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If no one else will take it, you can always offer it to a public aquarium. If they don't take it and no else will, then you'd probably have to euthanize it (there is a thread or two on here about humane euthanasia of fish if you need info on it - I believe most people use clove oil for it).

Returning the fish to the ocean is a bad idea (it could introduce nonnative diseases to local fish populations, it could breed and turn into an invasive species like lionfish have in Florida, etc., and each nonnative fish returned to the ocean is a PR blackeye for the hobby which could lead to/speed up regulation/restriction of the hobby).
ah it was a tongue-in-cheek comment, I always forget my sarcastic nature does not quite carry over in text.

I have not thought about a public aquarium. That is a fantastic recommendation. Thank you!!!
 

areefer01

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If that is not an option then I will just wait on the CBB. I can not euthanize a fish :(

I can relate. I have one of Biota's Golden Lined Rabbitfish and it is getting rather large. It currently lives in my 210 gallon display. Not a fast swimmer but does roam about the tank enough that I'm looking to upgrade :) I mean maybe if I am being honest I'm using him/her as an excuse but your note about not euthanizing a fish is one I also follow. Not only that I'd take the upgrade path at least one cycle as I treat the animal similar to our other pets be it German Shepherd or our parrot.

Hobby problems, right? Hope your day is going amazing!
 
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ilikefish69

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I can relate. I have one of Biota's Golden Lined Rabbitfish and it is getting rather large. It currently lives in my 210 gallon display. Not a fast swimmer but does roam about the tank enough that I'm looking to upgrade :) I mean maybe if I am being honest I'm using him/her as an excuse but your note about not euthanizing a fish is one I also follow. Not only that I'd take the upgrade path at least one cycle as I treat the animal similar to our other pets be it German Shepherd or our parrot.

Hobby problems, right? Hope your day is going amazing!
It's Friday, I cant complain!!!!!!!!!


To think a fish is too big for a 210 gallon tank, must be a BIG FISH!

I answered a post of FB today, dude selling a 220g tank and I was ready to pull the trigger but it was still 6' and 30" tall so I decided against it. Bigger is always better but this would have been a lateral promotion from a 125.

*Chanting in the background...*

Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade....
 

FourPawz

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See if you can send it to Andrew Sandler with his 17K gallon Polo Reef! And wheres the pics of this beauty?
 

Thomas Jedlicka

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Could you post some pics? What size tank is it currently in, what other fish is it kept with that it is aggressive too and how is it aggressive? Do you have an estimate on size in inches?
 
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ilikefish69

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It is probably 7-8”, i will list the order and aggression of addition

1st- 2 clowns (very little aggression, clowns still smallish)
2nd Kole tang
3rd Melanarus wrasse (1-2 chases per week that I see, I watch tank for probably 2-4 hr per night
4th leopard wrasse (0 aggression ever witnessed, wrasse in sand bed for week during intro)
5th Midas blenny ( 1-2 chases per week, little aggression)
6th blue mandarin no aggression tang ignores it kinda funny
7th yellow coris (very little aggression)
8 orange shoulder tang (2” and it tries to school with kole and kole chases it)
9&10 green chromis, one is 3” other is 4” they’re large and have kind of calmed the kole, as the larger one when raising all its fins is probably 1/2 the kole size and that’s it’s biggest enemy yet

lots of pics, some YouTube videos I will post if you can not see them on the comment let me know
 

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Lbrdsoxfan

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The video is her with a mirror up is why she is so aggressive
It sees it's self, reacting to 'another' similar fish. My sailfin occasionally go bezerko at it's mirrored image on the glass on occasion. Lots of darting and shaking it's front half.

Edit: btw, that is one of the biggest bristletooths, I've seen in a LONG time.
 
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ilikefish69

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Beautiful fish, it I was local it would go into my dad's 210g ish tank. I'm shocked no one is local to take that fish.
She’s been with me since April or so , very fun and active. Travels 6’ with one push of her fins like a torpedo. Zips in and around rocks like she has protective armor. Almost glows blue dots when only LEDs are on, and poops in a corner.

here I am gonna end up gettin all sappy
 
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ilikefish69

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It sees it's self, reacting to 'another' similar fish. My sailfin occasionally go bezerko at it's mirrored image on the glass on occasion. Lots of darting and shaking it's front half.
Oh no that was with actual 4’ mirror up to try and divert aggression while the CBB was settling in :(
 

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Oh no that was with actual 4’ mirror up to try and divert aggression while the CBB was settling in :(
That's what I'm saying, it's prolly seeing it's mirrored image and is reacting to it, like seeing another bristletooths... It could be mad about the CBB and it's reacting to it being in the tank.

Pacing/darting and the flaring are signs of aggro.
 
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ilikefish69

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That's what I'm saying, it's prolly seeing it's mirrored image and is reacting to it, like seeing another bristletooths... It could be ***** about the CBB and it's reacting to it being in the tank.
I am in idiot and got these videos mixed up lol, there is definitely not a mirror in that video, my bad. It was a 1-3 day spike and decline in aggression with the new fish additions and mirror/rock/light/extra feeding always helped the newer fish make it thru to where tang stop picking at it, but the butterfly was just too shy. I wanted to give it a shot and had a week of success but noticed it in top corner of tank the 7th night and woke up RIP next morning, tough loss
 
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