Tang Aggression-How long do you let it go before taking action??

[CincyReefer07]

So I added a white tail kole, orangeshoulder, hippo tang, and a copperband butterfly to my 310 gallon mixed reef this weekend after leaving them in acclimation boxes for 24 hours and none of my existing fish barely noticing them. I put a mirror up on the side of my tank and released all 4 into the display. Didn’t have any issues. 5 hours pass, no issues I remove the mirror. Still no issues.

But a couple hours later my white tail kole has decided to make the cave area where my gem tang calls it’s home, it’s home. And now the gem is ticked and they are off and on going at it with the flaring up, tail swiping at each other inside the cave. Then they’ll take a break for a few minutes, then resume again.

How long should I let this go on for? Will one just eventually give up or one establish dominance and it’ll stop on its own after a day or two. Or should I place the mirror back up to distract the gem again? Rescaping the rockscape is kind of out of the question with the corals placed where I want them and growing well and the rockscape being exactly how I like it.

Current stock list now is:
Gem Tang
(2) Yellow Tangs
White Tail Kole Tang
Orangeshoulder Tang
Hippo Tang
Copperband Butterflyfish
Magnificent Foxface
M/F pair Blue Throat Triggers
Pair of Two-Banded Clowns
Black Cap Basslet
Bella Goby
(5) Bangaii Cardinals

 

[1112-425XL]

Maybe put the mirror back and give it a couple days.

 

[CincyReefer07]

Maybe put the mirror back and give it a couple days.

I did just about 10 minutes ago. The gem is completely distracted with going after its reflection now which at least gives a break from the kole and gem going at it. Just don’t know what will happen when the lights start to dim and then go off for night time when it’s time for the fish to go to their “usual” spots at night.

 

[1112-425XL]

Ya, that could be interesting, but even with the lights out the mirror may be enough of a distraction for them to get used to each other. Keep us posted...

 

[1112-425XL]

I did just about 10 minutes ago. The gem is completely distracted with going after its reflection now which at least gives a break from the kole and gem going at it. Just don’t know what will happen when the lights start to dim and then go off for night time when it’s time for the fish to go to their “usual” spots at night.

How did the evening go??

 

[CincyReefer07]

How did the evening go??

Well the good news is no more tang aggression. I left the mirror up last night from 5pm and then I removed the mirror around 11:30pm last night. Woke up this morning a few hours before the tank lights kick on and the kole tang had found a new spot and the gem was back in his cave structure. And all day long today haven’t noticed any kind of aggression to be concerned about at all.

But… my new worry is my copperband that I added with the new tangs yesterday. I thought he was doing fine swimming around yesterday but didn’t touch any food(which for the first day I figured might be normal), but today he’s been staying up in the very top corner of the tank not wanting to leave that far corner and so far have still not seen him eat. I’ve had him for 5 months in my 75g and has always been great at eating frozen foods and swimming around normally

 

[CoralB]

IMO I’d give him more time as well .

 

[1112-425XL]

^Ya, big change for it, give it a little more time.^

 

[CincyReefer07]

IMO I’d give him more time as well .

^Ya, big change for it, give it a little more time.^

Yeah I’m hoping he’ll come around and get used to it soon. He was doing great in my 75g. But the 75 was only temporary for him because I got him so small so i wanted him to get a bit bigger before putting him into my 310. I just know how they can be finicky about eating. And he’s been excellent from day one about eating. Just has made me nervous that such a drastic change on him(moving from the 75 where he’s been for 5 months to the 310) will all of a sudden cause him to be finicky and not want to eat now. Fingers crossed in a few days he’ll come around and start acting like his old self again

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I added a white tail kole, orangeshoulder, hippo tang, and a copperband butterfly to my 310 gallon mixed reef this weekend after leaving them in acclimation boxes for 24 hours and none of my existing fish barely noticing them. I put a mirror up on the side of my tank and released all 4 into the display. Didn’t have any issues. 5 hours pass, no issues I remove the mirror. Still no issues.

But a couple hours later my white tail kole has decided to make the cave area where my gem tang calls it’s home, it’s home. And now the gem is ticked and they are off and on going at it with the flaring up, tail swiping at each other inside the cave. Then they’ll take a break for a few minutes, then resume again.

How long should I let this go on for? Will one just eventually give up or one establish dominance and it’ll stop on its own after a day or two. Or should I place the mirror back up to distract the gem again? Rescaping the rockscape is kind of out of the question with the corals placed where I want them and growing well and the rockscape being exactly how I like it.

Current stock list now is:
Gem Tang
(2) Yellow Tangs
White Tail Kole Tang
Orangeshoulder Tang
Hippo Tang
Copperband Butterflyfish
Magnificent Foxface
M/F pair Blue Throat Triggers
Pair of Two-Banded Clowns
Black Cap Basslet
Bella Goby
(5) Bangaii Cardinals

Tang aggression not abnormal and in many cases lasts 2-3 days and subsides. Some tangs such as powder blue, sohal, purple, sailfin and a few others dont stop for extended periods of time

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Copperband’s don’t do well with stress. It sounds like he has been bullied. That’s why he’s at the top corner refusing to leave it or eat. You need to move him back to the 75 or figure out who’s bothering him and make an adjustment.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Copperband’s don’t do well with stress. It sounds like he has been bullied. That’s why he’s at the top corner refusing to leave it or eat. You need to move him back to the 75 or figure out who’s bothering him and make an adjustment.

CBB likely intimidation
Often lowering white intensity will relax the fish a little
My CBB has seen at least 15 tangs come into my tank without issues

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Yeah my copperband thinks he is one of the tangs in my tank. He holds his own with my tangs for sure. However some are a little more timid than other’s.

 

[0MNSH1ZLLC]

My sohal has pretty much lost its mind and I’m not sure I’ll be able to remove the mirror any time soon but check out its blade. Pretty cool.

 

[Debramb]

So I added a white tail kole, orangeshoulder, hippo tang, and a copperband butterfly to my 310 gallon mixed reef this weekend after leaving them in acclimation boxes for 24 hours and none of my existing fish barely noticing them. I put a mirror up on the side of my tank and released all 4 into the display. Didn’t have any issues. 5 hours pass, no issues I remove the mirror. Still no issues.

But a couple hours later my white tail kole has decided to make the cave area where my gem tang calls it’s home, it’s home. And now the gem is ticked and they are off and on going at it with the flaring up, tail swiping at each other inside the cave. Then they’ll take a break for a few minutes, then resume again.

How long should I let this go on for? Will one just eventually give up or one establish dominance and it’ll stop on its own after a day or two. Or should I place the mirror back up to distract the gem again? Rescaping the rockscape is kind of out of the question with the corals placed where I want them and growing well and the rockscape being exactly how I like it.

Current stock list now is:
Gem Tang
(2) Yellow Tangs
White Tail Kole Tang
Orangeshoulder Tang
Hippo Tang
Copperband Butterflyfish
Magnificent Foxface
M/F pair Blue Throat Triggers
Pair of Two-Banded Clowns
Black Cap Basslet
Bella Goby
(5) Bangaii Cardinals

Just beautiful, good luck!

 

[CincyReefer07]

Well for an update for everyone…. My white-tail got pretty scarred up the first 4-5 days/nights. But by day 6 things had started calming and slowly got calmer and more peaceful each day. 2 weeks in and there isn’t anymore bullying, chasing, tail swiping. The white tail kole found his own little territory to call his night time home now. His scarring over the past week has slowly been getting better, can see his color slowly coming back in where he got scarred up near his scalpels. The copperband has also become comfortable in the tank and is swimming about the tank and grazing the rockwork and eating again like normal after going on a hunger strike for the first few days. The orangeshoulder and hippo I added along with the white-tail and copperband never had a single issue ever with any tang aggression

 

[DJF]

omg beautiful copperband!

 

[CincyReefer07]

omg beautiful copperband!

Thank you! I got him back in late winter from one of my LFS but he was extremely small. So I kept him in my 75 gallon which is a very peaceful tank that I figured I’d keep him in to make sure he continues eating, gets used to my feeding schedule and grows a bit more before being tossed into my 310 gallon with much more active and larger fish. The move from the 75 to 310 definitely stressed him and he had me worried at first when he wouldn’t eat for a few days. But he’s back to normal now, eating and roaming throughout the rockwork in the tank.