Tang Aggression - Understanding and Combating

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Would an Achilles work in a 5 foot 205 gallon tank with gyres to make tons of water movement. I’ll have a UV, GFO to help keep the water pristine. It would also go through qt. My tank is going to be a fish only tank

If your lucky it should be fine. They are very fragile at first but once you get them established it should be fine. Mine seems to grow much slower than the rest of them.

Word to the wise though.. mine was MEAN. Like next level mean. I had to add three fish at one time in order to get anything in the tank after my achilies claimed his turf.

I tried heavy feeding, mirrors, acclimation box, rearranging the rock work. Nothing worked besides adding a big majestic angel, a medium sized chocolate tang and BIG sohal. The sohal made it clear right away he wasnt going to take any guff.

So..keep that in mind.

 

[Bruce17]

If your lucky it should be fine. They are very fragile at first but once you get them established it should be fine. Mine seems to grow much slower than the rest of them.

Word to the wise though.. mine was MEAN. Like next level mean. I had to add three fish at one time in order to get anything in the tank after my achilies claimed his turf.

I tried heavy feeding, mirrors, acclimation box, rearranging the rock work. Nothing worked besides adding a big majestic angel, a medium sized chocolate tang and BIG sohal. The sohal made it clear right away he wasnt going to take any guff.

So..keep that in mind.

That’s really good to know. My lfs suggested I add the Achilles first so that he could settle down with less stress because they get triggered and sick so easily at first. I thought about adding him and my other tangs at the end. That way, it would allow all my other fish to get settled in and have there own little territory. What’s your thoughts on adding first or last?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

My thought is your LFS wants to sell him before he dies. Every fish is different but adding a tang known to be aggressive first is horrible advice.

Why not throw an adult powder blue in there first. Maybe put a fence around your tank and call it battle dome?

 

[Bruce17]

My thought is your LFS wants to sell him before he dies. Every fish is different but adding a tang known to be aggressive first is horrible advice.

Why not throw an adult powder blue in there first. Maybe put a fence around your tank and call it battle dome?

Oh they don’t have one right now. I figure that the tangs will go in roughly 8-10 months. I’m trying to figure out all the fish that I want and what order to put it in. My thoughts are the same as yours about adding an extremely territorial fish first. He through off guard when talked about adding the Achilles near the beginning. I’m glad that I ask the question that confused me instead of listening to the guy and end up being devastated with all the expensive lists of fish. Thank you very much.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

No problem. You also want your tank to mature a little before adding an achilies. Not to say it cant be done, but to a certain extent, the biology booms and busts in a newer aquarium.

My achilies was a karma gift. I spent ALL weekend moving a club members tank. I ordered an achilies online on monday. Tuesday they sent me an email saying "sorry..mistake on our end, we dont have it". I was crushed, "fine, just refund my money". 4 hours later.. knock knock.. next day air pacakge for Brian. Huh? Boom, free achilies. :)

 

[Bruce17]

No problem. You also want your tank to mature a little before adding an achilies. Not to say it cant be done, but to a certain extent, the biology booms and busts in a newer aquarium.

My achilies was a karma gift. I spent ALL weekend moving a club members tank. I ordered an achilies online on monday. Tuesday they sent me an email saying "sorry..mistake on our end, we dont have it". I was crushed, "fine, just refund my money". 4 hours later.. knock knock.. next day air pacakge for Brian. Huh? Boom, free achilies. :)

Wow!!! That’s a great story about the Achilles.
I definitely want to take my time adding fish. I’m hoping to always err on the side of caution. I’m thinking that the addition of my fish should be over a year process. The tangs will be last and the angels just before them. I want to qt everything for 6 weeks minimum. Is there any recommendations on equipment, food or anything else that will allow me to have success with the Achilles and other fish?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

For what its worth I feed my fish a little but of everything. A little bit of pellets, home made food made from store bought seafood and sheets of nori from amazon.

When I make my own food I put vitamin C in it, zoacon (which is fatty acids), and beta glucan. Beta glucan is awesome stuff that i never hear people talk about. You can but it in capsule form on amazon. It is an immune system stimulator/booster.

It is not some hokey product with all kinds of claims. It is well documented in peer reviewed journals to help fish fight off disease. Google beta glucan aquaculture and see what comes up.

The only other thing is to have your QT in a quoet place if you can and darken out three sides. Tangs can get freaked out in new systems.

 

[Bruce17]

For what its worth I feed my fish a little but of everything. A little bit of pellets, home made food made from store bought seafood and sheets of nori from amazon.

When I make my own food I put vitamin C in it, zoacon (which is fatty acids), and beta glucan. Beta glucan is awesome stuff that i never hear people talk about. You can but it in capsule form on amazon. It is an immune system stimulator/booster.

It is not some hokey product with all kinds of claims. It is well documented in peer reviewed journals to help fish fight off disease. Google beta glucan aquaculture and see what comes up.

The only other thing is to have your QT in a quoet place if you can and darken out three sides. Tangs can get freaked out in new systems.

That’s great to know about the food and vitamins. I’ll definitely google it up. Thank you very much.
My qt is going to be set up in the furnace / storage room. My sump will be in that room as well. It’s a fairly big room

 

[ChelseaBidwell]

Im wanting to get 3 tangs for my 80 gallon. If I QT them all at the same time and introduce them at the same time do you think they will be okay?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Im wanting to get 3 tangs for my 80 gallon. If I QT them all at the same time and introduce them at the same time do you think they will be okay?

Absoutely not. That tank is way to small for 3 tangs

 

[ChelseaBidwell]

Absoutely not. That tank is way to small for 3 tangs

I'm sorry, I should have elaborated! We're upgrading to a 240 gal in about 2 months, so the 80 gal is just temporary. We will be getting them as juveniles. I mainly wanted to know if there will be territorial issues if I add them all at the same time.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Oh. Yeah it then it shouldnt be a problem. Even if there was a problem, they will "reset" when you put then in a new tank.

 

[ChelseaBidwell]

Oh. Yeah it then it shouldnt be a problem. Even if there was a problem, they will "reset" when you put then in a new tank.

Well that's good to know! Thank you! I've always heard that you couldn't really keep more than 1 in the same tank, but I am so obsessed with them that I want one of every kind! Plus, they absolutely destroy algae, so as long as I can keep them from killing each other, it's a win win!

 

[Bruce17]

Well that's good to know! Thank you! I've always heard that you couldn't really keep more than 1 in the same tank, but I am so obsessed with them that I want one of every kind! Plus, they absolutely destroy algae, so as long as I can keep them from killing each other, it's a win win!

Which ones are you thinking of getting?

 

[ChelseaBidwell]

Blue Hippo, Yellow (would be put in last), and an Achilles. But I need to do more research on that one. It's a new one to me, but I really want one. If it can't coexist with the others, I'll probably end up getting just the Achilles. They're such gorgeous fish.

 

[Bruce17]

Blue Hippo, Yellow (would be put in last), and an Achilles. But I need to do more research on that one. It's a new one to me, but I really want one. If it can't coexist with the others, I'll probably end up getting just the Achilles. They're such gorgeous fish.

The Achilles will be your most dominant tang. I would wait for your 240 gallon tank to put him in. The other tank will be too small for him and you might be setting yourself up for failure on such a beautiful tang.

 

[ChelseaBidwell]

The Achilles will be your most dominant tang. I would wait for your 240 gallon tank to put him in. The other tank will be too small for him and you might be setting yourself up for failure on such a beautiful tang.

I figured, that's why I am definitely gonna do some more reading up on them. Thanks for the heads up! :)

 

[Jgro1413]

I figured, that's why I am definitely gonna do some more reading up on them. Thanks for the heads up! :)

Check out Antics 80 Gallon tank build, he has quite a few tangs in there and it works out. Link - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/80-gallon-shallow-reef-48-x-24-x-16.274150/

I've kept multiple tangs in my 80 before and it didn't workout so I had to re home them. Now I only have 2 tangs but I'm starting to realize that all fish have different personalities, and I believe its kind of hit or miss when it comes to smaller setups . Just to add, my 80 isn't a permanent home either but it works for now for my 2 tangs(Both of them are fairly small) , at least until I move in a year and then I can get a larger setup. Good luck!

 

[Wolf89]

@4fordwhere do you rank chocolate tangs on the aggressiveness list?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Im not ford but mine is super chill. They are kind of like a naso. Or at least mine is.