Tang aggression

WhenKeepinItReefGoesWrong · Jan 25, 2022

Hello,

I recently added 2 juvenile Biota Yellow tangs to my tank (180 gallon) about 2 weeks ago. In the last few days one of them has become aggressive towards the other and I think it's best to re-home one. I noticed a small spot missing on the fin of the one getting bullied. My question is which tang should I rehome, the one getting bullied or the one doing the bullying?

The bully seems completely fine with the other inhabitants. I do plan to add a bristletooth tang in the near future, but that is at least a different shaped tang.

Thanks

Utubereefer · Jan 25, 2022

You can try the mirror trick before rehoming… tape a mirror to your glass and the bully will most likely try to beat himself up instead of the other tang in the tank. That might help ease the tension

WhenKeepinItReefGoesWrong · Jan 25, 2022

Utubereefer said:
You can try the mirror trick before rehoming… tape a mirror to your glass and the bully will most likely try to beat himself up instead of the other tang in the tank. That might help ease the tension

I did give that a try with no luck unfortunately. The mirror has been up for a few days and it hasn't made a noticeable impact.

i cant think · Jan 25, 2022

Get rid of the aggressor, even if the next tang is a different body shape he will still give it hell unfortunately. Also it’s best not to stress the bullied too much more.

WhenKeepinItReefGoesWrong · Feb 6, 2022

UPDATE:

I ended up netting the aggressive tang and moving him down into my refugium for 4 days, then reintroducing him to the display tank. There was a bit of uncertainty between him and the tang he had been bullying previously for a few hours, but then everything seemed to clear up and they don't appear to have any issues. This was about a week ago and they actually seem to be friends now constantly hanging out and eating together without any signs of aggression. I'm going to keep a close eye on them since I know it could revert back to aggression, but I'm extremely happy with how it has turned out so far. Thanks to everyone who commented with advice!!!