Tomini Tang - Bully to Killer

[Reefstudent]

I have had a Tominini Tang in an 84g for 8 months and added a Starry Blenny a few weeks after the tang and it has persistently bullied the Starry Blenny chasing it around the Tank and cornering it in small rock crevices... The tang does this to a FIre Goby in the tank as well and the fire fish lives it's life as a reclusive monk only to be seen in flashed during feeding time. Also have a school of 5 x Green Chromis - The Tomini Tang is the resident bully.

Today it crossed the threshold from Bully to murderer. My wife watched him finally catch the Starry Blenny - pinned it to a sharp rock and seemed to break it's back (or some other skeletal structure) and then while the Starry was incapacitated on the ground it proceeded to drill it's hind fin barb into it's side repeatedly and finish off the blenny. It was dead within 10 minutes...

Moral of the story - sometimes bullying can lead to death of the bullied . My tank has officially crossed over from friendly tank where all fish including prey fish are welcome (so I thought naively) to more hardened population of predators or at least tough fish that can stand their ground (A prison population if you will)

Current residents -

Tomini Tang - Resident Bully
2 tough clowns - they fight back and held ground with the Tang
1 - Mystery Wrasse - He is an assassin and the Tang knows it, Tang stays clear of the wrasse
5x green chromis - they are constantly being chased - had 7 but the weakest have been eliminated the resulting 5 are hardened and agile - they have safety in numbers (although they are constantly being chased)
1 x Cleaner shrimp - hanging on for dear life - although my tank has great over hangs and he seems to not get pestered to hard but I know his time is limited..

Next Fish - Longnose Hawkfish - I have heard they are semi-aggressive good hunters and they colonize rock surfaces I imagine he will carve his place in the food chain (tank) and be able to stand his ground - Welcome any thoughts on this hypothesis???

If anybody has any other recommendations for tougher fish that will be able to cope with a hawkfish, bullying Tang, and assassin of a wrasse please let me know.

Rest in Peace Starry Blenny - you were my favorite fish and I appreciated getting to know you and your specie. He has been buried under my most cherished bonsai tree.

 

[Uiteraard]

Feed it al lot more! Nori every day

 

[jonelder68]

Catch the tang and add him to an acclimation box for 2-3 days. A timeout sometimes resets their behavior.

 

[Marco_99]

If the Blenny was your favorite fish why didn’t you intervene at some point. I would take the tang out for a bit or even re home if he is that unruly

 

[exnisstech]

I would just pull and replace the tang. I have zero tolerance for that type of behaviour. I feel responsible for any animals I bring under my care so I don't want them being bullied much less killed. I also can't stand watching a tank that has fish showing aggression. I'll accept an occasional tail swipe from one of my 10 tangs but that's it. I've read other reports of tomini tangs being aggressive so I won't even try one.

 

[ReefED!]

I think Bristletooth/Tomini tangs are a little more aggressive than they get credit for - especially with size/age.

At minimum I would say they're just as aggressive as any yellow or purple tang, but probably not as bad as Powder Blues.