Powder Blue tang Vs. Flame angel

[philly]

i love tangs, i have a 90 gal. reef
i have lots of filtration so i dont need to worry about water quality. i have a yellow tang and a small regall tang. i want to add a powder blue tang and i want to know if the tangs will fight. if so can i go with a flame angel instead.

[austinsdad]

Yellows can be very mean to others that look like him and are usually added with another tang or last. Yu should probably go with the angel if you're not doing reef IMO. Considering the powder blue would go in last, and is an ick magnet (I hear often - others say not true), he might get picked on by the yellow and cause an outbreak.

[philly]

i am doing reef

what if i add him in while im changing the rock around

the tang will be less territorial because he doesnt have a territory yet


i really want a PBT is their any way i could improve the chance of its survival?

[austinsdad]

I too have a yellow tang in an established tank. He bullied the heck out of a foxface rabbit fish. Yellow and kinda looked like him. Still picks on him from time to time when they're trying to hide in the same place.

Anyway, I've got a yellow-eyed kole in QT now, and the plan is to remove the yellow to QT, return the foxface to the LFS, change the rock work, and let the kole establish himself, and add the yellow back 2 weeks or so later. I'm hoping that the yellow will be nice when he gets back 'cause it ain't his familiar territory anymore. I've heard this may work. That may be your best bet.

Got another tank to let the yellow "chill" for a bit?

[philly]

a 25 gal. qt. with live rock for filtration, and a big filter

[austinsdad]

Sounds like a plan...

I'd hold the yellow there for a bit after the rock is moved around to let the new guy feel OK.

Whoo hoo on having the QT!

[Sam]

IMHO I would reconsider adding any more tangs to your tank, given the size. 90G is kinda small for even two of these guys.

[austinsdad]

Yeah, I'd agree w/Sam. But it sounds like you're set on 3 tangs. 'Specially since your stated in your fisrt post that -

i have lots of filtration so i dont need to worry about water quality.

You may end of with territory issues anyway and water quality as they all get nice and big together. Also, if there are territory issues (not water quality), and the powder blue gets stressed because of it, you're gonna have problems worse than good filtration can handle.

[lando]

I second Sam...three tangs in a 90 is a lot. JMHO though. It is not really an issue of "filtration", but rather space. A fish that feels threatened by another or does not have enought space to thrive properly will show the same signs of stress as one suffering from poor filtration or water quality.