Tang aggresion question

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Brenden

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May 12, 2005
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I added a sailfin to my main today and the purple tang started pestering him. Just constantly pushing against him. I caught the purple tang and put him in my fuge. How long should I leave him there before I return him to the main? I have never had a problem before so I am new to this.
 
Purples are known for their major aggressive tendencies. I would wait until you have completely finished adding fish, or at least tang-like species. If you are finished, then I would give him at least a couple weeks or more in solitary. Is it also substantially larger than the other tangs? If so, you may always have problems.
 
The sailfin is larger than the purple. The purple gets along great with the convict and regal tangs. He is not a happy camper in the fuge. At least he has plenty to eat. :)
 
The convict and regal do not have the same body type....he doesnt see them as being important :)
 
I was aware of them only going after same body type. I figured since the purple was young and the sailfin was larger it would be minimal. I asked a question about this a couple months ago and the responses I got thought it would be fine also. They were only in the main together for less than 5 minutes. I may give him another chance soon and give them more time together to see what happens. I have rigged a neat fish trap. If it still causes a problem. It only took me about 10 seconds to catch him. :)
 
I added a sailfin to my main today and the purple tang started pestering him. Just constantly pushing against him.
Click to expand...

I had the same issue with a Purple Tang. Many people at the LFS told me that we could put him in there and it wouldn't be a problem, but he attacked my tangs, 1 in particular, pecking at his fins until he was so stressed out that he had red spots all over him.

I took out the Purple Tang and returned him the next day. I did some research online and found out that Purple Tangs are aggressive and are not to be put with tangs of the same body shape.

It's a shame because I absolutely LOVE the Purple Tang, but it's not worth my other 4 Tangs.

At any rate, I don't think putting him in isolation will work. I think it will only stress him out even more and you may loose him. If there's not alot of places for the Sailfin to hide, you may be in trouble with this combo of fish.
 
I know they are one of the more aggressive tangs but they can co-exist. I have had a yellow tang in the tank with him before. My tank is large enough they can still have their territories. He was not nipping etc. just pushing against the sailfin. Since it was new to the tank I just took the purple out for a while to let the sailfin settle in. I will try again maybe as early as tomorrow depending on how they look.
 
I've noticed your profile with a 500g tank? OMG, I would be SOO in love with that. Where did you find the space for it and how hard is it to keep up?

I currently have a nook in my wall where my 65" bigscreen tv is, but I've had ideas about taking it out and putting an acrylic tank there and doing a real custom job on it.
 
WOW, now that's some salt!!

Just curious.....with my tank, I keep about 40g or RO water around to fill up the wet/dry when it goes low (I haven't invested in a sensor to automatically pump water once it's low). Do I have to keep a powerhead in that water to keep it circulating or is it ok just to leave it covered?
 
BTW,

I just checked my RO and it has a DI filter on it....DUH! Shows how much I pay attention to manuals.
 
If you do not put salt etc in the water and cover it it can probably save without a powerhead. Just make sure you circulate it a min of 24 hours before you use it. I keep mine stirring 24/7
 
They'll be ok in time. When you put the purple back in (I agree with the short term separation) hang him in a specimen box for a while to let the newer fish investigate him on his terms. Once the sailfin has had a chance to establish a territory and hiding places all should be well (unless by some horrible chance of fate they've chosen the same hiding spot, lol).

Expect some chasing/dominance but if it gets really rough be prepared to remove the purple again.

You could always rearrange your rock work 8O
 
Well the purple tang was returned to the main just before feeding time today. He went right back to his old ways. I am going to give it until Wed. If it does not let up he is going to the LFS.
 
5 min is hardly enough time for the fish to used to each other and I'm sure if you left it in there it would have gotten better. My scopus pushed up on my naso for a few days when I added him and all is fine now. I would say after a few days it would be fine to add him again and you will probably see some pushing again.
 
Well? How are they looking today? After about 4 hours of jockeying you should have seen it level off some? I would feed extra and put it in multiple spots in the tank (just in case you don't already) so that they don't have to compete for food.
 
I put the purple tang in yesterday at noon. It had been it the fuge for 3 nights. The purple harassed the sailfin the remainder of the day and even when the moon lights were on. The widescreen TV is across the room and also put light in the tank. When I turned off TV things seemed a little better. When I got up this morning it was a different tank. They are swimming around together. I saw a little pushing one time and the convict tang came over and broke it up, other than that they are now getting along. The sailfin seems a little skittish though. Hopefully it will get better
 
Sounds like it is on its way to getting better. Good luck.
 
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