AquaJohn Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I have a sailfin tang and wanted to add a yellow tang ? What are the chances of them not fighting ? or is there another tang that I could add with my sailfin with a better shot of them not fighting. Or am i wrong in thinking they will battle it out ? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 It depends on how big your tank is. I have a Sailfin Tang and a Yellow Eye Kole Tang and they get along just fine. From what I have read it is best to get varied tangs, i.e. not all the same genus. If I remember correctly, Sailfin Tangs and Yellow Tangs are the same genus so they may fight a bit if there is not enough room in your tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Those 2 will most likely fight. Especially in a 110. Honestly I think you would be overstocking a tank that size with 2 Tangs anyway. Those both get quite large. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Right, the Sailfin and Yellow would very likely be a bad fit. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kkiel02 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 This is in a 180 so take that into consideration. I have a sailfin(very peaceful), purple(moderately aggressive), blue hippo(peaceful), and a powder brown(peaceful) that all get along just fine. Like all fish one yellow can be mean and the next can be peaceful. Its kind of a gamble though. They will "spar" no matter what but I think you have a good chance of them being ok with the sailfin being the first fish in. It will also depend on sizes of fish and the dimensions of your tank. If it is 6 ft that will help and a grown sailfin is more likely to be territorial. I have my tank setup with tangs in mine ie. alot of flow and swimming room. I also have my rock setup so they can swim behind all the rock instead of just a rock wall on the back glass this helps to keep the tangs from seeing each other as much. If I was going to do it I would keep the lights off for a day and get a slightly smaller yellow as once they both feel comfortable I believe yellows are more aggressive from what Ive seen and heard. This will allow for the sailfin to hold its own. Ok enough babbling.... Ok one more thing all my tangs are around 4" besides the blue hippo which is two inches. My next will probably be a flame fin tomini but thats a while down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 thanks for the info guys. My sailfin is about 3" long and I have room against the back wall a channle in the middle and room in front of the rock with lots of "caves" to get from front to middle to back. Its mostly tonga rock. and the tank is 59" long and 20 wide. and I think 21 tall. Duno if its worth it to try and add anoter then have to rip my rocks down to catch the sucker if they fight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 It's really not. Believe me. I had to do it a couple times when I was first getting started. Once was to get a Yellow Tang that was trying to kill my other fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admirejb Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I have a 125 (6ft long). Did the sailfin and the tang together for about a week before they both started showing ick. Took the yellow tang out and and bam, ick gone. I wouldnt do it from personal experience. Shane at fish business told me he thought that yellow tangs are one of the meanest and most likely to fight. Im a big fan of tangs and want to have 3 total (2 is not a good number to keep for tangs from my readings) I want to add a naso and powder brown at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Huh, I have a yellow tang and want to add a blue hippo. Standard 6', 125g tank. My tang is still little, only about 2" long. If I add the blue hippo soon do you think having them grow up together will help diffuse aggression or will it still be an issue as they grow? I was hoping aggression wouldn't be an issue because of the very different body shape/coloring of the two tangs. So far my little tang is very peaceful, but I don't have anything else in the tank that resembles another tang! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 + On Derek's post......if they're from the same genus....most likely they will fight. I have a small sailfin tang that instigates a brawl with the purple tang. The purple tang is larger than the sailfin....and still wants to show the PT whose the boss. We have another fish that keeps these 2 fish from killing each other....that's my Acanthurus Dussumieri (this is just from personal observation), he is very passive----you could say he's "the cooler" . I've seen yellow tangs being territorial (the aggressive side) and the passive....and I believe it comes down to the environment you provide: the size of tank, how your aquascape is placed, good nutrition and what other inhabitants you might add on to the community. -Cindy- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acropoorer Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I had a yellow tang and a sailfin that got along great. I added a copper banded and the two of them ganged up on him constantly for a few days then eventually left him alone. Sometimes it's luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kkiel02 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) I have a 125 (6ft long). Did the sailfin and the tang together for about a week before they both started showing ick. Took the yellow tang out and and bam, ick gone. I wouldnt do it from personal experience. Shane at fish business told me he thought that yellow tangs are one of the meanest and most likely to fight. Im a big fan of tangs and want to have 3 total (2 is not a good number to keep for tangs from my readings) I want to add a naso and powder brown at the same time. Ich is still in your system. The reason the the ich goes away is because it completed its life cycle. When you add the other tangs dont be suprised to see it reappear. The reason is that tangs dont really come in contact with ich in the wild as they do in captivity. Ich doesnt survive long without a host and with most tangs being avid swimmers, if they do get hit they are long gone when the next generation starts. Makes you wish wholesalers would use copper doesnt it? In my experience though ich has never killed a fish. I had some bad cases prior to my quarentining that is now done with every fish. Velvet is what made me start this though. Even after two months fishless I wouldnt be suprised if I still had some ich in my system but like I said above ich has yet to cause real damage and after a week or so the ich usually resides. Edited February 12, 2010 by Kkiel02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kkiel02 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Huh, I have a yellow tang and want to add a blue hippo. Standard 6', 125g tank. My tang is still little, only about 2" long. If I add the blue hippo soon do you think having them grow up together will help diffuse aggression or will it still be an issue as they grow? I was hoping aggression wouldn't be an issue because of the very different body shape/coloring of the two tangs. So far my little tang is very peaceful, but I don't have anything else in the tank that resembles another tang! Liz The problem that I see is that it is always best to add the less aggressive tang first. Since you already have the yellow in there I would try and pull it out. I would then add a larger blue hippo. Let the blue hippo get comfortable and then reintroduce your tang. Like said above it is nice to have a large docile tang to keep the peace. Mine is the sailfin, above someone said the dussimeri(spelling?), Naso is another good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteorflower Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I have a naso tang (about 4") and a blue hippo tang (about 3") in a 150 that I added on the same day. They get along fine. I have heard that it is best to either add all the tangs at once, or add the least aggressive tang first, and have also been told that when mixing tangs of different temperaments, it can help if your largest tang is also the mellowest. I might like to try my hand at an Achilles tang in the future, but I'm hesitant because I feel that might be pushing it in a 150... thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kkiel02 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I tried to get an achilles for about half a year. I called around and they were never on the lists. Now that I broke down and bought a nice powder brown I dont want to risk it with an achilles. The smaller ones I was told ship better and would be better for your tank. I would say with those combos the achilles would be the most aggressive but again tangs personalities change from fish to fish sooo who knows. If he gets too big and I get my big tank up by then I wouldnt mind holding him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Achilles are one of the hardest fish to get to stay alive. They have a very poor survival rate through the shipping process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteorflower Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I know, but I love them so I've had good luck with other delicate species like my regal angelfish, so perhaps that's made me overly optimistic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kkiel02 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Achilles are one of the hardest fish to get to stay alive. They have a very poor survival rate through the shipping process. Agreed, and make sure they are eating at the store. I know alot of stores have been getting in some nice specimens lately but I would let it sit a week there to let it acclimate to their tanks. The problem I faced was the $100 price tag if my purple tang decided to kill it. Again if you decided to go this route I would recommend a smaller specimen(3") as the retailers have been getting some nice ones in lately and they arent as aggressive at this stage, for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 +1 for all the comments, i have a purple and had a powder brown but the PB died to ich and stress along time ago. I now have only the PT and want to add a Blonde Naso Tang or a Powder Blue Tang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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