tangs fighting any help?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

saltwaterulz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 22, 2009
93
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LA, California
Well i have an 80 gallon tank with:
1 sailfin tang (2.5 in)
1 powder brown tang (4 in)
1 stars n stripes puffer (5 in)
1 blue damsel (1.5in)
well it appears that the sailfin and powder brown tangs are throwing their bodies into each other and trying to fight. the other 2 fish are fine. i realy like both fish and dont want to have to seperate one or retur one. I just put the powder brown tang in at 9 pm on 4-2. the sailfin has been in for about a month or so. will they stop eventually or keep going until one gets ich and kills all the other fish? all help is appreciated. Thank you
 
they mau get along but they may not ever

You should try to catch the Sail fin and put it in your sump or a QT tank for a few days and during that time move your rocks around a bit and then put him back in..
They get territorial and If you change it up they have short memories (LIKE DORI in the movie) they should be fine
they may posture up a bit for a few days but should get along...
On the other hand I have seen a purple tang go into a tank and within minutes start KILLING other fish..
 
AND you really should have a bigger tank Especially for that sail fin..
they get HUGE and they love lots of swim room..
I know they are small now but unless you plan on giving them or selling them away or upgrading to a 6-8 foot long tank.. you should think twice about having two tangs
 
Adding more tangs to disperse the aggression may also help.
 
how long have you had both of these fish together?? In most cases tangs of different shape/species will get along after a week or so. Ill tell you more when I get this answer. It also might not be a bad idea to post the dimensions of the tank for reference. Im also curious to know which fish is bigger, or that you have had the longest.
 
Tangs are always conspecifically aggressive, especially if they look similar. Even in a large tank with several different tangs, fights can still occur and losses are not unheard of. Having just two tangs in an 80g tank is just asking for trouble. Either divide them or return one, I highly doubt their going to get along any time soon.
 
you guys are thinking to much into this. The tank maybe small. Yes it is, but you must upgrade the health of the fish, not just say you will. To be honest with you, the sooner you upgrade, the better. Tangs are a hit or miss fish. I have a bristletooth and a purple together in a 120 gallon. They argued for about 4 days with a bit of tail pushing. Your fish have been together 24 hours. Just monitor for signs of major distress, like sitting at the top of the tank breathing heavy, huge outbreak of ich, not eating, then you know you have a serious problem. Again just give them a couple days, try and feed a couple times a day at light intervals and make sure there both eating and they will work out who boss in the tank, thats what there doing now.
 
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