Power Blue Tangs or Blue Tangs

I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a
Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola
Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a
Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a
Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my
tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and
as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two
Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it
is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting
enough algae?

Powder blues, I have one, should only be kept by themselves, sans any other
tang (unless of course you have a really big tank and start them all off at
the same time. If you add one you will see why (think ferocious cichlid).

Best,

MFR
"MarkW" markwco*remove to wrote in message
...
I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a
Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola
Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a
Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a
Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my
tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and
as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two
Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it
is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting
enough algae?

Power Blue Tangs or Blue Tangs

Group: rec.aquaria.marine.reefs Date: Tue, Sep 23, 2003, 11:23pm (PDT+7)
From: markwco*remove to (MarkW)
I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a
Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola
Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a
Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a Power
Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my tank? I
have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and as well too
many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two Tangs are bad but
have had no problem with mine but I think part of it is the size of teh
tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting enough algae?
************************************************** **
I would recommend the Royal Blue (Hepatus Tang) but get a larger one (if
it looks good) to stand up to the bullying its going to get, when
initially introduced, or a smaller one, that can hide. If you get the
Powder Blue, expect major battles, for a long, long time, if not
forever.
I kept a Blonde Naso, a Hepatus Tang, and a Gold Rim Powder Brown for
many many years together. The feistiest was the Gold Rim, but the Naso
soon became 'King of the Hill'.
When I had my Powder Blue, it wouldn't tolerate any other Tang! You
needs lots of supplemental green stuff to keep Tangs happy. Mine all
'loved' Romaine Lettuce and algae based flake foods. I also increased
lighting to _encourage_ algae growth. The Hepatus loved that 'black'
blue-green stuff that grew on the substrate (plus my Annularis, too) my
Gold Rim ate the brown, red and green algae that grew on the glass, and
the Naso went wild for the hair algae growing near the water line. HTH


http://community.webtv.net/deflizard/doc
regards, John

I tried to add a powder blue to my established tank this year. None of
my fish including my Yellow tang are aggressive. The blue did not make
it. It died the next day. I think it is just a lot harder to
introduce new fish to an established reef. I have tried several times
over the last year to add something new but have not succeeded . I'm a
little gun shy to try again. I think I will wait until I start my new
tank sometime next year. That way the surroundings will be new for all
enhabitants and there will not be any turf wars.
Todd

tropheus wrote:

Powder blues, I have one, should only be kept by themselves, sans any other
tang (unless of course you have a really big tank and start them all off at
the same time. If you add one you will see why (think ferocious cichlid).

Best,

MFR
"MarkW" markwco*remove to wrote in message
.. .


I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a
Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola
Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a
Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a
Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my
tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and
as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two
Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it
is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting
enough algae?

Mark,

I recently read that PBTangs are very very prone to ich, and if you really want
to get one, you MUST quarantine it for 4 weeks or more before introducing it to
your tank. Even with a 125g, which is great btw, you may still not be
successful.

I had some Tang keepers point out to me that if you introduce a new one, it must
be the same size as the ones you already have. I read an article yesterday in
August's "Aquarium Fish" that Tangs of similar shape will be aggressive toward
one another, because they'll feel the other is competition for the food it eats.

If you do introduce it, you have a few options that might help. Feed your tangs
before the new one goes in, to help avoid aggression. Putting a mirror in the
tank for the original tang to do battle with ... may help protect the new
arrival. Adding it at night when the other fish are tucked away to sleep is
another option.

Rearranging LR to give the tank a "new reef section" appearance can help. Even
pulling out all the tangs and adding them back in one by one can work.

There simply are no guarantees.

Marc


MarkW wrote:

I have a 125 gallon reef tank and currently have two tangs in it, a
Sailfin Tang as well as a Yellow Tang. I also have a couple Percola
Clownfish, a Bubble Tipped Anemone, a Royal Gramma, a Mandarin, and a
Firefish Goby. My question, I have become interested in getting a
Power Blue Tang or possibly Blue Tang but are 3 Tangs too much for my
tank? I have heard these fish are more violent than other Tangs and
as well too many Tangs together is bad. Then again I've heard two
Tangs are bad but have had no problem with mine but I think part of it
is the size of teh tank. Also, is it a concern about them getting
enough algae?

--
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Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

If I'm right there is a blue tang, not the same as the powder blue
tang. I'm not sure if this is the same as the Regal Tang but are
these any safer to add than the Powder Blue Tang? From what I've read
I'm definitely staying away from the PBT.

I left this out as well but how safe would it be to add a purple tang?

The purple tang is the most aggressive, according to the books. However,
several members in my club disagree with the books, as do their tangs.

Everyone does agree that the Purple Tang is the last to go in the tank.

Marc


MarkW wrote:

I left this out as well but how safe would it be to add a purple tang?

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I had a Blue Atlantic Tang (check the pictures on my 55g Reef page) that was
very pretty, very fat, and very aggressive. He killed a brand new baby yellow
tang, before I knew to add one that was equal size.

Marc


MarkW wrote:

If I'm right there is a blue tang, not the same as the powder blue
tang. I'm not sure if this is the same as the Regal Tang but are
these any safer to add than the Powder Blue Tang? From what I've read
I'm definitely staying away from the PBT.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

IME the purple is second in line to the PBTang for aggressiveness. your
yellow may or may not take kindly to the addition of the purple as they are
very similar in shape and color (tail and fins on the purple are yellow).
and as Marc stated the PBTang as well as the Achilles have a softer skin and
are more prone to ich and bad water quality. it takes pristine water
quality to keep either of these two tangs. the Achilles is a very beautiful
fish and if you have the water quality to keep it then it would be a choice
worth looking into. they are very peaceful and ignore all other fish in the
tank and just cruse the tank and eat all day.

I have a yellow and purple who live together in my 180 happily now (along
with an Achilles and Sailfin). the yellow was in my 75 for 2 years before I
introduced the purple in with him, at first they swam like best buddy's but
after a few months I started to get tail swats from them on occasion. it
got worse as time went by so I moved them up to the 180 when I finished it
up. they are again best buddy's hopefully they will remain that way as I'd
hate to move one of them to a different tank. they aren't the easiest
things to catch out of a reef tank.

kc

"Marc Levenson" wrote in message
...
The purple tang is the most aggressive, according to the books. However,
several members in my club disagree with the books, as do their tangs.

Everyone does agree that the Purple Tang is the last to go in the tank.

Marc


MarkW wrote:

I left this out as well but how safe would it be to add a purple tang?

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com