Yellow eye Tang

[Wildcat]

I was told thatif you have a yellow eye tang, you can not add any ohter tang to in the tank. Is this true? I have one and I want to buy some kind of a tang.....


Let me know your comments

Wildcat

[Ninong]

That is too broad a statement to be true in all situations. You can put just about anything you want in a 500-gallon tank and you should not put even a single tang in a 50-gallon tank.

As a general rule of thumb, you want to avoid mixing tangs of the same genus unless you have a fairly large aquarium. For example, do not attempt to keep a Purple Tang and a Yellow Tang (both are from the same genus, Zebrasoma) together unless you have a fairly large tank. The reason for this is that tangs are territorial and will be aggressive to any fish that they perceive as food source competitors. This means they will attack fish that have the same feeding habits, same shape/coloration, etc.

The Yellow Eye Tang and the Chevron Tang are from the same genus, so maybe you should avoid adding a Chevron Tang to your tank.

Why not post exactly what species you have in mind adding? Also, it would help others in offering informed advice if you would please post the size of your tank and its present livestock.

Ninong

[rededteck]

I agree with Ninong, the size of the tank is a major component when mixing like species of tangs.

I have a 220 gallon with a purple, yellow, naso, sailfin, and juvenile atlantic blue tangs. Even though this tank is 6 feet long all of them with the exception of the Naso periodically battle for position. When you add another fish, they will most likely go through some initiation battling with their tail spikes. You will also find there are expections to the rules, but for the most part same species of tangs will fight

The yellow eye is very laid back compared to most tangs. Good Luck with your selection, update us on how you make out.

[Wildcat]

ok...sorry for beeing specific .... I'm thinking of adding one of the following tangs:

YELLOW TANG
BLUE HIPPO TANG
POWDER BLUE TANG


These are the specs:

Tank size is 3 feet x 20" tall x 18" wide
70 pounds of live fiji rock
30 pounds of base rock
30 pounds of crush coral

Livestock:

1 - THREE-STRIPE DAMSEL FISH
1- YELLOW EYE TANG
1 - PERCULA CLOWN
1 - CLEANER SHRIMP
16 - TURBO SNAILS

hope this is enough info!

Wildcat

[Ninong]

I would advise against adding another tang to your tank. The size of your tank is marginal, at best, for a single tang. Most folks consider 75-gallons to be a minimum size for a tang because of their free roaming (browsing) nature. Some of the larger open ocean species, like the Naso Tang, really require large tanks--200 gallons plus!

How about a second clownfish to make a pair? Maybe an Orchid Dottyback or a Royal Gramma? There are lots of possibilities that would be better suited to your tank than another tang.

HTH,

Ninong

[Wildcat]

How about Triggerfish or maybe Angelfish....what do you think or these?

Wildcat

[Ninong]

Triggers are not recommended for reef tanks, only fish-only tanks. The only angels you should consider for that size tank would be dwarf angels of the Centropyge species. The Flame Angel (Centropyge loriculus) is one of my favorites but it will sometimes nip at some corals in some tanks. It would be a good choice as long as you are willing to accept the risk that it may cause problems. So do, some don't.

Ninong