tang compatibility

[eddie]

I have a yellow tang and powder brown. The yellow tang pretty stays hidden most of the time. I was told recently that I should have only 1 tang or 3 tangs but not 2. Has anyone else heard of this before?

[demodiki]

What size tank?

[reeferRob]

I heard the 3 tang rule if they are all yellow tangs, don't think tht applies to different pecies, if so I am breaking the rules since I have a yellow and a sailfin that get along great. I did have to get the other yellow tang I had out cuz the 2 yellows fought constantly

[eddie]

150g tank, the powder brown tang has dominated the tank for over a year.

[Enigma13]

Generally (but with many exceptions) if they are from different genus it should be OK. Yours are (Powder Brown-acanthurus, Yellow-Zebrasoma), so this is probably just an issue of individual personalities of the fish. I have a Yellow and a Regal in my tank with no problems. As reeferRob mentioned, I have heard of the odd numbers rule when you are keeping a grouping of the same species, but I do not think it applies to mixed species groupings.

[SaltyJim]

I too have heard this, but I think it refers to the shape of the body. That's why one Yellow and one Hippo are ok, but 2 yellows may not be. I think the theory behind the 1 or 3 or more is that there is more than one fish for the dominant one to bully. Spread the aggression, and eventually all fish get along...assuming the tank is large enough.

[Ed]

I have a Sohal and a Powder Blue together w/o issues. When they are not the same genus it doesn't seem to make a big difference. 3 of the same genus is a probably a good idea. If you were to add another to your tank it might spread the agression of the (dominant) Powder Brown and eventually result in all three getting along.

[ansonluna]

Don't alert the tang police....but....I have a Sailfin Tang, Hippo Tang, and Achilles Tang in a 60gal cube with no issues. I will have to upgrade eventually, however right now they are all fairly small so it works. And now that I have divulged (spelling) this information I am sure the TP Swat Team will knock down my door any minute....ha ha!!

[eddie]

I have put in other fish into the tank and it seems that the yellow comes out more but the powder brown picks on the other fish until it wears it down. What are your thoughts on maybe putting in 3-5 smaller fish i.e. damsels,etc to help spread the aggresssion of my powder brown?

[AlexKilpatrick]

I have three yellows and a powder blue, and there is a definite pecking order. The blue harasses the large yellow, who harasses the medium yellow, who harasses the small yellow. They always seem to follow that order. For example, the powder blue never harasses the small yellow.

I don't know that there is anything magical about having three for harmony.

[Enigma13]

I would not put regular damsels in the tank. My tank was set up with damsels and then I had a two month process of getting them out because I wanted to add cooler fish that they would just pester (even fish bigger than them).

The idea of putting some dither fish in has merit. I would go with a small school of chromis (which are in the damsel family, but much more docile) or maybe a small school of pajama cardinals. BTW, what are the other fish in your system.

[eddie]

no other fish... been this way for over a year.... few corals,polyps, mushrooms in tank