Tangs with Tangs

[Markster]

I have a four inch Orange Shoulder Tang in a 75 gallon reef. I would like to add a second Tang. Suggestions on what type or not at all?

[txstateunivreefer]

its doable stay away from adding a tang of the same genus... thats where i have had my problems (ie adding a Naso with a vlamingi or a yellow tang with a sailfin)

However i would try to restrain yourself on adding alot of tangs to your tank due to the limited swimming distance.

also do alot of research on which one you want to add.

yellows, sailfins and vlamingis i have had good luck with

hippos, pdr blues and clowns not so much. if you are getting a more difficult choice get a uv sterlizer because some will get ich just from the stress of being transported from the store to your place. all of the 3 hippos i have tried almost always had ich while all of my other tangs did just fine and would slowly crash even though i had a uv on my tank.

pdr blues are just hard to keep most will tell you that along with most honest store workers.

clowntangs are hard to get eating and that is what makes them difficult along with their ease of getting ich.

i have noticed improved health and also personality with my tangs with the addition of more flow in the swimming area of my reef. so with a 48" tank i would, if you havent already added some good water movement.

lastly make sure you get one that is small because they will grow quickly... that is unless you need a good excuse to convince a significant other that you need to upgrade.

[kaiser]

Actually there is a cage method. build a "Cage" out of some white grid or alike. Catch your tang and put him in this small cage. Release the new Tang into the tank. The idea is that they can see each other but not harm each other and the new tang can "establish" himself. After a couple of weeks release the tang out of the cage.

[erikharrison]

Just like Kaiser said. Put some eggcrate in a corner to create a quick cage...

[Markster]

I was thinking of going with a 2 to 3 inch Blue Tang if not a yellow. I would need some pretty good material to hold back a 4 inch Orange Shoulder.

I am also thinking of a Flame Angel again. I had one before but lost him to popeye.

I have a UV sterializer and the tank is running great.

[kaiser]

Flame Angels are nice, but they are hard to keep and can be little ****heads. Sterilizers are great, but on a Reef Tank I would only run it if I had issues.
For the Cage go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a 2' by 4' Diffuser for Flourescent Lightfixture. It is white in Color and looks like a 1/2" by 1/2" grit, they are cheap. Use plastic cable ties to hold it together. LFS like to use that stuff to built in-tank shelfs for Corals they sell.

[MissT]

Well, since everyone's pretty well covered all the risks with some of the more popular tangs, I would suggest adding a Yellow Eye Kole tang. Those guys are one of my favorites and they don't get as large as some of the tangs are known to. I'm also a fan of the Powder Blues and Powder Browns but since they are the same genus as the one you're already housing I would be wary due to possible aggression. Your tank is not large enough to successfully house a Hippo tang long term (not sure if you meant that one when you said "blue tang"), but I'd consider the Kole. They're not really flashy, but still really goog looking.

[edawgm]

Maybe I am just lucky but I have four tangs in my 75. yellow, brown, sailfine and a convict. Like I said maybe I am just lucky but all mine get along great. It is actually the GSM clown that will not leave my convict tang alone.

[Bill S]

My orange shoulder gets along great with all of my other tangs, including my powder blue. That being said, he was bright yellow when he went into the tank, along with a couple of yellows. Me thinks he thinks he's a yellow...

[gibbywhitt]

A purple tang would be a great add, I love mine and it gets along great with my Hippo for over a year now.

[Markster]

I meant Blue Regal Tang not Powder Blue. Anybody have this and an Orange Shoulder together?

[MissT]

75 gallons is pretty much flat out not big enough for the Hippo/Regal Tang aka "Dory". You can start with one of the tiny ones and keep it for two years maybe but then you are going to need to get it out. Anything under 160 gallons just wont be large enough to successfully house that fish long term. I think that's where the powder blue reccommendation came into discussion, because they max out at 9 or 10 inches, nowhere near the 15+ inches Regals attain. For a 75 I'd stick to fish that are under 10"

[Markster]

Thanks for all of the replies. I ended up with a small Coral Beauty and juvi Foxface from Aquarium Designs!