Purple Tang

[corrod]

I currently have a very happy powder blue in my 90 gallon mixed reef, may have a chance to get a purple tang.  Anyone think there will be any problems adding the purple?  I really dont want to take a chance in losing the powder but the purple may be a good deal.  I know it's only a 90 gallon!

[Viggen]

I would say it's a bad idea.  My P.B. is in a 210g & he has a huge attitude, chases my sohal all over the place.......

In a 90g I think it's already to small for the P.B. & adding another tang would be trouble, much better chance if the P.B. was added last but the tank is still to small for him.  After seeing how much my P.B. has grown & he attitude as he's got bigger, my 210g is to small for the guy. 

[Blown76mav]

Never had a Powder Blue tang but I can tell you the Purple tang is mean sucker if left alone.  I had a Sailfin, Yellow, Purple and a Kole all in one tank, the Sailfin was the first and the other three added all at once.  Never had any problems out of them other than a little tail batting.  Had to take the Yellow Tang out for treatment and when I put it back in the Purple Tang terrorized it for a couple of weeks but now seems ok.

I agree a 90g is too small for two tangs, they need a lot of room (length) for swimming.

[Cdubonone]

My exsperience with tangs I would add 2 thats what ive always done and they have always done fine as long as they are about the same size

[entacmaea]

+1 on world war 3 in your tank. Purples are aggressive as anything, and pb's can be a lot meaner than people give them credit for.

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[swatem]

I have both and they don't bother each other. In my tank the momma clown is the aggressive one, No one better get near her anemone, lol.


~Chris

[MarineReefer]

Being different genus', zebra and acan, you may be ok; although there are several good points in counter. A 90 may be too small for two fish of this size and would leave little room for escape, should one turn on the other. Purple tangs are considered by many to be the most aggressive of their line. Going in after the pb, it may counter that but you should have a fallback plan in place, should things not work out. A good trick for aggressive tangs, in particular, is to hang a small mirror on the (out)side of the glass. They're usually more aggressive toward their own kind and will often fixate on their reflection, and forget about the others in the tank

[NewAlbanyReefer]

I have a purple, naso and a blue hippo in the same tank.  The problem is when their shape is simular.  I had let me say again had a yellow , it and the purple got along fine for about 2 months then came home to find the purple beating it to death.  Yellow didnt even make it 20 min in a qt tank

[550jim]

I hope to get a purple tang sometime also but think I will make it one of the last fish I add, hopefully that will work

[MarineReefer]

I have a purple, naso and a blue hippo in the same tank.  The problem is when their shape is simular.  I had let me say again had a yellow , it and the purple got along fine for about 2 months then came home to find the purple beating it to death.  Yellow didnt even make it 20 min in a qt tank

Research, or asking for advice, as the op here did, would have revealed that you can't put a purple in with any other zebrasoma. Randomly throwing fish in together, without at least asking if they're compatible is rather irresponsible. Sorry, but it bothers me when an animal is taken from its home, shipped across the globe only to die because someone figures it'll look good in their tank

As I mentioned, an acan tang may be compatible with a zebrasoma but you'll definitely want a fallback plan in place, just in case!

[entacmaea]

I have a purple, naso and a blue hippo in the same tank.  The problem is when their shape is simular.  I had let me say again had a yellow , it and the purple got along fine for about 2 months then came home to find the purple beating it to death.  Yellow didnt even make it 20 min in a qt tank

I'm pretty sure i know who this is...

Purples are renown for their beauty, but definitely have a mean streak, especially when shoehorned into a 150 with a naso, hepatus, and yellow, along with your angel, damsels, and couple other fish.

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[NewAlbanyReefer]

The problem is simply not mixing simular body types.  I had a yellow in there and the purple after a bit of time went after it.  I will say from my personal experience that if you are going to mix do it together.  I have noticed if you have had a tang in the tank for a LONG period of time alone they do not like other tangs.  However if you are gonna mix I have heard rearranging the rock work can confuse the dominate tang because the area is different. So each situation is different.  What works for one will not work for another.

[volcano]

I would recommend against keeping a powder blue tang and a purple in a 90 gallon.  They need a lot of room to swim.  However, IMO if you had a MUCH larger tank it would likely be safe to keep them together.  It would also be wise to add them at the same time.

[Boonjob]

You totally just "Zombie" threaded this thread, Brought back to lifffffeeeee!!!!


On a side note...



    

WEOW WOEW WOEW

*Tang Police is filmed on location!*

huh Bad boyz! Whatcha gonna do, Whatcha gon.......

[Sonnyred]

I have a purple, sailfin, and hippo in a 90. I know the tang police will give me 25-life but if they see how happy my fish are, they would look the other way. With that said we all can't afford to buy all the tangs at once and that is the best way to add them to a tank but if you are to add them one by one just pull the veteran tang in the tank out to a diff tank for a few days then add both back in at the same time. Works pretty well for me. Just my 2 cents.

[volcano]

Lol, I know I did.  Had to do it.  Really though, just my opinion, I won't arrest anyone for doing different. 

[lazylivin]

You can also put the new arrival in a pond box or clear acrylic box inside your tank. Once the aggression goes away in a day or two release it.

[Viggen]

I do not think its necessary to add all tangs at once since some tang pick on any fish no matter how small, large or mean it is.  To me the best bet is to add the mean ones last.  Powder blue should be added after just about any other tang in the ocean.  Their weakness is like hep tangs, can be ich magnets.

With yellow/purple/etc the rule with those fish has always been 1, 3 or more so they kinda school together.  Adding two the larger will almost always kill the other......