Adding a purple tang to a yellow tang

[kyuubichan218]

So I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, since Zebrasoma tangs aren't usually friendly to conspecifics, but I have the opportunity to get a purple tang for a screaming deal. The problem is I already have a large yellow tang. The yellow is about 5 inches and the purple that I would be adding is 2.5-3". I'd happily sell the yellow to get the purple (that's the fish I got into the hobby for really). Is there anything that I can do to have both, or is it a safer bet to just sell the yellow?

 

[Haddonisreef]

How big is the tank? Any other tangs? I added a pt to my display after a yellow was already established. Not Gona lie they fought for weeks and I just tryed to make sure to feed heavy for awhile. The yellow still punks the purple so it will be a tough transition for the purple especlally being smaller.

 

[zombie]

You can also try placing the yellow in QT for a few days while you introduce the purple and let it settle in.

 

[kyuubichan218]

180 gallon, no other tangs yet, since my blue died of being too stupid to eat right. Would a few days be enough for the yellow to forget the territory?

 

[zombie]

It would probably be long enough if you rearranged a few things in the tank, added some sps colonies, etc. I havent tried that short of a duration myself, but I was getting a bit of agression between by yellow tang and flame angel. When I got a MV outbreak and moved them to a 55 gal QT together, all agression stopped in the QT and when I introduced them back in the DT, I didnt see any agression afterward.

 

[SkyShark]

I hope it works out. The purple tang is one of my favorites.

 

[Rigo07]

When I aded a purple tang to my tank I had a yellow and the yellow did not like it it would go after the purple so I sold the yellow problem fix

 

[kyuubichan218]

Yeah, I'm thinking that it's not worth the risk to the purple. I'll just list him up for sale. Catching him is going to be awful.

 

[Haddonisreef]

Yeah, I'm thinking that it's not worth the risk to the purple. I'll just list him up for sale. Catching him is going to be awful.

What we will do for a fish coral etc! Good luck there's a few fish traps that should do the trick to make it pretty simple, someone on the forum close to you I'm sure has one to barrow.

 

[samindenver]

I made a cage out of 1/2 in cpvc and covered it with the same nylon netting sold by BRS for aquarium tops. After my purple got of quarantine he went in the cage floating in my reef tank until the other fish got used to him. At first he and my yellow would face off against each other but after about a week. They got used to each other. Since then have also used it to add a Scopas. Did the same thing with angels. Now have 4 tangs, 4 draft angels and a regular angle in a 210. All are happy and sometime will school together. The cage works like a charm.