Powder Blue and Desjardini Sailfin Tangs together?...

[higorc]

So, I have had my 72G bowfront tank for 3 months now. I plan on having a different life stock than I did a couple years ago on my 75G Reef. One of my plans is to have a Powder Blue tang (I always wanted one of these!) and a Desjardini Sailfin Tang.

Now I know tangs fight, and I am kind of pushing even though my tank has a lot of rock work http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums...pe-on-72G-Reef-Bowfront-Tank&highlight=higorc. I got the pd last Saturday. Yesterday I got the sailfin. The pd would not leave the sf alone from the moment I put it in the tank yesterday. It was going after it like crazy! So I thought to myself that this was a normal thing for them to go through for dominance and stuff. Both r the same size and may be the Sailfin is even a little bigger (both about 2”-3”inches).

So this morning I noticed the sf was leaning against a rock on the top of the tank, panting and seemed exhausted. After a couple of hours I noticed the pd was still going after the sf. The sf was just leaning on a rock (from being chased all the time) so I decided to do something about it. I want both tangs in my tank, and I know a lot of people think u can’t keep 2 tangs together unless it’s a huge tank, but I know it’s not impossible! I have gotten things to happen in my tank that people have told me “it’s impossible” so I will try it until I know it “is possible”. In my last 75G Reef I kept tangs together without a problem at the end.

I do plan to upgrade (or in the worst case sell them once they get too big) to a 155G Bowfront eventually, but I figure I have at least a year still.
To make a long story short, the pb wouldn’t leave the sf alone. With a lot of work I caught the pb and he is now in my refugium. I slightly re-arranged my aquascape (so it’s different and he doesn’t think it’s his) and I will leave him in the refugium until my sf recovers. I even tried the mirror trick with him before I resorted to this.

The pb seems like he is having fun chasing all the pods in the fuge, and I am watching him closely. Hopefully this will give him time to realize he is not king of the jungle and he will be a little bit more resettable when I put him back into my display tank in a couple of days.

I will post the results once this ordeal is finally over just so people know my experience with these two guys.

 

[FinsUp!]

I dunno... PBs are pretty aggressive. I had a medium sized pb and a similar size yellow in a 90 for a while and had to get rid of the pb after a few months because he was stressed, nearly beat the yellow to death and tore up my leathers. I'd choose one or the other until you upgrade. I wouldn't put the fish at risk (you said the sailfin was leaning on a rock from being chased so much) just so you can say "its possible".

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[newenglandreef]

Powder Blues will kill fish -- make no mistake about it. Some fish just chase others, PBT's get the job done. My advice would be to make your tank comfortable and try to relieve as many stressors as possible-- add an airstone to the sump (tangs needs a lot of oxygen), stabilize the environment and feed him. Re-arranging the rock work may make a difference too, they're highly territorial.

 

[twiddledog]

I have a Yellow Tang, a Clown Tang and a Powder blue in a 72 gallon and all bet along great..now but that was not always the case. The Yellow and clown never had a problem but whenI aded the Powder Blue the clown was relentless chasing and biting it. I put the Clown in my quarantine tank for a time out and then the yellow started chasing the PBT so I put him in a time out for a few days as well. After a few days I re-introiduced both and from that point on they all got along swimingly.
I think the order of introduction as a lot to do with it. Today I just moved all my rock to my new 180 and Sunday the fish. I will add all three tangs together just to be sure they get along..I hope.

 

[Dashiki]

I have a pbt and a sailfin. The pbt was introduced two weeks ago and the sailfin a few months ago.

The sailfin is very dominant but only ~3.5" or so.

I made sure I got a larger pbt. Other than a little dance the do right after the halides shut off they seem to be fine. Mine are in a 300 gallon tank though.

 

[higorc]

I have a Yellow Tang, a Clown Tang and a Powder blue in a 72 gallon and all bet along great..now but that was not always the case. The Yellow and clown never had a problem but whenI aded the Powder Blue the clown was relentless chasing and biting it. I put the Clown in my quarantine tank for a time out and then the yellow started chasing the PBT so I put him in a time out for a few days as well. After a few days I re-introiduced both and from that point on they all got along swimingly.
I think the order of introduction as a lot to do with it. Today I just moved all my rock to my new 180 and Sunday the fish. I will add all three tangs together just to be sure they get along..I hope.

I have the pb in mu refugium now. It seems like the sf is recovering from being chased all over the tank by the pb. I am watching both closely. I plan on re-introducing the pb in a couple of days. I just want the sf to get a little more comfortable in the tank and start swimming around and eating.
Right now he is still hiding behind the rocks.

I really hope this is works.

 

[Kungfukid]

I had both the blue & yellow tang in my 58g for almost a year without any problem. Both of them are now in my 20g frag tank (temporary setup) and they do fine too. Sorry folks, I did not mean to have them in the 20g but I am still working on setting up a bigger tank soon

 

[higorc]

I have a pbt and a sailfin. The pbt was introduced two weeks ago and the sailfin a few months ago.

The sailfin is very dominant but only ~3.5" or so.

I made sure I got a larger pbt. Other than a little dance the do right after the halides shut off they seem to be fine. Mine are in a 300 gallon tank though.

I did the same thing but in the opposite order. I got the pb last weekend from Skiptons and the sf this Friday from AquaAddicts. I made sure that the sf was a little larger. My pb is about 2.5" and the sf about 3".

I was waiting all week for AquaAddicts to get the sf in so as soon as it came in from the airport, I drove up to Salen, NH and picked it up from their store. They didn't even take it out of the water it was shipped to them in. They just re-bagged it and added oxygen to it and I took it home. He was definitely tired from the flight, the drive here and then being added to my tank. I think that's why he had no strength to defend him self from the pb.

Thinking back now, I will never do the again. I mean pick up a fish as soon as it comes in to the store. I should have let them acclimate them to their tanks and recover before I took him. I think that it was too much stress on him.

He seems a lot better now though. Hopefully he will start swimming around and eating today.

 

[higorc]

So yesterday the sf stopped hiding behind my rock work and is now swimming around the tank and grazing. And boy does he look nice! That's a very good thing from someone who was barelly able to swim away from the pb!

The pb still in the Refugium and is doing good. I am sure he rather be in the display tank, but this is all part of the process.

I will change the aquascape slightly again and probably re-introduce the pb tomorrow or Wdenesday. I really hope this works! I would hate to have to get rid of one of them.

 

[jt628]

Powder Blues will kill fish -- make no mistake about it. Some fish just chase others, PBT's get the job done. My advice would be to make your tank comfortable and try to relieve as many stressors as possible-- add an airstone to the sump (tangs needs a lot of oxygen), stabilize the environment and feed him. Re-arranging the rock work may make a difference too, they're highly territorial.

Interesting theory, I have a PB, A purple, A Kole, and a yellow in a 135 with zero issues... I could be beacuse the purple is the Alpha, However the Powder Blue pretty much minds his business and they have all 4 been together for over a year...

The PB and Purple occasionaly tussle but nothing major at all, the pretty much hang out all the time.

 

[higorc]

UPDATE:

So last night I re-introduced the pb into the display tank after the lights went off. I re-arranged the rock work and made sure both were well fed well before I put them together again.

After 2 minutes that I put the pb in the tank, they found each other (even with the light off!) and had a little sparring. Not like the last time, but a little one. I noticed that the sf was standing up to the pb this time, so eventually the pb backed off.

This morning with only the actinics on, I noticed that the sf was keeping to one side of the tank and the pb to the other! I put 2 veggie clips in the tank, one on each side. I saw the pb swim to the side the sf was in and then the sf charging him a little and he swam back to the other side.

It seems like quarantining the pb for 5 days worked a little. At least now the sf is strong enough to defend his turf. I knew they will probably confront each other sometimes, but hopefully they will co-exist in the same tank.

I wasn't expecting them to become best buddies, so I will settle for this. Apparently each one "owns" a side of the tank so far.

 

[newenglandreef]

a couple other things people do are to place a piece of acrylic in the center of a tank-- and also placing a mirror against the tank. I've heard these both help acclimating tangs to each other.

 

[dz6t]

Powder blue is a hit or miss and it does get big. But it is one of the most beautiful tang available and I will keep the powder blue happy and remove the sail fin. Even though the PB is aggressive, the battle will stress both fish out. PB is known to be a ich magnent and once it get ich, it is very likely on his way out.

 

[higorc]

I got home today from work and they were both fine.

I know tangs are prone to ick, but I have owned a yellow, blue and now a powder blue and a Desjardini Sailfin and never had any of them get ick.

Here is a video I took of them as soon as I got home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDBbdUuuNco&list=UUjwjc1YRafKTEU6nayKxN6w&index=2&feature=plcp

I fed them and they both ate a lot. hey were even eating at the same veggie clip at one point. I always keep a close eye on everything in my tank. If it ever came to it, I would remove one of them. But I have kept tangs together in the past with out any problems and I really would like to keep these 2 in my tank, so I am really happy it seems they are doing ok after everything I did to get them used to each other.