Purple Tang Compatibility

[enjoiskater158]

I heard purple tangs are aggressive with fish that look the same, so i was wondering if the purple tang would be ok with any of these fish

blue hippo tang
sailfin tang
yellow tang
yellow long nosed butterfly
copperband butterfly

thats for any help.

 

[Triggerobsessed]

Check this out.... http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

 

[Lynden]

There is a chance that the Purple Tang would attack the Yellow and Sailfin Tangs, but th other fish would doubtedly be bothered.

 

[enjoiskater158]

Yeah the only thing about the compadibilty chart is that, different species or butterfly, angle, tangs, ect are different and some tang, wont do well with othe tangs so its a little hard to tell with that chart but its still a very good guideline . thanks i went to the baltimore aquarium today and changed alot of the fish i want for my new tank lol.

 

[SkiFletch]

There is a chance that the Purple Tang would attack the Yellow and Sailfin Tangs, but th other fish would doubtedly be bothered.

Agreed. If you added the two tangs simultaneously you'd be fine . My LFS has a purple and a yellow in the same 120g display tank that he added simultaneously. I never see them squabble

 

[Eversurf]

I personally had issues with the Copperband and the Yellow Tang. The copperband finally died. To much stress. The Yellow Tang was always picking on him.

 

[Navarre]

I have 4 purples and 1 orange shoulder in the same tankwith no issues. I had 2 purples together then i added another 3 purples. The resident ones didnt know who to attack first and gave up after a couple of hours. now they all swim in a shoal together. The orange should tang was added later on but they have never bother it at all.
I would not recomend adding too many tangs ina tan that doesnt hold enough room for them however. These fish get highly aggressive and stressed in smaller tanks

 

[enjoiskater158]

it will be a 125 gallon, I am hoping to get the Blue hippo tang, purple tang, and possible another species of tang mabye the sailfin but im thinking the purple will beat up on a sailfin correct? Also would a yellow long nosed butterfly and 2 schooling bannerfish be ok with the purple tang because their shapes are similar?

 

[Navarre]

Ok well to answer your question on compatability with the butterfly..
Sadly i dont have a picture of them in all together but they were all in the tank together I promise you.

Ok now for the bad news.

You will be pushing the limits of the tank with so many fish that grow so large. In 125 gallons i wold not attempt more than 2 tangs and would feel more comfortable with 1. The hippo or Regal tang would not be on my list due to the size and speed it grows.
In this size tank iwould aim for 1 Purple and possibly a Bristletooth along with the butterfly. I wouldnt attempt the bannerfish as these grow very large also.

 

[Lynden]

Watch out, Navarre; adult Orange-Shouldered Tangs, according to Bob Fenner, rank amoung Acanthurus lineatus as far as aggression goes.

 

[Navarre]

Mine was an absolute angel i must confess. If i could have kept any of my fish it would have been him but due to the size limits of my new setup he had to go along with the rest of my tangs. He now resides in a large 400 gallon system and will make up a pair. Mine was juvenile and every person i know who has owned one has commented that they are extremly laid back for a tang. However.. i dont know anyone with an adolesent or an adult and i amaware that these forms may well have a dfferent personality.
Thankfully i dont have that problem anymore, all my tangs are now gone. The emperors are now sitting in a 250,000ltr system so they all have far more rom than i could ever give them.


I have kept many different tangs during my time in this hobby and frommy own experience i would say the most aggressive tangs were the emperor tangs followed closely by Achilles.

 

[Lynden]

The Orange Shouldered Tangs in Hawaii when I visited appeared laid-back as well, but very large. I really wanted to buy one when I got back home, but I soon disqualified it because of it's size. Then I read on Wetwebmedia that they are very aggressive.... Then again, the WetWebmedia "crew" do seem to be very opinionated at times.

-Lynden

 

[Navarre]

I will agree withyouonsize.. they grow HUGE!
Probably the only tang i owned that would have rivalled my Sohal tang. But in all honesty, tangs onthe whole tend to be very risky when laced together in small tanks, my emperors were graet together in the 220 gallon system but the nghtebfore i closed down 2/3 of the system and left themwith about 50 gallons to swim in. Within an hour they were bickering like mad so i firmly believe that the smaller the tank the more aggressive they become

 

[enjoiskater158]

thanks nav

any experience with copperbands? like do they eat corals or would it be ok in the same tank as the long nosed?

 

[Navarre]

I have never ket a long nosed and a coperband in the same tank together. There might be issues but i really dnt know on that one.

As for copperbands... They are difficult to feed, make sure you see it feeding at your lfs, if not then i would not even bother.
If the fish seems a little reluctant to feed when its in your system then take a couple of mussel shells and glue them together. drill a small hole in one of th eshells and put the food inside. the copperband will use its longer nose to feed as this is more natural for it. Seems to work quite well from the people i have kow who have tried keeping them.

To be honest though, a copperband is not a beginners fish, they ned a very stable tank with mature conditions. I would gain some experience with the more hardy fish first then use that experience on something more difficult later on.