help with purple tang

[imangelapowers]

i have a small purple tang in a 72 gallon bowfront he attacks any new fish i put in.
i have already become attached to him but he killed a blue tang more than twice his size. does anyone have any suggestions of how I could go about adding more fish

 

[fastrd400]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. I moved your post over to reef fishes as it deals specifically with a fish question.

Now, about your Purple Tang issue. You didn't state the size of him/her in your post. However, Purples can become very territorial, where as Powder Blues are much more submissive. Tangs in general will do this, normally to establish dominance in the tank, which it appears he already has.

He most likely is showing aggression due to his size, and the size of the tank. He really is suited for a tank of about 120 gallons or larger as he will become a large beautiful fish when he grows to maturity.

 

[Murph]

Liveaquaria says you're probably out of luck with any other type of tang in with him:
"They can be very aggressive and do not fare well with tank mates of similar body shape, especially other Tangs of the genus Zebrasoma."

I think when adding something aggressive it helps to have the most aggressive added last. But some others may have real life experience that I don't.

 

[ErinCahir]

+1 fast and Murph

Welcome to the site!

 

[OhNoNemo]

Not to mention he's in a 72 gallon; .....too small for a purple ,,,mine is in a 125 now and is a calm gentle giant(he's the biggest fish in there 6+ in)

 

[Rufio808]

Size of the tank is an issue for you. With the smaller tank size, you'll definitely not want to spend money of fish that are going to end up bullied to death. If you upgraded to a 100+ gallon tank then you might have a better chance.

 

[little_fish]

The smaller a tank you put an aggressive fish in, the more aggressive they become. I would return him to the fish store, and get a fish that will live more happily in your tank. Stay away from any tang, they need at least 6 feet of swimming room, even the babies.

 

[Smitty]

Welcome to the site...everyone has you covered.

 

[AmberSunrise]

I know everyone is ONLY telling you to get a bigger tank, I dont know what size the fish is but you did say you are attached.

In most instances you can remove the aggressive fish and put it in a quarantine tank, add the new fish and maybe change the aquascape before introducing the agressive fish back in. He will not feel territorial because it will feel like a new place.

I had to do this with my freshwater puffers and it worked just fine.

 

[OhNoNemo]

Amber ,you are right ,,that method can and does work sometimes ...there is also the "mirror trick" ......but the bottom line is the tank is to small to be home to one of ,if not the most aggressive type of tangs there is.....the purple tang

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome to the site! Purple tangs are so gorgeous, it's too bad they are such bullies. Their aggression is second only to sohal tangs, IMO. They really can be tough to adapt to community tanks sometimes, and your tank is unfortunately too small for it.