temp. removal of tang

[grozier]

Everytime I add a fish my Scopas Tang likes to follow it around and act like the king turning black sometimes and other times he just don't care about them. I just added a emporer angel about a 1" or so in lenght and he keeps bothering him, but the angel could care less and keeps doing whatever it was doing. Could I remove the Tang for a short time from the tank and reintroduce him to the tank like he's a new tank member? I tried rearranging the rock , but that didn't do much.
I added a purple fire fish and he didn't really mind it so much, of course the body is a different shape though.
He's not whipping his tail at him he just swims up to him and turns black. I don't think it is stressing the angel out.

 

[wontonflip]

Sure; sort of like a time-out.

But you do realize that in such a small tank, that scopas will continue to be aggressive right? Even if it's still small. And that emperor will also need a much larger tank as well.

 

[FishyReef]

You can also hang a mirror on the side of the tank to distract the tang for a few days while he gets used to the newcomer or re-arrange the rocks.

In general, its best to add the more peaceful fish first and more aggressive fish last.

You might already know this, but I also want to point out that the emperor angel is eventually going to need at least a 6ft long tank when it becomes an adult (live aquaria recommends a 220 gallon minimum tank size for them) - they are super active fish and will pace in even the largest tanks. The scopas tang will also need a 6ft tank but doesn't need quite as deep of a tank and will do okay in a 125g minimum. He might be more aggressive with your new additions due to the size of your tank. Just something to keep in mind!

 

[grozier]

I have them both in a 125g. tank now. Havent updated my signature yet. To put one in time out how long would he need to be in the dunce seat. The angel will just swim up in his face like he's not even there.

 

[Northstar24]

I think your aggression will just move from one fish to another, even a 125 is too small for an Emperor Angel - and they can be quite mean - this trait is usually made worse when a fish is housed in an environment that is too small

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Emperor Angelfish

 

[grozier]

The angel its not the problem. the tang isThe one who is being a baby.

 

[grozier]

as far as size goes it dependes on what book you read or what site says what. Will the fish get that big in a aquarium or live that long to see that size? If it gets to big i'm sure I could give it away to someone who has a large enough tank to house a 1'+ sized fish. Also you made reference to live aquaria stats which say 220min. but if you read down it says 125, so which is it?

 

[FishyReef]

On their facebook page, Live Aquaria admitted to mistakenly listing the emperor angel as 125, they just haven't fixed it in both places yet.

As for a time out, honestly, if the angel isn't bothered then I wouldn't worry about trying to remove the tang, they'll work it out. If you do add another fish who gets the same treatment by the tang and seems stressed out by it, then I'd try the mirror trick first - easier and less stressful for the tang than trying to remove it!

And thanks for updating your sig - how fun to have an upgrade :)

 

[Northstar24]

The angel its not the problem. the tang isThe one who is being a baby.

What I meant was that as the angel grows, I think you'll find him to be the bully of the tank, and being in a tank that is too small will make that behavior worse. I originally looked into several large angels when getting into the hobby, and pretty much everything I read said 200+ gallons, mostly because they get large and aggressive

 

[grozier]

I get you now. let's hope that isn't the case since he will have been in there a long time being the little guy. If the guy gets aggressive then I'm sure somebody would want a free emporer