Fish Question

Luke.

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Location
Kitchener
Setting up a 120 ,

I have a 4” mimic tang and wondering what other tang would be a good companion (they would only be the 2 biggest fish in the tank)

As leaning hard towards a purple tang , thoughts ?

Thanks :)
 

cica

New Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2014
Location
Scarborough, Ontario
I have a 5-6" sailfin, a similar size blue and a 3" mimic that just started to change his colors to adult colors. So far they are all ok together.
 

BOSS frags

New Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Location
Strathroy
Something with a different body shape is your best bet, Purple would probably be ok but every fish has a different personality and Purples can be nasty.... Yellow or Sailfin would likely be a safer bet.... but never a guarantee they wont fight.

I introduced a Purple, Blonde Naso and Sailfin into a 220g that already had a Yellow as the only tang for 3+ years

The Yellow and Purple went at it straight away and wouldn't stop.... everything I read said that it likely wouldn't stop until 1 was dead.

tried putting mirrors all over the tank. It distracted them for a few seconds at a time, lights went out with them still fighting. I decided to leave lights out for 72hrs and hope for the best. When it was time to turn the lights back on I thought for sure 1 would be dead, but to my surprise.... there they were, swimming together just grazing away!!
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Location
cambridge
Get a tang with a different shape is safest bet. If you get tangs the same shape. I find putting a big net or two between the fish keeps them away from each other. I have left the nets in for 4 days in the past. Mirrors can make the aggressive fish even more mad imo. Keep their bellies full. I have a 120g with four tangs and yellow and purple are con species with very little aggression towards each other.
 

Luke.

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Location
Kitchener
I could be wrong but a mimic tang looks like an angle fish? So wouldn’t a purple tang have a different look?
 

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
When you say mimic tang are you talking about Acanthurus pyroferus?

If so I would be hesitant to mix with other Acanthurus family. You might be able to get away with adding an orange shoulder as they graze different types of food but that would be hard to say. Something from the Zebrasoma family like a purple, Gemmatum Tang or sailfin. One of the Naso family would work but they get to big for my liking. Something from the family Ctenochaetus would be a good bet this is the option I take. As they also are powerhouse cleaners constantly grazing. Like a yellow eye(can't go wrong with this one), Bristletooth Tomini Tang or Chevron Tang.
I would factor in body shape and color and try to keep these as different as possible. If you were to try to mix something like a Achilles Tang, power blue/brown with the mimic. I think you would have a mma match till one or both are dead. If you do add one of the others you can always go for something way bigger then the mimic. Most cases the smaller fish will give in. But sometimes since it was already established out of the two it will keep fighting. So that doesn't always work.
 
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