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FAQs about Purple Tangs 3
Related Articles: Purple Tangs, Zebrasoma
Tangs, Yellow Tangs
Related FAQs: Purple Tangs 1, Purple
Tangs 2, Identification,
Behavior, Compatibility,
Selection, Systems,
Feeding, Disease,
Reproduction, Yellow Tangs, Striped
Sailfin Tangs, Zebrasoma
Tangs, Zebrasoma Identification,
Zebrasoma Behavior,
Zebrasoma Compatibility,
Zebrasoma Selection,
Zebrasoma Systems,
Zebrasoma Feeding, Zebrasoma Disease,
Zebrasoma Reproduction,
Surgeons In
General, Tang ID, Selection,
Tang Behavior,
Compatibility,
Systems, Feeding,
Disease,
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Author, author! 3/31/07
Hi Bob, I was wondering if you wrote "Functional and Gorgeous: Purple Tangs,
Zebrasoma xanthurum" or if you could tell me who did? I need to know because I'm
doing a research project on Purple Tangs.
<I am the author of this piece. Bob Fenner>
Purple Tang Question 11/24/05
Last week I came home from work only to find my prize purple tang stuck on a
power head.
<Something going on...>
I immediately dislodged him and he scurried behind my rockwork, About three days
later he finally came out of hiding but I noted a white ring on the base of his
body where he had been attached to the powerhead. Over the last week he appeared
fine, resumed eating and swimming all over the tank. Today I noted that his
bottom fin and a small portion of his body has turned completely white. I'm not
sure what's going on. His behavior has not changed and his appetite is good. I
fed him some garlic soaked Spirulina flake. Is there anything else I should be
doing? Thanks, Bill
<Likely so. Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/z_xanthurum.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Purple tang
I have read through your faq's on purple tangs and I found one that relates to my problem, but I have a few other questions. I recently moved my purple tang from qt to my 55 gallon. His other tankmates were a blue damsel, lemon damsel, yellowtail blue damsel and a gold striped maroon clown. My question is that today I noticed my clown on the bottom of the tank with all of his fins chewed badly. From what I have read, it was probably the tang. My question is that I have the clown in the qt tank now so that his fins can heal but will I ever be able to reintroduce him into the tank or will he just get beat up again?
<In this size, shape, kind system, very likely it will never get along with this Tang>
Also, would adding an anemone help him when I add him back in? The 55 is soon to be a 135 gallon in a few months, so would I have a better chance of just keeping the clown in qt until the move?
Thanks for all of you help, Deanna
<I would wait on all till you have the larger system... then place the tang in a floating colander of size (plastic, for draining pasta normally) and keep it there, separated from the Clown for a week or so... and read re anemones...:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm
Much to understand, go wrong... Bob Fenner>
Purple Tang
<Hi Mike>
I was wondering if you have ever come across a Purple Tang that swims very
aggressively especially when the lights dim. I just recently added a Foxface to
my tank (could that be the issue ). The tang will swim very aggressively from
the top of the tank and dive toward a clam then he swims backwards the entire
length of the tank. the fish eats well and the water parameters are fine. He has
no other symptoms that can be seen only this erratic behavior.<Sounds like the
tang is just establishing that he is the head cheese. James (Salty
Dog).>Thanks...Mike
Adding a new fish with a purple tang
Hi, guys...<Hi Ralph, MacL here with you today.> I have to make a
difficult stocking decision, and am compelled to go to the "Go-To" guys
again; you've been extremely helpful in the past, which I deeply
appreciate. <Very kind of you to say.> You guys are a wonderful
resource. At the risk of trying your patience, I think it's necessary
to first give you a bit of background information: <Never the background
stuff helps.>
I have a one-year old 140 gallon reef tank, in which I've had some
problems off and on (virtually no problems in my previous tank, a
65-gallon, but that's another story). I have finally gotten rid of a
nasty hair algae problem, and my corals are now doing very well (i.e.,
Xenia, Scolymia, trumpet, fingers and mushrooms, cup, polyps, hammer,
even a recently-added elegance). <Very nice from the picture.> Water
temp is held constant by a chiller and heater, at 76-77, and the
EuroReef skimmer and frequent water changes, sand vacuuming, etc are
keeping the water quality quite good. In short, the inhabitants are
happy now. <Great.>
One strange problem I had about 4-5 months ago was that something
occurred that resulted in the death of most of my fish. I researched
this extensively (including asking you guys, among other fish experts),
but nobody could come up with a reason for this tragedy. Victims
included a royal Gramma, percula clown, Kole tang and yellow Midas goby,
each of which had been happy for over a year (including the prior tank
from which they came). These fish died within three weeks of each
other. The only survivors (besides the corals) were a large purple tang
and three small sapphire Chromis, and a shrimp and purple clam. <Did you
ever find out why? Have even a clue? Was it some type of major
fluctuation? Some type of parasite? Some type of poisoning?> The only
coral to be affected was the Xenia, which almost died off entirely, but
has come back very strong, and is thriving now. <Xenia are sensitive to
ph as I recall.>
Since then, I have added only a few corals, crabs, starfish and snails
-- and a couple of gobies (one of which is a mandarin...OK, I know,
these are very hard to keep), all to help out with the hair algae. All
of these critters have been doing well for the past 4-5 months (though
the Mandarin is still fairly recent). <Great, as long as the mandarin
has a large selection of pods he will do fine and since you have such a
huge amount of live rock in there that should be plentiful.>
Sorry for that long preamble; just wanted to get you most of the
relevant facts. Now, here are my questions:
Is it too early to begin to think about adding a couple of fish? Is it
likely that the water quality is sufficiently acceptable (still don't
know what killed those fish 4-5 months ago)? <I would think you could
add another fish easily. The big thing is to quarantine if you can and
to watch the new fish closely to make sure that if it was something like
a parasite it won't attack him. Often, and let me make sure and say this
is in MY experience, I have seen fish in a tank get ich, recover and the
ich be gone yet basically the fish have developed an immunity to the ich
unless they get stressed. But new fish will not have that immunity and
will end up with a big problem. That is not to say that is what happened
before but just to guide you in what to look for.>
If I added a true percula, would the purple tang go after him? <Size and
body shape wise the tang should not bother him however if the tang has
been by himself he has likely become very territorial and that could be
a big problem. You may need to do some rearranging to get it to work.
Often the rearranging end the territorial problem.>
Would it be advisable to add an anemone, perhaps a rose anemone, at the
same time to provide the percula (or other clown) with a hiding place in
case the tang chases him around? <If you have the right lighting the
anemone might be a possibility but you need to make sure your fish will
work with that particular type of anemone. My percula's didn't like
bubble tips.>
Would there be other fish that the purple tang (who's pretty much had
the entire tank to himself) would be less likely to beat up on? He has
been fairly aggressive in the past. <Honestly no, if he's territorial,
he is territorial and the only way to help with that is to rearrange
when you add another fish. And PLEASE NOTE, I ONLY SAY THIS BECAUSE YOU
HAVE A FAIRLY LARGE TANK, sometimes it works to add two fish at once so
the one doesn't take the total beating.>
Or should I hold off on adding any fish for another month or two? <For
health's sake you might want to wait but the territoriality won't change
in that time.>
Any other suggestions?
Thanks much, guys, and have a wonderful Holiday Season. <Merry
Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukah and any other holiday out there.
MacL>
Best,
Ralph (Block)
Hi, guys...<Hi Ralph, MacL here with you. Long letter in reply to your
first one to come shortly. But thanks for they picture they always
help.> just sent you a long letter asking about stocking, involving the
purple tang etc. I realized that you might get a better perspective
with a picture, which I have attached. Thanks again!
Best,
Ralph (Block) |
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Purple tang with fading belly
Hi Crew,<Hi Dan, MacL here with you tonight>
How's everybody in the WWM world? <Can't speak for everyone but I'm beat, its
been a long day lol> I have a purple tang 3.5 inches in my 50G with my 1 yr
old. blackback butterfly getting ready for release in my 8x2x2 has been running
now for almost 3 months! <Very nice sized tank, I am envious> still empty! and
YES! I cannot wait to start stocking woohooo! I bought this guy 6 weeks ago, 4
weeks in quarantine. <Fantastic> It was on sale for AU$99 normal price is $150
good deal?. <Honestly I am not familiar with Aussie prices but from what I
understand that's about par> I put sheets of Nori twice a day and he is eating
well. Angel formula, Bloodworms, Marine greens, Fresh mussels once a week.
<Great, especially with the Nori, they are a grazing fish and they need their
greens.> There is good amount of live rocks sorry I lost track of how much I
have. Question, He is deeply purpled except for the belly underneath it looks
faded. Is this normal? <Its something seen on a lot of tangs. I can tell you
that mine are a bright purple over all, including on their stomach. One thing I
can recommend is that you might want to add some vitamins, like Selcon or Zoë or
something similar.> or is it nutritional deficiency. <I can't imagine it would
be with the Nori you are feeing it> It cant be the water, everything was tested
fine. <Fine is hard to define. One thing tangs do need is a lot of oxygenation
in their tank, lots of oxygen exchange.> I do weekly 5% water change. I am
planning on releasing the butterfly first settle in for two weeks I am putting 7
butterflies in total. <Adding all those butterflies into a tank might be a
problem unless they are schooling butterflies, but I'm sure you have done your
research on that> All hardy picks from Bob's list then I will place the purple
last. <Probably good idea because they tend to be aggressive> Thank you again
for your time. Wish you all the best!!! <So kind of you Dan, please let us know
how it goes!>
Regards Dan
One Eyed Wonder! (Purple Tang With A Missing Eye)
Hi!
<Hey there! Scott F. with you tonight!>
I have a few concerns with my reef aquarium that I hope you can help
me with. I'm addressing everything I'm not sure about here at once, so I hope
it's not too long!!!
<I've got a large Thai Iced Tea, so no problem...>
The first is about my Purple Tang. It lost one of it's eyes to injury 5 days ago
(eye completely gone leaving empty socket), and as soon as one of it's tank
mates, a Lunar Wrasse, realized it was injured, it started harassing, sometimes
attacking the Tang.
<An unfortunate, but common behavior>
This Wrasse has killed weakened tank-mates before and has proven itself to be a
pest in general (although very entertaining with lots of personality any other
time! Sad to see it go.... had it for 2 years), so the next day it had to be
caught & taken back to the shop, which was not an easy task and involved
dismantling half of the reef to catch!
<never a fun thing to do, but sometimes necessary under such
circumstances>
Needless to say, this was very stressful for the injured Tang. But it was the
only way to salvage it that I could think of. It is now starting to
recover and trying to finding it's way around etc.
<That's nice to hear>
It was showing a bit of a pop-eye in the one remaining after being beaten
around, but this has now been gone for 2 days.
<Usually, this condition will clear up on its own, given nice clean water
conditions. Or, you can utilize Epsom salts to help reduce the swelling>
The problem I have now, is that it does not seem to be able to find the food I
put in the tank, and when it does see some, misses when it goes to catch it. I
feed 'Sea Veggies', frozen shrimp with greens, and 'spectrum' pellets when in a
rush. I've tried tearing up lettuce and taking it down to the Tang with tongs,
but it is too afraid to approach (and I don't think it likes lettuce much
anyway...).
<Lettuce and "terrestrial" greens are really not good choices for
tangs, IMO.>
Do you have any feeding suggestions I could try?
<Get some of my favorite macroalgae, Gracilaria parvispora, AKA
"Ogo" or "Tang Heaven". You can order this awesome algae
directly from Indo Pacific Sea Farms on line>
I have been dosing with 'Melafix' (a eucalyptus antibacterial) to avoid
infection. All seems good so far, but I am wondering how long the eye should
take to heal over, and what it will actually look like when it does. That is,
will it just have a membrane-like growth over the cavity or should the scales
join up?
<Hard to say, really. Usually, there is membrane over the injury, as opposed
to scales. It probably depends upon where the injury occurred>
I'd like to know what to expect so I know when it is completely healed. This
Tang often had little pieces nipped out of it's fins, but they have always grown
back within a week, and I think it was in good health before it's injury. I hope
I am right!
<If it was in good shape before the injury, odds are that it can make a
reasonably good recovery>
FYI- tank is 4 ft, has been running for about 3 years, with corals ( I really
don't know which ones, but both hard and soft) for 2 years. I have an Aquaclear
500 filter and Cosmo 2000 powerhead (no skimmer, I change 25% fortnightly using
RO topups), 2 white & 2 actinic blue globes for lighting. Water parameters
all normal, Ca- 425 ppm, pH- 8.1, Alkalinity- 3.5, Ammonia, Nitrites &
Nitrates zero (although probably more right now since stirring up the substrate
while moving the rocks around, I haven't checked since! I know, I am bad... will
change water in 2days anyway), Phosphate- 2ppm, am still working on this, using SeaChem
PhosGuard.
<Don't forget quality source water, aggressive skimming, and regular use of
activated carbon!>
Remaining tankmates are only 1 Pacific Blue Tang and a Percula Clown, plus
various snails/ little crabs. I know there is a Pistol Shrimp, and judging by
all the noise I think there is a Mantis in there also, which I am trying to
catch. I am not sure how to tell the difference between mantis clicks &
pistol clicks though.
<Not sure myself!>
I have seen the pistol's claws once so I know what that one is, but never seen
the other/s (there may be many others all clicking at once- I really don't
know!) in all the years I have been hearing it! Plus, I have only ever 'lost'
one damsel over a year ago, so that makes me a bit suspicious, too. They live at
opposite ends of the reef and one will only click once or twice at a time, the
other/s will click up to 6 times in short succession. Is there any way to
identify without seeing?
<Not to my knowledge...>
I'm trying to catch them using a water bottle with a tube in the end & bait
inside the bottle, since one of them broke the trap I bought previously...
<Smart little buggers, huh?>
Am getting a little nervous having them around my disabled fish now! Any baiting
ideas you have would be much appreciated.
<Check out this link:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/arthropoda/stomatopods/mantisshrimp.htm >
Anyway, that's it! Apologies for writing you a novel to get through! Thanks very
much for taking the time to read, and I really appreciate any help you can give
me.
Thanks again!!!
Bye! Emma
<My pleasure, Emma! I may not have been able to give you the exact answers to
your questions, but I hope I was able to get you headed in the right direction.
Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>
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