Tang Behaviour

They are fighting another name for tangs is surgeon fish. On their tail their is this white spur it's about as sharp as a scalpel and that's what they are hitting each other with. I would get rid of at least two of them you don't have enough tank for them all. They are very terrtorial and need lots of swimming space. I know this isn't what you want to hear but, it's pretty much a case of you getting rid of two of them or they will the hard way.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings
p.s. not sure about the sailfin , I know that it's ok for example to keep a hippo and a yellow or scopas in the same tank because they are from different families.

Hate to say this reefer but, give it time. How big are you're tangs? As they get bigger so will the fight. I'd really keep a close eye on this lots of time fish will go down hill pretty fast. Stress in tangs will very often trigger an ich out break ect to. I really do wish you the best of luck. The only way I could think of making this situation tenable is to put in a tank divider.
Good luck.

You are SERIOUSLY asking for trouble. I would take maxilaria's advice and get rid of two of the tangs. If not then you will loose two to killing themselves and a destroyed third. If you can tell they are fighting why let it persist? That is being VERY irresponsible to let 3 fish fight just because you like them too much to give them up! If you are not going to take our advice, why ask the question? I'm not going to give you any more advice since you won't take it anyway and I'm just wasting my time. For your reference, one should NEVER house more than 1 Tang in the same genus in the same tank. If you do you will end up with one Tang or less due to the fighting which will cause the onset of ich. I can't believe this!

MonoSebaelover said:

For your reference, one should NEVER house more than 1 Tang in the same genus in the same tank.

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That's not 100% correct. I've housed a 5" Scopas and 6" Yellow Tang in my 200gal. tank for quite a long time. They do, every once in a great while, "fight" for dominance, but it's just as normal as 2 Damsels fighting for dominance.

If you cant house 2 Tangs, of the same genus, in the same tank, then why do we see thriving, VERY healthy tanks that have 5, 6 or even 10 Tangs in it? These are schooling fish. I've been diving before, and have seen a school of 100+ tangs, together. Just because they "fight" every once in a while, to show dominance, doesnt mean that he's hurting his fish.

The correct response would be......you shouldnt house more than 1 Tang in a tank, that is not of adequate room, meaning something like a 125gal. tank. If you get up to a tank size....say, 180gal+, you can definately house more than 1 Tang together and they'll be perfectly fine.

There are always exceptions to the rule. Your fish happened to be an exception. But putting 3 Zebrasoma Tangs especially when one of them is the highly aggressive Purple Tang in a 150g is an extremely bad idea. Especially when there are already signs they are fighting and none of them are adult yet. Just wait till they get to adult size with adult spines, etc. Thats just asking for 2 dead fish. I broke the rules awhile back with having more than 1-2 Triggers in a tank (I actually had 6-7 juvies in a 209g of mixed species). I had 2 Queen Triggs, 2 Nigers, a Clown, and a Huma Rectangle and when the Queens hit 7 inches (which they accomplished in 1 year-going from 1 inch juvies) they started picking on the other fish and despite the fact they are my 2nd most favorite fish in the world (1st is Clown Trigger) I decided to sell them to a fish store. I didn't want to risk the health of the rest of my fish to keep 2 fish that would destroy the rest. I guess it is just a responsible decision. One that should be made if the fishes health and well being are at stake. JMHO!

On another note entirly, I noticed you listed Teddy bear crab and that you will be having corals soon. I dont know if you bought the crab or if he was just a live rock stow away. But I recently had one as a stow away and I found it really hard to get any info in him on-line then I asked as two LFS' and both told me to get rid as I was setting up my reef. One told me how he had one that munched £50 worth of Clam overnight!
Just thought Id let you know.
They are easy enough to catch.

MonoSebaelover said:

There are always exceptions to the rule. Your fish happened to be an exception.

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I'm not, by any means, an exception to the rule. There are MANY tanks that are keeping more than one Tang (of the same genus) and everything is perfect. I've personally seen quite a few tanks, where people are keeping 5+ tangs, of the same genus together, without any problems at all. Their "tail smacking" behavior is fighting, yes, but it's nothing that doesnt occur in the wild, since these fish are schooling fish. Like with any fish, you have to make sure you're being a responsible fish keeper, and give these fish the room they need, if you're going to keep more than 1 per tank.

Notice, I said..."you shouldnt house more than 1 Tang in a tank, that is not of adequate room".

I never said "yeah, it's ok to house one or more tangs in a 150gal. tank"