What fish, coral, and inverts can live with the Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). Tank mate compatibility broken into good / caution / avoid buckets - tank size minimum: 75 gallons minimum.
✓ Compatible (good tank mates)
These species coexist well with the Yellow Tang in an appropriately-sized tank.
✓
Ocellaris Clownfish- Different niche, peaceful
✓
Royal Gramma- Different niche, hides in rockwork
✓
Banggai Cardinalfish- Slow + peaceful
✓
Six-Line Wrasse- Different niche, ich-eater
✓
Firefish Goby- Different niche
✓
Pajama Cardinalfish- Peaceful schooler
✓
Mandarin Goby- Once tank has copepod population
✓
Most reef-safe wrasses- Halichoeres, Cirrhilabrus
⚠ Caution (compatible with management)
Workable pairings if the tank is large enough or the introduction is staged correctly.
⚠
Other tangs- Conspecific aggression - same body shape triggers fights. Add multiple tangs at once with different body shapes (e.g. yellow + kole + powder blue) and 100+ gal
⚠
Angelfish- Some angelfish nip coral; aggression usually one-directional
⚠
Triggerfish- Becomes aggressive at adult size
⚠
Foxface- Both are herbivores - food competition
✕ Avoid (incompatible tank mates)
Don't combine these with the Yellow Tang. Outcome is usually death of one species or chronic stress.
✕
Another Yellow Tang- Conspecific aggression to death in <100g tank
✕
Lionfish- Predator + venom risk
✕
Large groupers- Predator
✕
Eels (most species)- Predator
Stocking notes
Yellow tangs are semi-aggressive toward other surgeonfish, peaceful toward most other reef inhabitants. Add the tang LAST to a stocked tank - introducing established tank mates first prevents the tang from establishing dominance. Tangs need open swimming space, so factor 75+ gallons of footprint.