Multi politics

[Cascade]

Hi there,
I just brought home 4 multies last night from the LFS. Too small to have any idea what the M/F ratio is. This morning that there has been a lot of fighting and jockeying for position (and the most prized shells, too, I guess!). Two of the multis have been doing mouth-to-mouth combat for most of the morning, but now the smaller one is hiding in the rocks and gets chased every time he makes a move toward the shells. Is this my first clue that I ended up with too many males, and should I get the ostracized multi out of there before he gets hurt? Or will things eventually settle down once they have figured out which shell(s) they want to claim?
Thanks!

[Lab_Rat]

I give them a chance to work it out, but if the subdominant gets too beat up or starts hanging at the top away from all shells I remove them. So far I've only had to remove one male though it looks like I'll have to remove another tonight (one was hanging at the top looking beat up this morning). How big is your tank? Mine are in a 15g so there is really only enough territory for one male.

[Cascade]

Thanks Lab Rat. They are in a 75G, so there should be plenty of room and plenty of shells for everyone to get along. The only other fish in there right now [temporarily] are a couple of mollies that graciously kept the tank cycled for me while I waited to get the multies. More Tangs to come soon. I will keep an eye on them, thanks for the advice!

[Lab_Rat]

You should have plenty of room then. If needed, throw more shells in all throughout the tank. The dominant male likely won't claim more than a 12" long area to call his own. Good luck with them, they're great little fish.