New flame angel being a bully

[George9]

Hi everyone
About five days ago I added my flame anfel from qt and for a few days all was well. The past couple days, I noticed shell chase my baby butterflyfish around, only occssionally. It looks like the butterfly can hold his own, usually a jab of his spines calms the angel down.

Today though, he has a piece missing from his tail. Im just worried its not going to stop.

I made sure to add the angel last, could it be theyre still just figuring out whos in charge?

thanks

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[BigRedsReefs10]

What size tank?

 

[George9]

they're in a 60 g tank. The angel is closer to full grown, and the butterflyfish is maybe 1-1.25" right now.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

IMHO it sounds as if the angel has claimed the whole tank as it's territory and is establishing dominance. Any chance of trading it in for a smaller angel

 

[George9]

IMHO it sounds as if the angel has claimed the whole tank as it's territory and is establishing dominance. Any chance of trading it in for a smaller angel

I can't really trade it, I got it from blue zoo in January and have been battling flukes with it until now. I could possibly bring it to a local store and maybe they'll let me trade or something.

I'm going to watch them closely today and see what's going on. so far they've been swimming close, and she's not getting ticked. The last couple days it seems she's only aggressive later in the day. might be a coincidence though

 

[54seaweed]

what I would try is putting him back in qt rearrange rocks some than reintroduce
making lots of little hiding places for smaller fish to hide
if its only aggressive later in the day maybe try feeding a little more smaller portions but 2x a day

I have both coral beauty and flame angel both are the most behaved out of all my fish
a second feeding could help curve your aggression issue

 

[George9]

what I would try is putting him back in qt rearrange rocks some than reintroduce
making lots of little hiding places for smaller fish to hide
if its only aggressive later in the day maybe try feeding a little more smaller portions but 2x a day

I have both coral beauty and flame angel both are the most behaved out of all my fish
a second feeding could help curve your aggression issue

Interesting, I'll try the second feeding first, and if it doesn't help I'll try removing the angel, moving rocks, then putting her back.

 

[ezy33]

IMO rearranging the rocks works for FW fish not SW. If you pull a fish I would leave it for two weeks to give it tims to forget. When you reintroduce it do after lights out to a well fed tank. This will give the new fish time to find it's way around during morning twilight. You could try "net the bully" routine where you become the bully by chasing the offending fish with a small net every time it chases the new fish. Good luck!

 

[TheTodd]

I've heard that rearranging the rocks can work for saltwater, but thankfully have never had to. I would give it a try. Angels can be tricky with territory and I think a lot depends on the fish you get and sometimes the tankmates they are in there with. Keep us updated and good luck!

 

[George9]

Do you think there is any possibility they will settle it on their own?

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[Hondatek]

Do you think there is any possibility they will settle it on their own?

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It is possible but battle scars are going to happen if you go that route . As long as it doesn't really start doing damage I would wait it out .

 

[George9]

I'll give her a little more time.

Stupid fish.

 

[George9]

Well she's gotta go. Just saw her picking fights with the clowns now too...not cool. It's a shame because I spent six months trying to save her, it was such a waste of time. I'll probably just give her to a fish store or something

Anyone want her?! Haha

 

[Hondatek]

Angels are very aggressive and territorial . It is making sure every fish in the tank knows who the boss is . I have dealt with major aggression from my emp once it realized it was big enough to take charge . I would suggest another week unless some major damage is done .

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[George9]

It'll be some time before I figure out what to do with her. So hopefully in the mean time things will sort out. I've seen it happen before with my foxface, and they sorted it out. It's just weird how sometimes they will swim right by the angel and she is totally fine, and others she flips out when someone gets too close.

 

[George9]

I forgot to ask, did your angel's aggression sort itself out?

 

[Hondatek]

Yep . It took a long time though . She definitely controls the tangs and elibi . Chasing and grunting is always going to happen in my case . But they don't really go at each other like they used to.

IMO your Angel is just staking his claim of the tank .

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[George9]

that's good! only time will tell then

 

[bettaowner]

Did you add the flame angelfish early on in your stocking?

 

[George9]

no I just added it a week ago. And the aggression has been happening for the past couple days only. I made sure to add her after everyone else to avoid this.