Clown fish rescue!

[Ladykrup]

Some other fish is picking on my tomatoe clown. We previously had a murder in our tank. The fish store gave me a little box with mesh, a breeding thing, I believe, to put the fish in that was being harassed. Couldn't catch the other fish and he succumbed to his wounds. Vowed I wouldn't let it happen again and this morning I caught the little clown and put him in the box. His top fin is missing and the tail is a bit shredded. My question is, what do I do now? Can he just live in the little box (he wants out!)? I put a couple of small rocks in there for him. After a while will the other fish forget his aggression? Thanks

 

[Smonkey15]

fish wont necessarily forget their aggression. how long have you had the clown? you can use those little boxes when you first get a fish because sometimes the aggression will die down after a couple weeks after they get used to eachother. you can also move the rocks around, and whatever else you have in there, so that everyone loses their territory and have to start over establishing themselves. this would give all your fish the ability to find new areas and possibly live in peace. but dont use the box for that, just move everything around and let everybody in. hth
steve

 

[NightSpirit]

Also you can try a trick I tried with my oscar.

I put some new fish in my FW tank and my oscar was
picking on them, so I took the oscar out and put
him in a bowl (couldn't really change the landscape
around). After about 20 min I put him back in the
tank and he was so confused he forgot about the other
fish, and I don't know the reasoning but at least the oscar
ignores the new fish now.

 

[Ladykrup]

We've only had the clown since last Sunday, only a few days. Moving the rocks around seems like a very clever idea! I was thinking he could stay in the box a few days, maybe he would heal. I don't see any bites on him but the top fins are completely gone so he must have had some trauma. I'll try moving the rocks. Thanks.

 

[steve-s]

What other fish are housed with the tomato?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Ladykrup]

Our other fish are as follows: one lunar wrasse, one Cuban hogfish, one flamed back angel, one yellow tang (the suspected aggressor), one pink bar goby, and one chocolate chip star. The lunar wrasse murdered our fairy basslet. For now, the little clown is in the box. I know he can't live in the box, but he will remain there for a day or two until I decide what to do. The idea about moving the rocks around seems logical. I may do that this weekend and let him out of jail!

Our guy at the fish store was involved in the selection of all the fish. I guess a certain amount of aggression just can't be prevented. Seems like the smaller fish get it, in my limited experience!

 

[steve-s]

I would actually question the choices of your LFS if these are the fish being recommended for a 55 gal tank. When reading your profile it also states the tank is only six weeks old?

For the speed of additions and aggressive types of fish, I'm actually a little suprised you have not lost more fish. To be honest, you have far too many large growing active fish for that size tank (sorry). It is not suprising that the wrasse killed the royal gramma. It will not be long before it also attacks the hogfish (also a wrasse) and especially the bar/dragon goby. Large wrasses (especially from the thalassoma species) usually kill smaller fish on sight when newly introduced. Wrasses can be tolerant of each other in larger systems but will most often fight in smaller tanks and especially when in cramped spaces due to other fish.

You need to scale back the amount and types of fish in your tank to keep the animals successfully. The tang, lunare and hogfish should not be in that size tank. They would all be much better off in a 90 gal or larger and only one at that. If you wish to keep all three f these fish I would recommend no less than a 150 gal tank.

If you remove the larger species, keep the angel, goby and clown; you would still have space for one or two smaller growing species to complete the tank. Keep in mind that when aquiring animals, you need to choose them with their maximum adult size in mind not the size at the time of purchase. The recommended guideline is 1" of fish for every 5 gal of tank not including the tail. So for a 55 gal tank that's 11" of fish give or take. This is only a guideline and not a factual rule but in this case it strongly applies. 6" lunare, 6" spotted hog, 6" yellow tang, 2" flameback, 3" bar goby, 2-3" tomato clown. As you can see it adds up quickly...

Cheers
Steve

 

[Ladykrup]

We have had our tank since the beginning of July, so that would be almost five months. There has been considerable fish loss but mainly at the beginning. Some could have been from aggression but I just didn't know what to look for (until I was a witness to a murder!) Clown was dead this morning. This is the second clown that has died. Possibly some of the other fish were abused as well and I just didn't realize it, who knows. Possibly the tank was too new.

How quickly do these fish grow? They are all pretty small, 1 1/2" to 2" at the most. I will speak with the fish guy today about the size issue. In the beginning the 55 gal. seemed so big! Now it seems tiny.

 

[steve-s]

Having a good LFS at hand can be a good aid but I hope you will stop relying on this particular one. He does not seemed concerned or knowledgable about the types and interaction of the animal choices. My guess is when he talk's to you he will asure you that the fish will never get that large and should be just fine. I would suggest getting a few good <<books>> that will help you make more informed decisions.
would be a good start as well as bouncing your idea's off the great folks here at AA.

Many fish types will grow to ½ their adult size in the first year alone. As they get older this will slow but you should be prepared to provide them an environemnt based on their adult sizes or avoid the larger ones and stick to smaller growing species.

in the beginning the 55 gal. seemed so big! Now it seems tiny.

Too true... :?

Cheers
Steve