Wanted - SW Fish Psychiatrist

[emceeee]

I know one can't "train" fish to behave the way one would like, but I would like to know if there's a way to reduce the "chasing" that goes on. There's no physical contact, but Matthew, my False Percula, has become aggressive with the Chromi (is that the plural or Chromis?), and Madonna, the largest of the Chromi is chasing Manny and Mo, the other two. The other three fish - a Blenny, a Goby and a Cardinal are all left alone by the others.

I have read all the "discussions" about how often to feed and the two LFS I frequent come down on different sides of the issue. I have decided that feeding more frequently, i.e. twice a day versus once (but not more food), may lead to happier fish and less aggression.

Is there anything else I can do, other than making sure tank is not overstocked? (It's not - all the fish are juvvies.) One of the guys at my LFS suggested getting three - four more chromi since they tend to do better in larger numbers. My three chromi are not yet schooling.

Do fish tend to mellow over time with respect to chasing, or does it get worse?

 

[melosu58]

I have two clowns that have chased each other for 8 yrs now. They havent killed each other and it`s not really that bad but they have to stay on oppisite sides of a 6 ft tank. When ever they get close they will chase and nip. I dont think you`ll change them but if it gets too bad someone will need to go. JMO

 

[fijiwigi]

More hiding places maybe add some rock???

 

[BucJason]

Depends on the species of fish you are dealing with .

I agree with fiji, maybe add some more rock ...

 

[Tank2379]

Or you could try Re-Aquascaping your Tank I hear you can minimize the territory of your fish. He could just be in a territorial state

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I'm going to go against your LFS advice for sure... don't add more fish. You've got a clown, 3 chromis, a cardinal, a goby, and a blenny in a 50g. Personally, I think you're pretty close to what would be a good stopping point. Adding 4 more fish would definitely put you over the top. Whether or not the fish are juveniles or not, the species need swimming room and their "own" space, so just because the fish are small doesn't mean you should cram a bunch in there.

Regarding the clown and the chromis... both clowns and chromis are from the same family (damsels) so it makes sense they're being territorial. It's an example of the "one fish per family rule" (with exceptions!) in action.

With that said though... my false Perc doesn't really care about anything in my 46g tank. And I have 3 blue chromis. And yeah... the chromis chase each other from time to time, but no nipping - just a game of tag now and then. My Bangaii Cardinal will get an attitude from time to time, and go after the chromis, but could care less about the clown. And no one cares about the yellow clown goby. Go figure.

I guess my opinion is that fish will be fish... they do the same thing in the ocean, but have a bigger tank there to chase in! As long as no physical harm is being done, I'd just watch and wait.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Wow...I've got the exact opposite situation I have a false perc and an O. clown hosting together in the same anemone, and my chromis and yellow tail damsel school together. Perhaps mid-west fish are a bit more laid back than their San Diego counterparts?

Anyways, just wanted to throw my support behind Mr. Nelson's in that adding more fish is probably not the best idea given your current stocking and tank. I also throw my support behind either adding more rock and/or setting up your rock work to create more 'caves' or hiding places. In fact, if you can use the rock in a way that breaks up sightlines across the tank so that one fish cannot always see everyone else, you might see less chasing. I've noticed that a few people can get this effect by placing all of the rock in a sort of horse-shoe type shape with each side having less rock than the middle of the tank...if that makes any sense.

IME, chasing is pretty common but if there is a bigger problem at hand, the bullied fish seem to hang out in areas away from the rock such as the upper areas of the tank and/or behind things like heaters, powerheads, spray bars, etc... I also agree that clownfish are very territorial and as I found out one day, surprisingly bold!
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l162/tommygunnz76/SW Videos/?action=view&current=Default.flv

 

[emceeee]

Thanks very much for all the advice, all you shrinks out there!

Great video!

I may look into adding more rock, reconfiguring my set up, or returning the chromi to the LFS. Everything was fine until they showed up. The Clown is cool with the Blenny, the Goby, and the Cardinal.

 

[Tank2379]

LOL... Video was great!!!!....

 

[Innovator]

Chromis is a Genus of which cannot be pluralized. Dominance is always a problem and common with conspecifics of Chromis, of which will not normally school in aquaria unless large and there is an aggressor (your clown doesn't count). Adding other fish isn't necessarily a bad idea, just not of Chromis, and possibly one that can hold its own. There really are no guarantees just as there is no such thing as a peaceful aquarium. Maybe take bets on who wins the turf war? XD

 

[Tommy Gun]

Yea, I was pretty surprised the first time those clowns attacked my hand. Without the background music, those two guys weren't really that tough after all but I think it is a good example of reality versus the Finding Nemo movie Speaking of the movie though, at the very end, you might be able to see an example of what I was trying to explain about the horse-shoe shaped rock work. To be perfectly honest, I didn't (and still don't) have a choice for doing this in my tank because I have a centered overflow but the point is, unless my fish are out in the open in the middle of the tank, they can't see all of the way across. (FYI - this is also a common 'trick' for those with some of the more aggressive FW fish as well)

Anyways, I apologize if I missed where you may already have said so but what kind of chromis do you have exactly? For the most part, I've almost always had four or more of the blue/green chromis in my tank and they've seemed to be some of the best schooling fish that actually school for what seems like a longer period of time than some other fish might and I admit that I am a bit surprised to hear that you are seeing one chasing the others....assuming that you have the blue/green variety. On the other hand though, some "chromis" are little more than damsels in disguise, which I found out when I bought 7 "blackmouth bicolor chromis" one time. Point being, sometimes the guideline that Kurt Nelson explained gets blurred by loosely used common names and depending on what type of chromis you have, it may turn out to be a good idea to trade some fish for others of a different species. However, if not, I still agree that often times, chasing can be mostly harmless so if you really do not want to part with your current fish, maybe you don't have to.

Just some ideas,
TG

 

[emceeee]

Yes, the chromi are blue-green.

Thanks for the insight. I like the horsehoe shape idea.

 

[emceeee]

Update as of 12-01-08

I had to return the chromis (chromi?) to the LFS. Brought home a chalk bass instead. Right now, everybody is getting along famously!