6 line wrasse aggression problem :(

[hilary22677]

hey everyone

i have an established reef aquarium, 36 gallon bowfront, with only a couple fish, a 6-line wrasse, and a yellow-tail damsel

i used to have a maroon clown in the tank, but i moved him into another tank. so, i was wanting to replace my maroon clown with two little baby tank raised ocellaris clowns, and so i did tonight.

i just introduced them into the tank with the lights out. not even 2 minutes of them being in the tank my 6 line wrasse is nipping at them HARD! he got one pretty good i think, he is swimming upside down now :sad2:

i'm guessing i should have researched compatibility more, but i figured they'd be fine since i never figured the wrasse would act like this!

on the same note ive actually cut back ALOT on feeding lately due to a minor algae problem, and i read wrasses can be more aggressive if not fed in awhile, could that be why he's picking on my fish? or am i gonna have to rescue the clowns and move them to a different tank?

right now these clowns seem only safe in the dark

 

[SushiGirl]

I would move them. I've heard of very few 6-lines that weren't bullies, and those were usually added to a tank last or were with much larger/more aggressive fish. Being hungry wouldn't make it any nicer either!

 

[hilary22677]

yeah i just did a bunch of new reading about 6 lines, never heard about them being this aggressive til now. i originally got him for a bristleworm problem, and it took care of it...

im just debating on of i should just get rid of the 6 line or just move the clowns? from what i've read it looks like i'm not gonna be able to put anything with him now that he's so well established.

i'll try to move the clowns tomorrow. fish are so hard to catch without moving rocks out the tank

i just wanna avoid these clowns getting killed!

 

[SushiGirl]

Well, since the 6-line is pretty hungry, try a fish trap.
http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-aquarium-tools/32.asp

 

[hilary22677]

thanks! i'm gonna construct a 2 liter bottle trap tomorrow. i've been there and never had much luck, but since he's hungry it should hopefully work out fine! i just hope he doesn't swim out if he swims in!

if not i'll just have to rescue the clowns while they're sleeping

 

[hilary22677]

OK! i'm going to catch this wrasse tonight, i have to. gonna throw him in with the damsels and just let it be. got the trap set up right now

worst case scenario, i fail, and i can catch the clowns

but i don't want to stress these clowns and re-acclimate them to another tank, they've been through enough stress tonight!

i can easily catch them and QT them in a trap within the tank until i get the wrasse out. would that be ok to do or will being trapped cause them to stress out if they're in there for too long? i really need an answer to that if anyone's awake right now, i know it's late lol

 

[MCCOOL]

Moving them into a seperate container in the same tank won't be too stressful for them, try catching them with a cup instead of a net if possible.

 

[hilary22677]

thanks a lot man! i caught em with a fish bowl, i had to cut out my net and rubber band it to the top but i got them caught in it. the fish trap would be too small to keep them in

think they should be cool in this bowl for awhile? i plan on catching the wrasse but if all else fails i have nano tank to move them into.

thanks guys

 

[60G]

i had a 6 line in my 60 gallon reef and i added a flame angel and mCcoskers wrasse and he tried to kill them both so i had to put him in a 24 gallon cube.