Fish Dilemma

[fernalfer]

Ok as of right now i have a Lemon Peel Mimic Tang and a Starry Blenny. My tang tortured the Blenny for about a week and has now calmed down alot. The Blenny doesn't seem to care one bit almost like he enjoys the chasing. I say this because he plants himself right back in front of the Tang almost asking for it.

Anyways right now i have 2 Occelaris Snowflake clowns, 2 Pajama Cardinalfish, and 1 Firefish in QT. They are all doing great eating and getting along.

Here come my dilemma: Because the Tang was the first in the tank he thinks he owns it all ( I know big mistake on my part) but i love the Tang great fish, very active , and lots of personality.

Should i:

1. Catch the Tang when the other fish in QT are ready to go in and put the new fish in the DT and the Tang in QT for about a month and re-introduce hoping its new to him and the pecking order goes down.

2. Catch the Tang and just give back to the LFS and stock appropiately from here on out according to aggression? (least of my choices loves the tang)

3.Just throw the new fish in with the Tang and Starry Bleeny and hope for the best?

 

[dweber618]

Option 1, bearing in mind if you get new fish in the future that will probably be a problem each time you add fish with the tang. If that is a concern - go with option 2, add the rest of your stock list, then get a new tang last.

 

[ca1ore]

What size tank?

 

[fernalfer]

120 gallon

 

[ca1ore]

You are doing your fish a huge favor with QT. not just for disease, but in getting them eating and better equipped to fend off any initial aggression. If it were me, I'd just put the new fish in and let them work through any aggression. I haven't found tangs to be particularly aggressive outside their species or genus, though they'll be some initial hazing. I've kept a couple of mimics and they're middle of the road with regard to aggression.

You're unlikely to have any issues with the clowns, they are tough little buggers. PJs do a better job of minding their own business than just about any other fish, so they're probably fine too. Never kept fiendish, so cannot say there.

My tanks bigger, but I also have more tangs. I've never pulled any of them when adding new fish.

 

[zooman72]

#'s 1 and 3 are both feasible and reasonable, as long as you can catch the tang, but I would probably go with #3. Adding them all at once (after quarantine is over of course) will probably mitigate some aggressive tendencies, and you can also try a few things - adding near the end of the photoperiod, adding while feeding the tang, using a mirror to distract the tang (I have actually seen this done), using an in-tank acclimation box to "desensitize" the tang to the presence of the new fish, etc.

 

[scooter31707]

you can try an acclimation box or you can try the mirror trick when adding the new fish.