Flame on timeout

[A Canfield]

I posted this on the "reef fish" forum, but wanted to get feedback from this group as well.
Put my first fish in my 55 gallon 3 months ago ......Flame Angel. A couple weeks ago put in the second fish....Ocellaris. Both fish are about the same size....I thought this clown was just very shy...he stays in one corner all the time but on closer watch, I can see that the Flame, in his sneaky way, harrasses the clown. It's not terrible but here is my plan.... Put the Flame in my QT for a couple of weeks to cool his heels while the clown has time to discover the rest of the tank by himself. Hopefully when I reintroduce the Flame he forget all about his past ways.
Do you think it would work?

 

[matttaylor]

It should work, but a better way to curb the aggression is to rearrange the rock work. This will remove any territories that currently exist, and force both fish to find new domains.

Matt

 

[A Canfield]

Moving the rocks would be a major headache.........
Someone else suggested I get another clown as a buddy. That would seem to be the easiest solution........if i could find another one he liked.

BTW.........I'm getting the ten gallon from you today...could you PM your address and I'll call you when I'm heading out.
Thanks

 

[pbetito]

Clowns tend to pick a place in the tank and kind of "hang out there." If you are hoping he will swim gracefully from side to side once acclimated the clown is not that type of monkey . Try adding a wrasse or another fish to the tank possibly as that could change the entire dynamic..... and even if it doesn't, you still have another fish

 

[Justin74]

Im with Matt and the serious pain on this one Out of all that could be on the list for a fully stocked tank he should be last on the list as well as adding fish according to the tanks maturity. Possibly trade him in for that 2nd clown and another fish on your list. Then get another down the road? May prove to be the least stressfull alternative for you both. Just a thought, not a rant

-Justin

 

[MrMikeB]

Adding another fish I think would introduce even more stress and be counterproductive to establishing the peace. Especially another clown. Clowns are rather domineering fish and establish pecking orders through size and aggression - which allows one to grow bigger than the other and become the female.

The key is to allow both fish equal chance at establishing their territories rather than one feeling like he needs to defend his on the newcomer. I would put them in the sump together for awhile (if its large enough), and them reintroduce them to the tank together. There will be some picking while they map out who 'owns' what, but in short time I think they will come to that arrangement and be ok.

 

[A Canfield]

I don't have a sump but do have a 20 gallon QT tank.
I have a damsel in there right now. I usually setup a divider when I QT a new fish so they don't have to deal with the damsel.
Do you think 3 fish in the 20 gallon(with weekly water changes) would be ok?
I'm still thinking of just putting the Flame in there for a few weeks by himself.

 

[MrMikeB]

I would try to put the Flame in there at first in your QT and then reintroduce him after about a week or so, and take it from there. If for some reason things are still an issue, time for plan B.

How close are your water params on the QT to your main system? When moving the fish you might want to drip acclimate them just the same. Good luck!

 

[pbetito]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9614925#post9614925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
Adding another fish I think would introduce even more stress and be counterproductive to establishing the peace.

That is not often the case actually. When I was having trouble with a few fish John at YOURREEF made this suggestion to me and it worked like a charm. It changes the dynamics of the pecking order and the new fish if a tang or rabbitfish would most likely become the "Big Cheese." I used to do a lot of aggression management in my FOWL trigger tanks and there is more than one way to skin a cat. What you should not do however is throw 10 aggressive blue damsels into an already overcrowded tank :eek1: (Right Mike :lol: )

Talk to John, He is knowledgeable and can probably give you better advice than this peanut gallery.

-Paul the Peanuthead

 

[A Canfield]

Thankyou all for the suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems to me there isn't one "best" answer.
There are so many factors..... personality of the fish, avaliabilityof additional tank space(QT or sump), display tank population, and on and on and on..........

So, in my particular case, this is my plan
Plan A
Move the Flame in QT for a few weeks, depending on how the clown acts, I may or maynot give him a buddy at this time.
Plan B
?????????
Does anyone have a VERY small Ocellaris that they would like to part with just in case I need a buddy?