Flasher Wrasse and Clownfish Fighting

[moneymm]

So yesterday evening i added a royal flasher wrasse from my QT to my DT.

it does not seem to be getting along with my clownfish that has been in here for a year.

Is this normal, is there anything i should do?

I had the lights out all evening and night, and ever since they are on they have been at it.

clown is about 2.5" and wrasse 3.25"

 

[username in use]

What are they doing? Is there any physical contact or are they posturing for territory?

 

[moneymm]

What are they doing? Is there any physical contact or are they posturing for territory?

nipping at each other, chasing each other around. i think i even saw the clownfish get a peice of the tail of the wrasse.

 

[username in use]

What kind of clown?

Your problem as you are learning is that clowns are highly territorial and realistically should be added after all fish of similar size or smaller have already been established.

As long as the flasher is not getting his fins torn or anything and able to get away, give it a couple days and see what happens, it may settle down. If not, you may have to remove the clown for a few weeks so that it "loses" its territory.

 

[donut0079]

It all depends on the extent. My flasher got nipped by my clown when the clown first went in and eventually it settled out. I still get a nip from time to time but not often. I've also had the opposite where it persisted would not stop until one was gone. It all depends on how much space is available. This is also very common with clowns as they are fairly territorial. Good luck. I hope they do settle out to a comfortable place.

 

[moneymm]

What kind of clown?

Your problem as you are learning is that clowns are highly territorial and realistically should be added after all fish of similar size or smaller have already been established.

As long as the flasher is not getting his fins torn or anything and able to get away, give it a couple days and see what happens, it may settle down. If not, you may have to remove the clown for a few weeks so that it "loses" its territory.

tank raised orange occelaris.

the problem is the clown is being territorial i think, b/c i also had a mini 1" black and white occelaris clown that i added with the wrasse yesterday. (those two were in QT together with no problems)

it nipped at it and i think i saw part of the wrasses fin floating around.

should i feed them more often for the next couple days or less often?

i have a the tank in the dark for now so that they go to sleep and dont fight hopefully until i figure out what to do.

 

[moneymm]

any tips out there?

 

[e048]

add a little mirror to one side of the tank

or float one in a bag full of water

if these two are in your 45g tank that might be the issue

move the clown to the sump or qt him for a few days, re arrange the lr then add him back that should also help it helps with tangs

i'm thinking its tank size...

I have a 150 and my clown will nip or poke at everything "new" whether its al agae clip, my hand, a new fish, a new snail, he doesn't care he still likes to sample the "new thing"

 

[moneymm]

upon further inspection, he did get a big chunk of the beautiful royal flasher wrasses top fin.

and he is sputtering it around like its bothering him.

this is awful. if i keep the lights out, the wrasse and other fish are hiding in the rocks, so shouldnt be another problem till i turn them back on. whats my best course of action?

 

[Duke4life]

Remove the clown for a few like mentioned is your best course of action. You could also use a small critter box to contain the clown in your DT, add a piece of rock to prevent from floating around.

 

[e048]

if you don't have a lid the clown could chase your wrasse to the point where it jumps

 

[moneymm]

I turned the light on this morning, and watched them for 20 minutes. the clown and wrasse, seemed much better, only circleing each other once. and no nipping at all.

but now my royal gramma is going after the wrasse.

should i isolate the wrasse in the tank? do they sell these isolation boxes at petco or something?

 

[username in use]

What is your full fish list?

Gramma's can be territorial as well.

 

[moneymm]

What is your full fish list?

Gramma's can be territorial as well.

Large Occ. Clown
PJ Cardinal
Royal Gramma

just added
baby occ clown
royal flasher wrasse

 

[e048]

45 g is small for those fish

 

[moneymm]

I have a isolation box coming tomorrow. im thinking i should put the Wrasse in it right?

 

[username in use]

Nope. The gramma and the clown are the aggressive ones. They need to be removed to a quarantine for a couple weeks with the rock work rearranged. Let the wrasse develop its territory then reintroduce the clown and gramma.

 

[moneymm]

Nope. The gramma and the clown are the aggressive ones. They need to be removed to a quarantine for a couple weeks with the rock work rearranged. Let the wrasse develop its territory then reintroduce the clown and gramma.

i always that that more aggressive fish always get added to the tank last. so how come adding this wrasse last is not working out?

 

[moneymm]

Setting up a QT is really not an option for me, can i just use a couple of these isolation boxes?

 

[username in use]

i always that that more aggressive fish always get added to the tank last. so how come adding this wrasse last is not working out?

Because its not the most aggressive fish. The clown is, followed by the gramma.

Setting up a QT is really not an option for me, can i just use a couple of these isolation boxes?

Maybe, maybe not. You need to rearrange the rocks and keep the clown and gramma separated from the tank.

You said that you just added the wrasse from it's quarantine. Why can't you set that back up?