my fish are killing all new inhabitants... what to do?

[Blitz99]

i have 3 fish, 2 clowns and 1 sunrise dottyback.

i've tried to add a cardinal and it was killed within minutes... i tried to add a damsel and it was killed within hours (AFTER a complete change of rock work and substrate).

i'm not looking to add anything expensive, just an out and about swimmer. the tank is a 24 gallon nano so i know i can only get one more fish in there, if allowed.

i was considering adding 2 damsels and hoping one would make it.

would this work? would this cause the existing fish not to know who to attack?

it's more the clowns then the sunrise to be honest. the dotty just has his cave, the clowns have the tank (they bite me whenever i put my hand in there).


i know, i know... damsels are bad. but this damsel is AWESOME looking and needs to be in my tank.

 

[triggerfreak]

I am sorry to say this, but you are going to half to take the clowns out and get rid of them if you are going to add anymore fish to the tank.Maybe take them back to the fish store and trade them in on two small new ones and add them to the tank as the same time you add the new fish.I had a buddy that had two percs in his 12 gallon that would kill anything that touched the water.They are now in my 55 reef with out a problem.They have established there territory as the whole tank.And with being such a small environment all you can really do is trade them for a new pair.

 

[Sheol]

Either remove those fish. Or Re-arrange the rockwork completely. Or add something bigger & tougher.
Or just settle for those 3.

Matthew

 

[Moonstream]

you need to remove the clowns, and swap them for the fish you want.

 

[Blitz99]

clowns will stay. i have a paired up orange male and a b&w female.


rearranging the rocks did nothing as i COMPLETELY drained the tank, changed the substrate, and put in new rockwork last week. i added the damsel the next day (maybe i should have put him in first)...

they still tore him up INSTANTLY.

oh well, i'll stick with these three - i'm pleased with them, i just wanted to add another for diversity.

 

[gbcichlids]

If it is a smaller tank, you will probably not be able to add any more fish without removing the clowns.
But if you try adding two or more fish at once then there may be too many targets for the clown to chase.

 

[Bebo77]

yup.. you are done with new fish.. i have the same problem with tangs in my tank... i want to add 3 more but my powder, purple and achilles are mean little suckers....

 

[Sitarangi]

I had some issues with my false perc with aggression. Actually I was told to add a school of green chromis and actually my clown now acts like a puppy and schools with them. Its really cool.

But in smaller tanks like ours, >30g is still a bit small for a pair of clowns and they'll rule that tank. Its just the way it is.

Maybe you should try a more benthic fish, like a goby and mean pistol pair. That way the shrimp can show business if those clowns start picking on his 'eyes'.

 

[snorvich]

If you keep the clowns, you are done. Or you can keep killing fish.

 

[Blitz99]

last i checked i didnt kill a fish, the other fish did.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12941968#post12941968 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blitz99
last i checked i didnt kill a fish, the other fish did.

They swam out of the ocean and into your tank? C'mon dude, dont be naive. It was a calculated risk, but dont dodge responsibility. YOU are resposnible for what goes into your tank, not the resident fish.

At any rate, stick with your resignation- stay with what you got if you dont want to remove any of the existing.

 

[Blitz99]

i know what he was saying, but lets not get all PETA over a fish.

 

[BrianD]

Blitz, I don't care for that attitude.

Thread closed.