restoring the harmony

[friartuuk]

I did a 4-day blackout a few weeks ago to help control hair algae. It worked along with changing the RODI filter cartridge (that was the culprit), adding a small yellow tang, astrea snails, Foz Down, hydrogen peroxide and manual removal. (I like a multi-pronged attack.) When the lights came back on my purple fire goby experienced a multi-pronged attack from a 3.5" melanarus wrasse and a 2" yellow tang. The wrasse stayed buried for a couple more days. The goby felt like he was now the boss and foolishly challenged the wrasse. The wrasse beat him up pretty badly. Then the tang joined in. Half the goby's dorsal fin was bitten off and all of his caudal fin. I removed the goby and put it in quarantine with an antibiotic. It's fins are pretty much better but I'm concerned about putting it back in my DT.

I'm thinking of putting all three in a partitioned 20 gallon QT and re-introducing them all at the same time. How long is necessary? Any thoughts as to the wisdom of this approach? Anyone got any better suggestions? I'd like to keep these fish if possible and I really don't want to mess with the aquascaping.

 

[shaka]

If they're fighting constantly and you are able to catch them easily then separating them in a partitioned aquarium and reintroducing them together might be the best option.

I'd keep them separated for as long as you can ( a few days, a couple of weeks, or even a month) and then put the most timid fish, possibly the goby, back in the aquarium first. Then reintroduce the most aggressive fish last. Maybe even space that process out over a couple of days.

If they were all living peacefully together before the "blackout" then I'd assume they would be fine together again.

 

[FishAndPhysics]

I agree with the above. You might want to partition with something that prevents them from seeing each other, most home improvement stores sell black PVC or acrylic sheet.

 

[friartuuk]

I had another idea. I want the fish to be able to see each other so that they get used to each other without fighting. What if I put the goby in the DT in a breeding trap (I have one for my freshwater tank)? I could put some PVC pipe in there so that he can hide (which he does a lot of the time anyway).