Angry Clown

mp5150 · 02/08/2006, 05:50 AM

Good morning all! So I have had a very happy tank since like May, which incldue two ocellaris cowns and a cleaner shrimp. Now from the beginning one of the clowns was always more aggressive towards the other, nipping from time to time. Almost two months ago I purchased a purple tip anemone. The more aggressive clown took to it as soon as I put it into the tank, the other could care less about it. As of late the anemone clown has been a nightmare, really taking good snaps at the other clown to the point where that poor clown hides all day long. Not too mention it takes off legs of my shrimp between molts. I knew it would get protective once the anamone was placed in the tank. However, none of the other creatures in the tank go near the anamone at all. Is there anything I ca do? I feel so bad for that poor clown who has to hide all day long. As for my shrimp, I think he is just dumb. Any advice would be great. Thanks all.

Blown 346 · 02/08/2006, 05:56 AM

I myself would take the more aggressive clown out of the tank.
I had to do that with on eof mine, now he resides in his own tank by himself and couldnt be happier. Eventually the other clown could fatally suffer.

Brandon's Reef · 02/08/2006, 06:15 AM

I would def. take the mean clown out so you dont see any fish losses

sequential · 02/08/2006, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mp5150
As for my shrimp, I think he is just dumb. Any advice would be great.

The shrimp isn't dumb, per se, it just looks, tastes, and smells like food.

My clown can be aggressive to other members of the tank, but I've found that other things contributed greatly to his aggression. His host had been in a long standing feud with the large, black long spined urchin in the tank, which produced what appeared to be protective behavior on the part of the clown. Since I moved the urchin to another tank, the clown fish hardly notices the other tank inhabitants.

I've always found that a light feeding schedule can contribute to any fish looking for food where it might not belong. While on vacation, those taking care of the tank fed it once in a period of six days. When I returned, my cleaner shrimp had molted and become dinner. I lost an anemone and emeral crab in a similar manner, but molting is a reasonably dangerous period for them naturally.

When I tried to add dwarf puffers to the tank, while the tank was still not entirely stable, but long after it had cycled, the fish were stressed and simply ganged up on the puffers. The anemone stung one, which was then prayed upon by the clown fish and engineer gobies. The clown fish, with a taste for puffer on his tongue, simply swam directly to the nearest puffer and bit it. Though the puffer tried desperately to hide, it didn't make it.

Removing the aggressive fish is a good, immediate solution, but if that's not an option, you might want to look for other possible causes of stress that might cause the fish to become aggressive to each other.

Asuran · 02/08/2006, 09:35 AM

dwarf puffers are fresh water and should not be placed in marine conditions other puffers such as green spotted can be placed in one proplery accumulated to sw conditions

sequential · 02/08/2006, 09:42 AM

Asuran, thanks for pointing that out, but it's not something I was unaware of at the time.

The dwarf puffers I purchased were in brackish water, not fresh. The store owner, someone I knew for a lengthy period of time, said that he's had success acclimating them to salt water. He suggested a lengthy, slow process. If there had been any change in apparent health at any point during the 24+ hours I acclimated them, I'd have never put them in the main tank. Despite my strange sense of humor, I'm not cruel.

Are there other puffers a similar size and shape that might pass as dwarves? (I simply could be misremembering the proper name of them.)

mp5150 · 02/08/2006, 10:35 AM

So pretty much it should be moved out. Next question, what if I have no where to move my little angy fella too?

sequential · 02/08/2006, 10:42 AM

If you can't keep it in another tank, for whatever reason, ask your LFS if they will host it for a period of time or take it in on trade.

mp5150 · 02/08/2006, 11:53 AM

Just called my LFS and they will take him back. I will miss him, but it has to be done. Do you all think that if I get a smaller clown, the one in the tank will become aggressive towards the new one? Just curious because they are going to give me another fish.

viceversabrd · 02/08/2006, 11:57 AM

Replace with another fish try a docile fish such as a goby or my personal favorite a firefish
viceversabrd

Asuran · 02/08/2006, 02:00 PM

They might have mislabbled the puffers then
Dwarf puffers are like the size of like peas (well not taht small but a bigger than that)

anyways back on topic i guess as long as one is larger than the other things should be fine.... i had a pair where one was sick nursed it back to health in a qt tank and put them back together they would constantly fight till one day i noticed torn fins...
so i caught one of them didnt matter which one and it went from a 70 gal to a 110 gal. About a month ago I got each of them new partners (smaller than them) and they seemed to have paired off

mp5150 · 02/08/2006, 04:48 PM

cool

02/08/2006, 05:50 AM	#1
mp5150 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 191	Angry Clown Good morning all! So I have had a very happy tank since like May, which incldue two ocellaris cowns and a cleaner shrimp. Now from the beginning one of the clowns was always more aggressive towards the other, nipping from time to time. Almost two months ago I purchased a purple tip anemone. The more aggressive clown took to it as soon as I put it into the tank, the other could care less about it. As of late the anemone clown has been a nightmare, really taking good snaps at the other clown to the point where that poor clown hides all day long. Not too mention it takes off legs of my shrimp between molts. I knew it would get protective once the anamone was placed in the tank. However, none of the other creatures in the tank go near the anamone at all. Is there anything I ca do? I feel so bad for that poor clown who has to hide all day long. As for my shrimp, I think he is just dumb. Any advice would be great. Thanks all.

02/08/2006, 06:15 AM	#3
Brandon's Reef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Orange Park, FL Posts: 766	I would def. take the mean clown out so you dont see any fish losses __________________ Brandon Fields, PROUD HURRICANE SURVIVOR Current Tank Info: 24gallon Aquapod 65 coralife super skimmer 1x150w 14k metal halide on 30g oceanic stand 54gallon corner bowfront RR, Current Outer Orbit 1x150 HQI PC supplemented, ATO, Deltec AP600 skimmer,100 pounds of Marshal Island Live Rock, SPS domintated

02/08/2006, 09:35 AM	#5
Asuran Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Scarborough Posts: 504	dwarf puffers are fresh water and should not be placed in marine conditions other puffers such as green spotted can be placed in one proplery accumulated to sw conditions __________________ 180gallon reef, 70gallon sump 110gallon reef, 50 gallon sump (former tank) 70gallon FOWLR, 30 gallon sump

02/08/2006, 11:57 AM	#10
viceversabrd Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hamburg, NY Posts: 296	Replace with another fish try a docile fish such as a goby or my personal favorite a firefish viceversabrd __________________ 55 gal FOWLR, 260w pc's, 100 lbs. live rock Current Tank Info: FOWLR

02/08/2006, 02:00 PM	#11
Asuran Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Scarborough Posts: 504	They might have mislabbled the puffers then Dwarf puffers are like the size of like peas (well not taht small but a bigger than that) anyways back on topic i guess as long as one is larger than the other things should be fine.... i had a pair where one was sick nursed it back to health in a qt tank and put them back together they would constantly fight till one day i noticed torn fins... so i caught one of them didnt matter which one and it went from a 70 gal to a 110 gal. About a month ago I got each of them new partners (smaller than them) and they seemed to have paired off __________________ 180gallon reef, 70gallon sump 110gallon reef, 50 gallon sump (former tank) 70gallon FOWLR, 30 gallon sump

02/08/2006, 05:56 AM	#2
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	I myself would take the more aggressive clown out of the tank. I had to do that with on eof mine, now he resides in his own tank by himself and couldnt be happier. Eventually the other clown could fatally suffer.

02/08/2006, 09:42 AM	#6
sequential Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 266	Asuran, thanks for pointing that out, but it's not something I was unaware of at the time. The dwarf puffers I purchased were in brackish water, not fresh. The store owner, someone I knew for a lengthy period of time, said that he's had success acclimating them to salt water. He suggested a lengthy, slow process. If there had been any change in apparent health at any point during the 24+ hours I acclimated them, I'd have never put them in the main tank. Despite my strange sense of humor, I'm not cruel. Are there other puffers a similar size and shape that might pass as dwarves? (I simply could be misremembering the proper name of them.)

02/08/2006, 10:35 AM	#7
mp5150 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 191	So pretty much it should be moved out. Next question, what if I have no where to move my little angy fella too?

02/08/2006, 10:42 AM	#8
sequential Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 266	If you can't keep it in another tank, for whatever reason, ask your LFS if they will host it for a period of time or take it in on trade.

02/08/2006, 11:53 AM	#9
mp5150 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 191	Just called my LFS and they will take him back. I will miss him, but it has to be done. Do you all think that if I get a smaller clown, the one in the tank will become aggressive towards the new one? Just curious because they are going to give me another fish.

02/08/2006, 04:48 PM	#12
mp5150 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 191	cool