Help!!!!!having a serious fish problem...

meekel · 04/08/2007, 07:12 PM

ok, about a week ago i purchased a copperband butterfly and added it to my 54gal corner bow.....which houses a yellow tang, 1 clown, 2 green chromis, and 1 recently added royal gramma.....when the copperband was first added the yellow tang had a prob. always showing him his business end but after a couple of days everything was fine.....now i just came home to find the clown being very aggressive towards the copperband actually nipping at it doing some damage to it's fins......so my question is do i let this continue with hopes that this will just end? or do i try to seperate them somehow? i could really use some help with this one......

NanoGurl · 04/08/2007, 07:23 PM

What kind of clown is it? If it's a maroon clown it can be very aggressive, or it may be a more passive clown defending it's area in the tank which will work itself out more then likely. But if it's an aggressive clown species you're going to continue to have problems.

rm · 04/08/2007, 07:24 PM

I used to have one I called TangZilla.

Finally got him to leave my new foxface alone by placing a small mirror in front of the glass (midway point of the tank).

He saw his reflection and liked it even less than the new fish.

A few days later he forgot about the fox and I removed the mirror.

I think he was just a very agressive yellow tang.

meekel · 04/08/2007, 07:30 PM

the tang has no longer been an issue, it's the clown that's now the prob....although i just cought the clown in a net that is now hanging in the tank until i figure out what to do

rm · 04/08/2007, 07:35 PM

You could try putting the clown in a QT tank for a few days. Makes him think he's the new guy on the block when you put him back in the main tank and gives your copper time to settle in.

meekel · 04/08/2007, 07:40 PM

i need to set one up fast, i don't use a qt...any ideas for a quick fix??

awestruck · 04/08/2007, 08:33 PM

Please don't take this as a criticism but my guess is that you have surpassed maximum bioload and the fish are stressed. A tang and a butterfly are fairly large fish, especially for a 54g. corner tank. Clowns are part of the damsel family and can get darn snippy when feeling threatened--yours probably is because his/her territoy has just gotten smaller. Is it possible to take one of your fish back to the LFS? My guess is that if you don't reduce the load your fish will get sick and/or fight until the weakest one dies.

04/08/2007, 07:12 PM	#1
meekel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ma. Posts: 107	Help!!!!!having a serious fish problem... ok, about a week ago i purchased a copperband butterfly and added it to my 54gal corner bow.....which houses a yellow tang, 1 clown, 2 green chromis, and 1 recently added royal gramma.....when the copperband was first added the yellow tang had a prob. always showing him his business end but after a couple of days everything was fine.....now i just came home to find the clown being very aggressive towards the copperband actually nipping at it doing some damage to it's fins......so my question is do i let this continue with hopes that this will just end? or do i try to seperate them somehow? i could really use some help with this one......

04/08/2007, 07:24 PM	#3
rm Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 99	I used to have one I called TangZilla. Finally got him to leave my new foxface alone by placing a small mirror in front of the glass (midway point of the tank). He saw his reflection and liked it even less than the new fish. A few days later he forgot about the fox and I removed the mirror. I think he was just a very agressive yellow tang. __________________ "People are not persuaded by what we say, but rather by what they understand."

04/08/2007, 07:35 PM	#5
rm Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 99	You could try putting the clown in a QT tank for a few days. Makes him think he's the new guy on the block when you put him back in the main tank and gives your copper time to settle in. __________________ "People are not persuaded by what we say, but rather by what they understand."

04/08/2007, 08:33 PM	#7
awestruck Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,572	Please don't take this as a criticism but my guess is that you have surpassed maximum bioload and the fish are stressed. A tang and a butterfly are fairly large fish, especially for a 54g. corner tank. Clowns are part of the damsel family and can get darn snippy when feeling threatened--yours probably is because his/her territoy has just gotten smaller. Is it possible to take one of your fish back to the LFS? My guess is that if you don't reduce the load your fish will get sick and/or fight until the weakest one dies. __________________ I received the best gift ever today: My son told me that he loves me. Current Tank Info: 65g. w/20g. sump; Reef Octopus Skimmer; (2) x 150w. MH and (2) x 65w. pc. sump-mixed reef

04/08/2007, 07:23 PM	#2
NanoGurl Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 4,306	What kind of clown is it? If it's a maroon clown it can be very aggressive, or it may be a more passive clown defending it's area in the tank which will work itself out more then likely. But if it's an aggressive clown species you're going to continue to have problems.

04/08/2007, 07:30 PM	#4
meekel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ma. Posts: 107	the tang has no longer been an issue, it's the clown that's now the prob....although i just cought the clown in a net that is now hanging in the tank until i figure out what to do

04/08/2007, 07:40 PM	#6
meekel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ma. Posts: 107	i need to set one up fast, i don't use a qt...any ideas for a quick fix??