Will this Work?

[SalmonAlley]

Well, I attempted to add a mated pair of Maroon Clowns to my 125 reef, and my Purple Tang is harassing the heck out of the male. (He doesn't bug the female much because she is about the same size as the tang)...they've only been in 24 hours and already the male clown has chunks missing from fins.

So the way I see it, I have several options:
1) Rearrange the entire rockwork and have everyone start from scratch....NOT a particularly appealing option IMO considering in took 3-4 hours to get it the way I wanted it in the first place.

2) Return the Tang to a LFS for credit

3) Place the Tang in the Q-tank for two weeks, then return him to the main tank after the Clowns have established their turf

First off, is option 3 likely to work? and Second...anyone have a recommendation for me?

 

[AF Founder]

Well, I attempted to add a mated pair of Maroon Clowns to my 125 reef, and my Purple Tang is harassing the heck out of the male. (He doesn't bug the female much because she is about the same size as the tang)...they've only been in 24 hours and already the male clown has chunks missing from fins.

So the way I see it, I have several options:
1) Rearrange the entire rockwork and have everyone start from scratch....NOT a particularly appealing option IMO considering in took 3-4 hours to get it the way I wanted it in the first place.

2) Return the Tang to a LFS for credit

3) Place the Tang in the Q-tank for two weeks, then return him to the main tank after the Clowns have established their turf

First off, is option 3 likely to work? and Second...anyone have a recommendation for me?

I suspect that option three will work well.

 

[Anonymous]

Could also try hanging a small mirror on the outside of the tank. Tangs go ape when they see their reflection...think it's another tang and tend to front and display to the image and ignore everyone else in the tank.

My (thus far) foolproof fish addition method is to get a big clear plastic jar (old miracle whip jar from Sam's club works well), drill several vent holes in it. Then when the new fish is acclimated to the tank water, put him in the vented jar, put the lid on, and put him in the tank. I call it the 'shark cage'. heh. The aggressive fish try to take a run at the new guy and find that they can't get to him. After a day or two in the shark cage, the new fish seems invincible to the others. Let the new fish out and voila, they leave him alone.

-John

 

[SalmonAlley]

Sharkky,
Great tips! I appreciate the advice. As an aside, I think it was actually the female Clown who was beating the heck out of the male...

SA

 

[Anonymous]

Sharkky,
Great tips! I appreciate the advice. As an aside, I think it was actually the female Clown who was beating the heck out of the male...

SA

Yeah, whenever I introduce a new fish, the male clown of my pair always ends up getting picked on for a day or two by the female. She just goes after anybody within range. She's a nasty little b!tch, that's for sure. heh

 

[SalmonAlley]

Here's a question...
My male clown ended up committing suicide, jumped from the tank when I was at work. (although I suspect the female may have pushed him... :wink: )
If I try to introduce a new male for spawning, do you thinkyour "shark cage" idea would work?

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a question...
My male clown ended up committing suicide, jumped from the tank when I was at work. (although I suspect the female may have pushed him... :wink: )
If I try to introduce a new male for spawning, do you thinkyour "shark cage" idea would work?

My pair were not mated originally. I had the very large (5" +) clown that I assumed was female living by herself for over a year and a half, and a much smaller (who is, btw, a goldbar maroon) in my wife's 29 gal. The small clown was getting picked on to no end by a nasty damsel, so I moved him to the 75 with the large clown. I left him in the shark cage for 3 days or so, and yes, the female went crazy trying to get to him. When I finally let him out (after her aggression seemed to have died down), she swam over to him, nudged him once or twice (but not very hard), and left him alone. About 4 months later they started spawning.

 

[SalmonAlley]

Excellent! I'm going to give that a try when I'm ready to get another Maroon clown.

 

[Anonymous]

Sharky,

The shark jar sounds like an excellent idea! First time I've heard of that trick!

Louey