NickD213
New Member
Hello Reefers,
While I am less than a year into this exciting hobby, I have tried my best to do my due diligence in researching and learning everything I can before making decisions in my tank. So far, I have followed the standard rules to the best of my abilities, but I’m noticing that my most recent addition of a pair of Oscellaris clowns has caused some tension and one of my favorite fish is getting pick on.
As a background, I have a fully-cycled 29 gallon FOWLR (no corals yet, but planning on adding them in the future). There’s about 35lbs of live rock with ample hiding spaces for anyone who needs them. In order by which they were added, the inhabitants include:
- Royal Gramma Basslet
- Exquisite Firefish Goby
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Tiger Pistol Shrimp
- Pair of Oscellaris Clowns (one captive-bred Snowflake and one standard wild-caught that is about half the size of the Snowflake)
I know that my 29gal tank is on the smaller side, but it was the biggest size that could fit in the space we have for it in our living room. Parameters are all looking good and I conduct 5gal water changes every two weeks. I have two power heads that are always going and are adjusted so that there is plenty of flow but not overwhelming for the fish. I currently feed the fish 2-3x per day, rotating between pellets and frozen shrimp. Everyone gets fed and appears to be healthy.
Anyway, I was under the impression that all of our fish were considered “peaceful” and reef safe — Just about all of them are, except for this Snowflake clown. I’ve noticed that she seems to have an issue with our Exquisite Firefish, who is a super passive and otherwise friendly guy. He keeps to himself and rarely chooses to hide, but I’ve noticed that the Snowflake is often chasing him around and nipping at his tail. There’s some minor damage to his tail fin, but he’s still eating and getting around fine. We’re going on a week since adding the clowns, but I don’t seem to notice any lessening of the bullying. The snowflake also goes after the smaller clown, but this was to be expected. The smaller clown has no signs of damage to his fins.
After reading other posts about clownfish aggression, I tried taping a small mirror to the side of the tank where the Snowflake hangs out. I’ve seen her go after her own reflection a few times, but she continues to pester my poor Firefish.
If the tail fin damage continues to worsen, I will try purchasing a small isolation chamber. I assume the Snowflake should be the one that goes to “jail”, but I don’t know if it’s better to isolate the Firefish instead. Has anyone had any success with isolating either party?
Aside from this, If my plan B doesn’t work, I’ll just have to return the Snowflake to my LFS. I don’t want to do this because she’s a really good looking addition to the tank and is otherwise a lot of fun to watch. I’m just worried that her aggression will worsen as she gets bigger and the pair starts to spawn. It would be really upsetting to wake up to see my Firefish without a tail, or even worse - sleeping with the fishes. Even if I did return her, would the smaller clown just start to bully the others instead? As of now, he’s super docile.
I understand that clowns can be aggressive, but I was hoping that by choosing the least aggressive species and adding them last would mitigate the aggression issues. I know my tank is smaller and possibly on the more crowded side, but I’d love to find a solution that lets us keep all of our fish without any of them having to suffer. I’ve seen much more densely stocked tanks with less hiding spots that don’t have this issue.
Any suggestions are welcome — I’d love to hear what the more seasoned folks have to say. Sorry for the long post, but I felt that being more descriptive would help.
Thanks in advance!
While I am less than a year into this exciting hobby, I have tried my best to do my due diligence in researching and learning everything I can before making decisions in my tank. So far, I have followed the standard rules to the best of my abilities, but I’m noticing that my most recent addition of a pair of Oscellaris clowns has caused some tension and one of my favorite fish is getting pick on.
As a background, I have a fully-cycled 29 gallon FOWLR (no corals yet, but planning on adding them in the future). There’s about 35lbs of live rock with ample hiding spaces for anyone who needs them. In order by which they were added, the inhabitants include:
- Royal Gramma Basslet
- Exquisite Firefish Goby
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Tiger Pistol Shrimp
- Pair of Oscellaris Clowns (one captive-bred Snowflake and one standard wild-caught that is about half the size of the Snowflake)
I know that my 29gal tank is on the smaller side, but it was the biggest size that could fit in the space we have for it in our living room. Parameters are all looking good and I conduct 5gal water changes every two weeks. I have two power heads that are always going and are adjusted so that there is plenty of flow but not overwhelming for the fish. I currently feed the fish 2-3x per day, rotating between pellets and frozen shrimp. Everyone gets fed and appears to be healthy.
Anyway, I was under the impression that all of our fish were considered “peaceful” and reef safe — Just about all of them are, except for this Snowflake clown. I’ve noticed that she seems to have an issue with our Exquisite Firefish, who is a super passive and otherwise friendly guy. He keeps to himself and rarely chooses to hide, but I’ve noticed that the Snowflake is often chasing him around and nipping at his tail. There’s some minor damage to his tail fin, but he’s still eating and getting around fine. We’re going on a week since adding the clowns, but I don’t seem to notice any lessening of the bullying. The snowflake also goes after the smaller clown, but this was to be expected. The smaller clown has no signs of damage to his fins.
After reading other posts about clownfish aggression, I tried taping a small mirror to the side of the tank where the Snowflake hangs out. I’ve seen her go after her own reflection a few times, but she continues to pester my poor Firefish.
If the tail fin damage continues to worsen, I will try purchasing a small isolation chamber. I assume the Snowflake should be the one that goes to “jail”, but I don’t know if it’s better to isolate the Firefish instead. Has anyone had any success with isolating either party?
Aside from this, If my plan B doesn’t work, I’ll just have to return the Snowflake to my LFS. I don’t want to do this because she’s a really good looking addition to the tank and is otherwise a lot of fun to watch. I’m just worried that her aggression will worsen as she gets bigger and the pair starts to spawn. It would be really upsetting to wake up to see my Firefish without a tail, or even worse - sleeping with the fishes. Even if I did return her, would the smaller clown just start to bully the others instead? As of now, he’s super docile.
I understand that clowns can be aggressive, but I was hoping that by choosing the least aggressive species and adding them last would mitigate the aggression issues. I know my tank is smaller and possibly on the more crowded side, but I’d love to find a solution that lets us keep all of our fish without any of them having to suffer. I’ve seen much more densely stocked tanks with less hiding spots that don’t have this issue.
Any suggestions are welcome — I’d love to hear what the more seasoned folks have to say. Sorry for the long post, but I felt that being more descriptive would help.
Thanks in advance!
