Six Line and Clownfish

[Reef of Fillory]

I have a Fluval EVO with a pair of false percs, and a six-line wrasse. The clownfish were added first, and have an anemone, but are not hosted yet.

The sixline has started darting out of the rocks towards the clownfish with an open mouth, and I think the clowns have tattered fins, and a couple of spots on their sides [maybe wounds].

I would like to keep the sixline, but am worried about the clownfish as I don't want them to die to the bullying.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a green BTA, and was thinking about replacing the false percs with a set of bonded [larger than the percs] maroon clowns with the idea that their aggressive tenancies and size would put the wrasse in its place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[XNavyDiver]

Any way you can slip a piece of egg crate in the tank and separate them? or a piece of acrylic?

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Any way you can slip a piece of egg crate in the tank and separate them? or a piece of acrylic?

That would be pretty hard with my rockwork, I had the thought that if the clowns start hosting the bta, would that help tone down the 6 line aggression? Assuming the 6 would be stung by the bta

 

[User1]

6 lines have a history of being aggressive. I tend to agree - I had one in my 100 gallon years ago and it was a terror. It wouldn't be a fish I'd put in that small of a tank. Aggression and roaming / swim lane requirement. I didn't think my 100 was large enough sadly. Looks like you can remove it - that is what I would do.

 

[Jesterrace]

I have a Fluval EVO with a pair of false percs, and a six-line wrasse. The clownfish were added first, and have an anemone, but are not hosted yet.

The sixline has started darting out of the rocks towards the clownfish with an open mouth, and I think the clowns have tattered fins, and a couple of spots on their sides [maybe wounds].

I would like to keep the sixline, but am worried about the clownfish as I don't want them to die to the bullying.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a green BTA, and was thinking about replacing the false percs with a set of bonded [larger than the percs] maroon clowns with the idea that their aggressive tenancies and size would put the wrasse in its place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

You have a 6 line and a pair of clowns in a 13.5 gallon? That's a recipe for disaster. 6 lines are notorious little buttheads, even in much larger tanks. Ditch the 6 line and it will improve. I love the look of the fish as well and would love to have one, but there are enough horror stories about them that I wouldn't touch one.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

He hasn't taken the bait yet, been a few hours. I've caught a couple of snails though lol

 

[Jesterrace]

One of the things I found helpful with the water/soda bottle traps is to weigh it down with rocks and stand it up vertically. That way the fish has to swim up to escape and it is easier for you to reach down and cover it with your hand before they realize that they are trapped. I used this method with great success on both a flame angel and a clown fairy wrasse that were too aggressive.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

One of the things I found helpful with the water/soda bottle traps is to weigh it down with rocks and stand it up vertically. That way the fish has to swim up to escape. I used this method with great success on both a flame angel and a clown fairy wrasse that were too aggressive.

I figured horizontal would make it more likely that the 6 line would enter the bottle, but he still hasn't passed the ring

 

[Jesterrace]

I figured horizontal would make it more likely that the 6 line would enter the bottle, but he still hasn't passed the ring

give it time. It might even take a few days for him to get used to it.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Fell asleep watching an episode of Game of Thrones [perks of not having kids is taking a nap on a Saturday]

Woke up and had the six-line in the trap so I took it in to the LFS. Now i'm going to be looking for the right flasher or fairy.

 

[Jesterrace]

Fell asleep watching an episode of Game of Thrones [perks of not having kids is taking a nap on a Saturday]

Woke up and had the six-line in the trap so I took it in to the LFS. Now i'm going to be looking for the right flasher or fairy.

Glad to hear it worked.

I hate to tell you this man, but your tank is WAY TOO SMALL for those fish. Wrasses with rare exceptions NEED LOTS OF SPACE to swim and be active. The 6 line wrasse is generally recommended for a 30 gallon minimum and all flasher and fairy wrasses are in the 55-75 gallon minimum range. The good news is that there is such a thing as a Possum or Pygmy Wrasse. They would be ideal for your tank:

http://aquarium-fish.liveaquaria.com/search?w=Possum Wrasse

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I hate to tell you this man, but your tank is WAY TOO SMALL for those fish. Wrasses with rare exceptions NEED LOTS OF SPACE to swim and be active. The 6 line wrasse is generally recommended for a 30 gallon minimum and all flasher and fairy wrasses are in the 55-75 gallon minimum range. The good news is that there is such a thing as a Possum or Pygmy Wrasse. They would be ideal for your tank:

http://aquarium-fish.liveaquaria.com/search?w=Possum Wrasse

Thanks for your input!

 

[davocean]

I agree, keep that tank lightly stocked, maybe a tailspot blenny or royal gramma

6 lines are buttheads in most any size tank usually

 

[hyprc]

you got SO lucky with that trap. I had a Six Line in my 34G display and it killed at least 4 fish before I was able to get it out. Aquamedic trap didn't work as it KNEW what it was... only fish in the tank I couldn't get to go in a trap... had to net him out during feeding. That fish would've killed anything you could responsibly add to a 13g.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

you got SO lucky with that trap. I had a Six Line in my 34G display and it killed at least 4 fish before I was able to get it out. Aquamedic trap didn't work as it KNEW what it was... only fish in the tank I couldn't get to go in a trap... had to net him out during feeding. That fish would've killed anything you could responsibly add to a 13g.

While I blamed some of the aggression on the six-line, I initially thought that some of the 'spots' on the smaller clownfish that I have were from the six-line as well. I'm now thinking that the two are competing for dominance as i've seen the [slightly larger] clown grab on to the [slightly smaller] clown. I knew I was going to try to remove the six-line for a few days now so i've fed very light to make sure that the six-line was hungry enough to venture in.

One positive is that my tank/rocks are much cleaner now, I had a copepod infestation before adding the wrasse. I knew it was likely that i'd have to pull him out at some point, but I wanted the bugs under control anyway.

Thanks for the feedback everyone

 

[abeelias]

I had a similar experience. I spent 4+ hrs helping the clown fish get in the vicinity of the bta and miraculously they hosted relatively quickly. They had been bullied to a corner in the tank by the six line. I don’t think they’ve been bothered since.

 

[Foxtrot70]

I have a 6 line in a 50 g with light stock. No issues but there are plenty of hiding places to go around.