Bad Bad Clown

[demodiki]

I knew I was probably going to have problems and I do.

I have a 55 gallon that was only housing one fish for the longest time...a single maroon clown that's about 1.5-2 inches long now. I had put off getting any new fish because I was dealing with some pretty bad cyano and diatom problems.

Well, things were looking up and so I decided to get a new fish. I picked up a lawnmower blenny. This guy is about 3.5 inches long. Now...in a perfect world the blenny would have come first...

So now the maroon is stalking the blenny and nipping at him whenever he shows his face. I think the blenny may actually be handing his *** to him because my clown is looking pretty frayed.

I have a 10 gallon QT but it's not set up. I am going to mix some salt tonight and tomorrow put the clown in the QT...rearrange the rockwork..again...and after some time in solitary try and put the clown back.

Am I missing anything?

[Reef69]

..Yeah, it probably wont do good since clowns really dont care about rock work, they are not tangs. He's gonna go for the blenny regardless. Thats why aggresive fish should be introduced last.

[witecap4u]

How long have they been together? I'd give them a week or so and then think about doing something if they are still picking on each other.

cs

[demodiki]

They have only been together 3 days or so.

[NaCl_H2O]

I try to add fish at least two at a time. The simple confusion of who to pick on makes things calm down quicker. I agree with above, give it a few more days. Adding a third fish now may still help mix things up.

[CD]

You could also try putting a "separator" in the tank (like egg-crate or netting) to let the fish get used to each other for a couple of weeks without being able to do any physical harm. This has worked for me in the past with a late introduction of a new clownfish in with an existing clownfish. They will still be able to see each other and work out the aggression (they will wear themselves out, but not physically harm each other). Might be worth a try?

W. :)

[demodiki]

So far they are coexisting. I have seen the clown take a couple of swipes at the blenny but that's about it. Today, the blenny has been all over the tank and near the clown. The clown seems to want to be aggressive but then backs off.

The blenny sometimes darts away from the clown if he is acting aggressive but for the most part...the blenny seems to be ignoring him. I am going to see how things shape up this weekend before I...
A) use a divider
B) consign the mean clown to the QT
C) get another fish to make things more interesting
D) go get a baby clown trigger to show the mean fish just who's boss

[Ross]

E) that sux

JK, i couldnt help myself.

Give em another day, then put the clown in QT for a week or so, then reintroduce him to the tank after rearanging the rock. See how that works...

[miked78231]

so changing the rocks is a bad thing? ill get bored and move my rocks just for the fun of it, you know to see if i can find that perfect fit.

[demodiki]

Update:
They' re actually the best of friends now. No aggression past those first couple of days. Now, I know that may change as the clown gets bigger but so far...so good.

[Ross]

Awesome