Aggressive fish question

[momsph]

I am trying to get all the fish in the QT which will eventually become my DT. I have the following:
4" Humu Trigger,
3" Niger Trigger,
3" Female Blue Throat
2" Clown Tang
3" Male Mandarin
1" Blue fin damsel
4" Lawnmower
3" Cleaner Wrasse
Its at 130gallon tank with salinity ranging from 1.009 to 1.010.
I have determined that 6 line wrasse and Humu Do not get along. I've had two and the two 6 lines were slaughtered by the Humu. Poor babies. Also, golden head goby and pink spotted goby were also killed by the two Triggers.
Whats up with Triggers and Gobies? Everything else seems to get along in the QT. Anyways, I would like to add a male blue throat and a pink tail trigger. Is this possible or is it too much for a 130gallon? I plan to put live rocks once its conditioned to become a DT.

 

[crashbandicoot]

a 4 " humu is hitting the stage in the growth where they start to become aggresive and teritorial .

 

[kjr_trig]

Hit or miss with Humas...I had one for six years he never showed the slightest aggression ever (my tank was only 135). I have heard of Humas acting like Undulate Triggers too (i.e. horrifically aggressive). In a tank that small I would advise against adding any new tank mates....He will not just suddenly decide to tolerate them....You have 4 fish with nasty reps, Huma, Niger, the Damsel, and just wait until your Clown Tang grows up, he may be the worst of the lot...IMO leave em be, no new victims.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I agree

 

[crimzy]

I hate to be the barer of bad news but the gobies and sixline wrasse are completely inappropriate for a tank as aggressive as yours. Similarly, your mandarin and LMB are probably also on borrowed time. The cleaner wrasse is also a gamble.
The goby, blenny, mandarine and sixline are not appropriate for an aggressive tank. The triggers (and possibly the clown tang) are not appropriate for a community tank. You need to decide which way you are going with your tank or you are looking at a lot more lessons to learn.

 

[srfisher17]

"Whats up with Triggers and Gobies? " Quote
Basically the same thing that's up with cats & mice. Triggers are large, predatory fish. Gobies are way down the food chain. You have a list of very pretty fish, but, IMO, the only thing many have in common is that they live in saltwater. You;ll have to decide between the small & aggressive fish; then go from there. I would not include any damsel, personally speaking, in any set-up. They can, and will, terrorize fish several times their size. Good luck, this forum is a great place to learn stuff overnight that took me years to learn. Also, a Clown Tang, in addition to being very aggressive, is an extremely difficult fish to keep--really an "expert only" fish.
(I just re-read the above posts and have repeated what those folks said; sorry guys, let's just call my post "reinforcement". I agree with all of them.

)

 

[momsph]

Thanks for the suggestions. I called my LFS and has finally agreed to trade my Huma for male blue throat. Hope this will calm things down for now. But yup, I've decided that this should be enough fish in my tank.

 

[momsph]

Ok, after recommendations from the panel here. I have decided to restock my aquarium with the following, thanks to my LFS, who was willing to trade some of my fish: Still in Quarantine mode:
5" Male Blue Throat Trigger
3" Female Blue Throat Trigger
6" Emperator Angel
3" Niger Trigger
1" Blue Fin Damsel
4" Lawnmower Blenny
3" Male Mandarin
I was told by some of you guys to remove my Damsel as it can become a pest in the long run. He's so cute though, I will have to replace him eventually though. QT running two weeks now. 1.009 Salinity with Melafix treatment. Will post pics soon.

 

[rad]

three triggers, an aggressive angel and some wussy fish? what are you planning on making your fishy tombstones out of? I hope whatever it is, is abundant in your area. granted a 130 is a bit of space, but still, why QT in a small tank if there just all going in to your display at the same time anyway?
and may I be the first to say I believe you salinity is a bit low.

 

[momsph]

Well so far so good with them getting along. I really dont have a big space here to add another tank for QT, which is why Im stocking everything now in order to QT them for about 6 weeks, getting rid of any problems before I turn the it into a DT. The live rocks are in curing mode in several buckets as well and should all be ready by the end of FEB. I hope. What would you suggest the salinity be for a Hypotreatment?
The male Blue throat, for its size is quite shy and doesnt seem to want to eat. Any suggestions?

 

[momsph]

By the way, the mandarin died today. No bite marks from fish and from 4 days of observation, no fish was bothering it. Grrrr.......

 

[crashbandicoot]

it was more than likely stress induced .

 

[stdreb27]

My thought with agressive fish is that you need mutually assured destruction. And with your tank you've basically created a food chain. And the small fish have to hiding place.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
My thought with agressive fish is that you need mutually assured destruction. And with your tank you've basically created a food chain. And the small fish have to hiding place.
I agree

Also agree with Crashbandicoot above. Your triggers will constantly stress, or even eat, your mandarim & blenny sooner or later. That is what large, carnivores do...just nature in action. Its your call in the damsel, the triggers may get him too and save you the incredible headache of trying to get him out down the road. The number of posts on this site regarding "damsel second-thoughts" is probably the most often discussed topic. I don't mean to sound harsh, just the opposite. You're doing a lot of research on the best source I know of...many lfs (certainly not all) will tell you anything--either out of ignorance, or just to make a sale.

 

[rad]

my bad about the salinity comment. I reread and still found no where, where it was suggested you were practicing hyposalinity. granted a bit of deductive reasoning would have brought me to that conclusion, but what am I to know what kind of crazy practices are going on over seas....

 

[momsph]

What I meant was 1.009 too low for Hypo or should I go up a couple of notches? I wasn't trying to be a smart ass or anything. I'm from the beautiful state of Alabama and from my experience as a hobbyist, what they practice here isnt any crazier compared to whats being done stateside. Except of course a little cyanide fishing here and there which has destroyed a lot of the reef population.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by MOMSPH
What I meant was 1.009 too low for Hypo or should I go up a couple of notches? I wasn't trying to be a smart ass or anything. I'm from the beautiful state of Alabama and from my experience as a hobbyist, what they practice here isnt any crazier compared to whats being done stateside. Except of course a little cyanide fishing here and there which has destroyed a lot of the reef population.
1.009 is fine.

 

[rad]

Originally Posted by MOMSPH
Except of course a little cyanide fishing here and there which has destroyed a lot of the reef population.
sweet! thats pretty awesome. I think my next tank is going to be a cyanide reef. Im really trying to simulate the natural reefs and how they are today. I can only hope that someone dosnt skimp me when Im buying my livestock though. even if they do, Im sure I can just throw a cyanide bomb in there after I complete my stock list.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by rad
http:///forum/post/2449550
sweet! thats pretty awesome. I think my next tank is going to be a cyanide reef. Im really trying to simulate the natural reefs and how they are today. I can only hope that someone dosnt skimp me when Im buying my livestock though. even if they do, Im sure I can just throw a cyanide bomb in there after I complete my stock list.

The toys spoiled kids have now! When I was growing up in Northern Wisconsin,all we had was dynamite. Very effective when properly used, though.