Aggressive to new fish

[chevyblue96]

Hey.. quick question.
I finally got the (what I was hoping to be) last fish to complete my tank. A Flame Angel. However, since adding him to the tank, probably about an hour ago, the purple tang has really been after him.
Flame is hiding in the rocks, trying to avoid the tang so far, but how long should I wait to see if they'll start to "get along" before I rearrange rocks, or remove the tang for a few days??
I'm just basically looking for how long it would usually take for them to settle? I've got the lights off and they may be slacking up some now, but still would be nice to know.

 

[2quills]

As long as he's not nipping pieces of fin off of the angel then give it about a day or so and it should subside once dominance is established. But if you see some real nipping going on then you should probably try to seperate them. Alot of time folks will try to add Tangs last since they tend to have pretty aggresive behaviour to new additions or others of thier own kind, size, shape. He will more than likely be that way with any new fish addition that you may or may not happen to add in the future.

 

[deejeff442]

+1 territory is everything.when i introduce new fish i will feed heavily then a half hour later feed again.just like thanksgiving after you dont want to do anything.purples are territorial.but i would give then a few days and like quills said if the purple isnt really doing damage to kill they should be ok.new fish are shy to begin with .the flame will settle in and defend himself if he needs to .i had a 4.5 inch purple for years then added a huge 7.5 inch achilles.the purple went at the achilles one time.the achilles turned around as to look at the purple like .are you kidding?that was the end of that .no more aggression.they got along fine.

 

[btldreef]

Give it a few days. I seem to remember the pic of your purple tang, and he's still a juvi, right? Flame angels are fairly aggressive in their own right, at least the ones I've owned, so you should be okay. I'd leave the lights off tomorrow to help everyone just chill. If after a day of the lights being off you don't notice a difference, you might want to consider moving around rock work. I consider moving around rock work a last resort in a larger system, it's such a P.I.T.A.! There are a few methods that people use to cut down on aggression, the big one being lights out for a day. Try feeding tomorrow afternoon after the lights have been out for a while and see if the flame is able to eat without being harassed.
Good luck!

 

[chevyblue96]

Well, as of this morning:
Flame attempted to come out and check things out... Purple then chased him back to the rocks. There's no nipping, just chasing as far as I can see. I put out double the algea sheets, and extra lettuce to try and keep Tang busy.
I'll turn the lights back out and see if they'll be better this evening.
Everything in my tank is a juvi. pretty much. Even though the purple is still probably close to double the size of the Flame. I added the Flame last and at night because I thought from my readings that he would be the aggressive one.
Here's to hoping everyone will start to get along!

 

[btldreef]

They should get better, especially if there is no nipping. Funny, I have a juvenile purple tang and it is a total whimp compared to my flame. My flame and evil yellow watchman goby are my most aggressive fish. My flame is so aggressive that I'm thinking of getting rid of it when I upgrade tanks in May. I'll mail you my little monster if things don't work out for you, lol.

 

[chevyblue96]

LOL. Guess your's just has attitude??
I wish I had a bigger tank. (don't we all??)
On a good note. Flame has been out in the open for a good bit now! So far, tang has decided to leave him alone, until they get to fighting over who gets to play with the cleaner shrimp anyway

There's still a few fish I'd like to have, but I feel like I'm probably at my limit for now until I get a bigger tank. (Come on purple! Grow so I can justify getting the bigger tank with the hubby! lol )
So for now, I have
2 clowns
1 firefish goby
1 purple tang
1 flame
and 1 damsel (soon to be removed as soon as I can catch the little twerp!)
To much in a 55?

 

[btldreef]

I'd say you're at the limit.
It will be much easier in a larger setup. Purple tangs are territorial, as are most tangs, and in a small tank, they'll be even more territorial. I'd actually recommend upgrading to a larger tank sooner than later.
If you get the damsel out, you might be able to squeeze a small blenny or goby, but it would be a stretch.
How big are the tang and flame?

 

[chevyblue96]

Hard to say... I'm not good with measuring.
I'd say the flame is around the size of a half dollar? slightly longer of course.
Tang is about double what the flame is... Maybe I can get pics for size comparison?
I've got my eyes on a local tank that is supposed to be 120g. just trying to finish working out a deal with him on it, then I'll have to get it cycled and ready.

 

[chevyblue96]

Let me know if this works for size comparison....

 

[deejeff442]

i love the rock work.most people including me just keep the sand flat.the ups and downs in there looks sweet

 

[chevyblue96]

Thank you... but I got to say I'm a bit embarrassed by how it looks right now.
I had a much better lay out before I had to move things around to get the clowns to get along. For some reason, you move rocks 1 time and they never go back in the same way.
Anyway, Hard to see in the pics, but the rocks are all done in a way to make a little maze for the fish. Lots of cave's and hidey holes. The tang loves it... zooms around like on a race track lol.

 

[2quills]

Yeah everytime I've ever moved rocks they never go back the same either. I'm a little curious though...do you happen to know how many lbs of sand you have in there? Just wondering because having too much sand or rock or both can actually lead to problems for you down the road.

 

[chevyblue96]

I'm not actually sure how much there is now... I think the guy said there was like 75lbs or so?? It's not actually as deep as some of those pics make it look.
I had the sand all nice and flat, then the stupid damsel decided to start making pits everywhere. So now, the whole area behind the rocks is pretty much dug out to almost glass, and there's big mounds in some places in the front, and it's shallow at others...
When I had it all nice and flat, it was about a 2 inch- 21/2 inch tall. To much???
The tank was FULL of rock when I got it... I mean, full to the brim! I traded in 86 lbs alread to the fish store, still have what's in my tank, and have another tubberware tub (Big blue storage tote) that is full of rock to take to the store on my next trip. I completely filled up the store's tank for rocks with the first load so they wanted me to wait to bring the rest in.

 

[btldreef]

I really like the layout of your tank. The rock work is perfect for the tang and the flame, so once you upgrade, definitely keep lots of hideaways like that for them. It looks like they're starting to get along from your pics.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chevyblue96 http:///forum/thread/384590/aggressive-to-new-fish#post_3369665
I'm not actually sure how much there is now... I think the guy said there was like 75lbs or so?? It's not actually as deep as some of those pics make it look.
I had the sand all nice and flat, then the stupid damsel decided to start making pits everywhere. So now, the whole area behind the rocks is pretty much dug out to almost glass, and there's big mounds in some places in the front, and it's shallow at others...
When I had it all nice and flat, it was about a 2 inch- 21/2 inch tall. To much???
The tank was FULL of rock when I got it... I mean, full to the brim! I traded in 86 lbs alread to the fish store, still have what's in my tank, and have another tubberware tub (Big blue storage tote) that is full of rock to take to the store on my next trip. I completely filled up the store's tank for rocks with the first load so they wanted me to wait to bring the rest in.
Not necissarily a bad thing when the sand bed is well established, no. Just wondering.
I don't want to take your thread off coarse so here's a descent article on send beds if you're currious...http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html