Damsel problems

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems#post_3547669
Well my clowns used to be in a 5 gallon I turned into a planted and they hated it. I could tell they didn't like it so I bought them a 60 gallon and they seem to have plenty of room. The female clown attacks the damsel and the male clown and the damsel used to attack the cardinal but now I think they're ok. I think she attacks the male just over dominance, I hear all clown pairs do that. She only attacks the damsel once in a while, usually when it goes in their corner. My male clown attacks me when I put my hand in the tank and even jumped out in attempt to attack me! Lol

Hi, a 5g tank is not suitable for one clown, let alone two. I'm glad to hear you upgraded to a 60g tank.

Clowns by the way are in the damsel family, and damsels are evil little fish, I'm not surprised it attacked you, it will only get worse as time goes on. Personally, I don't like fish that bite me, and I would never LOL because of that behavior...I would kill it, or get rid of the little bugger by giving it away. I never had a mean clown fish out the 6 I have kept over the years, others have posted pictures of their bloody fingers from such attacks. Some folks like mean fish, and if you do that's great, but remember what you have, and be extra careful not to add fish that they will only kill and harass to death.

Trigger, You have no reason to apologize...you didn't give wrong info, I used the term in capitals... I don't THINK... because I'm not sure if we can post a name of another site or not, the only thing I was certain of, is that we can't post a link to another site.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems#post_3547669
Well my clowns used to be in a 5 gallon I turned into a planted and they hated it. I could tell they didn't like it so I bought them a 60 gallon and they seem to have plenty of room. The female clown attacks the damsel and the male clown and the damsel used to attack the cardinal but now I think they're ok. I think she attacks the male just over dominance, I hear all clown pairs do that. She only attacks the damsel once in a while, usually when it goes in their corner. My male clown attacks me when I put my hand in the tank and even jumped out in attempt to attack me! Lol
well im glad to hear your clowns got more room, i think the only reason the clown is attacking the damsel is to say that this is my territory. eather the damsel will get smart and not go over ther or suffer the consequences. but is he doing it to any other fish or is he just singiling out the damsel?
 

dafishdude

Member
Well yeah, the clowns hated the tank. I've seen people with 2 clowns in a 2 gallon and the clowns seemed happy. I thought it would be even better with having 2 clowns in a tank 2 and a half times as large. I recently learned I have to be careful with stocking in saltwater (my 5 gallon planted has 7 fish). I never knew they had teeth! I just let mine bit me cuz it kinda tickles. He attacks when I get close to him. He probably thinks I'm a threat. Sorry I don't mention these things beforehand. I don't see anymore agression in my tank from the past week so I think I'm ok now. Thx!
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems/20#post_3547789
Well yeah, the clowns hated the tank. I've seen people with 2 clowns in a 2 gallon and the clowns seemed happy. I thought it would be even better with having 2 clowns in a tank 2 and a half times as large. I recently learned I have to be careful with stocking in saltwater (my 5 gallon planted has 7 fish).

7 fish????? In a tiny itty bitty 5g tank!!!!! Even in a freshwater planted tank, that's an outrageously small tank and way overstocked.

In a 10g saltwater tank
, you can only keep a single tiny fish, such as a yellow clown goby, and maybe a couple of snails and a shrimp. Again, freshwater is nothing like keeping saltwater tanks, you need some beginner books.
 

dafishdude

Member

:flame:  7 fish?????  In a tiny itty bitty 5g tank!!!!! Even in a freshwater planted tank, that's an outrageously small tank and way overstocked.
In a 10g saltwater tank, you can only keep a single tiny fish, such as a yellow clown goby, and maybe a couple of snails and a shrimp. Again, freshwater is nothing like keeping saltwater tanks, you need some beginner books.
Haha, everyone says that, but there's no need to go super saiyan! The fish I have in there are neon tetras and harlequin rasboras which school. They even school together which is wired cuz they're different species, but in a small tank they decided to do so. I have 3 of each which are small groups. I also have a sucker catfish to eat algae (not a pleco). All fish are under 1".
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems/20#post_3547813
Haha, everyone says that, but there's no need to go super saiyan! The fish I have in there are neon tetras and harlequin rasboras which school. They even school together which is wired cuz they're different species, but in a small tank they decided to do so. I have 3 of each which are small groups. I also have a sucker catfish to eat algae (not a pleco). All fish are under 1".

Think about it...7 inches of fish in a 5g tank. Even the outdated one inch of fish rule for freshwater fish, would dictate you are overstocked. That's why EVERYONE says that to you.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
lol that is a lot of fish for a five gallon, i dont know how i missed that
. but i would get rid of a few of thoes fish... Just a suggestion. but its good that your saltwater tank is going good
 

dafishdude

Member
My levels in the freshwater tank seem good. The plant help reduce nitrate levels in the tank. It isn't really good to take out some fish because they prefer groups of 5 or more to be happy. People even sell 1 gallon tanks and people even put one or two fish in there. I'm not going to add more fish in that tank tho. All of the fish I have except my catfish grow up to 1.5" and don't swim at all. They just stay in the same place until I drop food in. A lot of people keep even more fish than I do in a tank that small. You also see people keep bettas in 1/2 gallon bowls for a fish twice as large and requires more feedings than the fish i keep. People feed bettas 2 times a day usually and I feed my fish every other day. Same for saltwater. Should I be feeding my saltwater fish more than that? I just did what I did to freshwater fish in that tank.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems/20#post_3547834
People feed bettas 2 times a day usually and I feed my fish every other day. Same for saltwater. Should I be feeding my saltwater fish more than that? I just did what I did to freshwater fish in that tank.
the way i think it should be is feed your fish twice a day. feed as much food as they will eat in two minutes twice a day. this allows you to let your fish eat as much as they want without you polluting your tank.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems/20#post_3547839
Ok, u mean for the saltwater. For freshwater I think every other day is good because my fish are tiny.
well it can work both ways you just feed the fresh water in smaller amounts. the idea of this method is to get the fish full without left overs. you put a little in and once it is gone put a little more in and you keep doing that untill they get full or the two minutes is up.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFishDude http:///t/397822/damsel-problems#post_3547669
Well my clowns used to be in a 5 gallon I turned into a planted and they hated it. I could tell they didn't like it so I bought them a 60 gallon and they seem to have plenty of room. The female clown attacks the damsel and the male clown and the damsel used to attack the cardinal but now I think they're ok. I think she attacks the male just over dominance, I hear all clown pairs do that. She only attacks the damsel once in a while, usually when it goes in their corner. My male clown attacks me when I put my hand in the tank and even jumped out in attempt to attack me! Lol
Clowns and Damsels tend to be territorial. My clowns live on one end of my 6' tank, and the yellowtail live on the other end. Rarely do they cross the center line into the other's territory. The yellowtail has learned to share it's space with a pair of firefish and an orchid dottyback. It was reluctant in the beginning, but it finally gave in and everyone gets along great. As long as you provided them with a place they can call their own, they'll be happy. One way to reduce aggression, especially against new fish, is to re-arrange some of the rockwork. This confuses the older fish, and allows the new fish to settle in.

Clowns can be quite aggressive, especially towards their owners. I had a tomato clown that would viciously strike my hand if I put it in the tank. It drew blood on several occasions. Not "shark bite" kind of bleeding, but it could definitely break skin as clowns have piranha-like teeth. The tomato died around 9 years of age, and fortunately, I don't have that problem with my pair of misbar saddleback clowns.
 

dafishdude

Member
Only one of my clowns bite me and it's only when I put put hand near him. I never knew they had teeth! I just let mine nibble at my fingers just because it tickles.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
LOL...It only "tickles" for now. Bang Guy once posted a picture of the damage his little darling did to him.

 
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