Niger picking on goldstripe maroon

[fst4wrd]

Hi all,
New to saltwater, 180gal tank about 4 months old. Occupants: Foxface, Dogface, Bluejaw, and Niger trigger.
Last week added a Lunar wrasse and it lasted about 3 hours, wife came home to see the addition and the lunar grabbed ahold of the niger and hold him for a couple seconds. So the wife said the lunar has to go back. That convinced me I had a couple of wimpy fish, so I added two Maroon goldstripe clowns (roughly the same size as the niger). Well when the wife comes home to see the 2 new additions, she will ask why there fines are all tore up. Which comes to my question, why all the sudden did the niger grow a pair and nip the heck out of the 2 new clowns? Dont get it, can not take the clowns back to LFS because they are all beat up.
All my fish are roughly 3 in except for the blue jaw which is about 4 in (but the biggest baby of the bunch).
Thanks in advance
FsT

 

[jay0705]

Triggers are interesting fish. One minute there angels the Next watch out. Niger r one of the less aggressive but there still triggers. I had a huma w my lion and never had an issue. But id never put one w clowns

 

[fst4wrd]

Thanks for the response

Pretty rough night of worry, the female MGS (Im guessing female, bigger and darker) took over the dogface puffers bed, then the bluejaw decided to get in on the beat up the new guy (smaller brighter MGS). When the lights went out everyone scurried off to there beds except for the beat up new guy and the newly homeless puffer.
As I watched the new guy trying to become invisible in the front bottom corner of the tank, I noticed the female MGS darting out of her newly claimed home and ramming the male. What the hell I thought, talk about kicking a guy when he's down. Was convinced that he was going to have to go back to LFS today.
This morning to my suprise, both MGS clowns were in the puffers old home together. Puffer did not care he just seen me and wanted attention. Watched them off and on through out the day, the MGS clowns are out and about (they like hanging around the foxface and dogface) the triggers are back to doing laps and dont seem to focused on beating up the new guy anymore.
So, love the SW addition to the home, love the tank maintence (way different experience then freash water) but the stress of adding new fish and dealing with the egos and attitudes almost had me a little discouraged about going with a SW tank.

 

[jay0705]

Ha ha its the biggest issue. Sw fish are just diff birds. Sum don't care others r hell on wheels. The fox is an excellent choice tho. Nobody bothers them

 

[ceciliagaylo]

I always wonder that is keeping aggressive fishes in a home aquarium a good thing?
discount ink

 

[jay0705]

Alot of people like them. I've thought the same thing tho. I ve kept lions,but I don't really count them as aggressive. There just able to eat alot of small stuff. But triggers,eels,ECT I just couldn't enjoy my tank having to worry about fish attacking eachother

 

[fst4wrd]

Update:
GSM's are doing very well, all the fin nips are 90% healed. Over the past couple weeks of monitoring, my Niger just wants to be king of the tank. He is the bully but once any of my other fish stick up for them selves he turns into the big baby of the tank.
Still learning gonna wait until next month before adding anything else. Thinking of a Harlequin Tusk and pink tail trigger to finish the tank.