rowdy clowns.

[swingsett]

i bought a royal gramma today, he is about 2 inches long. as soon as i put him in he immediately darted into a cave in the rocks. i put him in during my night cycle, so he would acclimate and settle down better without other fish bothering him.
now that the lights are on, my other two clowns know hes there. i have my 55 set up with two islands of rocks on both sides, with them hosting one side and my gramma on the other. they havent left the opening of the gramma's cave yet. they keep bothering the ---- out of him.
its hard to tell if they are just being nosy, or if they are attacking him. his tail has some nips, but i cant tell if they are fresh or from the pet store. he is still hiding

[hr]
, and my clowns just circle the rocks hes in.
what do you all think? these are the only 3 fish in my whole 55. the clowns cant take over the whole tank, can they?

 

[nw2salt08]

Actually, yes they can. I have a pair of yellow striped maroon clowns and a goby that I put in the tank after the clowns had claimed territory. Well, needless to say, they constantly badger the poor goby out of any space that he tries to reside in. We're putting up a 55gal that was previously set up at another home and moving the clowns in there. We'll be leaving the goby in the 29gal so he won't be getting badgered anymore. I think they'll be a lot happier that way. I've had the boyg for almost 3 months btw. hth

 

[swingsett]

that sucks, they are such little punks. im thinking the more fish i add in, the more they will get the picture that the tank isnt JUST for them.

 

[nw2salt08]

Let's hope. lol I'll have to add the fish that are in the 55 gal now to the 29gal til it recycles....hopefully it won't go poorly. I want to make sure there isn't a nitrate spike when I set the tank back up. My clowns are so territorial though. I think when I ad the fish back to the larger tank I'll put everyone but the clowns in for the first few days so they can settle and get there own spots. Then I'll add the clowns and an anemone and hopefully they'll host it.

 

[swingsett]

ok i think the gramma has settled down. the 3 of them hang out together on one side of the tank, especially during feeding time too. he is hardy! he eats anything that goes in. its cool, because the clowns eat more since they see him competing for food.
he stays in his spot, and i notice the clowns are over there more often. maybe they were lonely?