Aggressive Clownfish

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sosgal721

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Jul 28, 2007
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Fort Mill, SC
I have in my tank (20 gallons):
1 clownfish
1 Damsel
1 yellow wrasse
1 starfish
1 cleaner goby
1 camel shrimp

The damsel,starfish,goby and shrimp have been in there for a while and the wrasse I just added yesterday.... a few days ago i put in the clown fish (which is about twice the size of the damsel) it seemed to be doing okay.. a tiny bit scared, stayed in the corner for a while. I then started to notice that it would pick at the damsel then the wrasse. I thought it would be ok, might just be picking out it's territory. But now I notice that the damsel is missing a few fins on top and the wrasse is too (but not as much).
I separated the clownfish for right now.
But what should I do? Is this common? Should I just let them sort it out, or get rid of the clownfish? The clownfish is a lot bigger than the damsel, should I try a baby clownfish? I should also note that the clownfish I got was from a customer trade in at my LFS.
 

Grins

Girl Reefer...we do exist
May 1, 2007
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Charlotte, NC
Clowns are damsels themselves. And just like damsels some are more aggressive than others. What kind of clown?

Could you also list the specific kind of damsel, wrasse, starfish? I have a feeling you may already be overstocked for a 20g.
 

sosgal721

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Jul 28, 2007
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Fort Mill, SC
The Goby is a neon cleaner goby, and a blue damsel(which I couldn't get a picture of...) the clownfish I am not completely sure what specific kind (but have attached a picture). And the starfish is a chocolate chip starfish. The wrasse is a yellow wrasse,looks like this:


So do you think that I was just unlucky and got an aggressive clownfish?
They are all pretty small except for the clownfish....I hope I am not overstocked, although I plan on upgrading the 20 to a 55 gallon in a year...

fish6.jpg fish9.jpg fish8.jpg fish1.jpg fish3.jpg
 

Grins

Girl Reefer...we do exist
May 1, 2007
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Charlotte, NC
The stock looks to be:

Halichoerese chysurus (Canary Wrasse/Yellow Coris) needs 30g tank minimum, it is also a risk to your shrimp

Amphiprion ocelaris (False Flown or Ocellaris Clown) should be fine in a 20g but they are still in the damsel family and sound like you have one that has decided the small space is it's territory. Having ample liverock with hiding spaces will help with the agression.

Gobisoma oceanops (neon goby) should be fine in your tank

damsel, blue : really need a better description or photo on this one. Some need far bigger tanks and being a damsel will most likely grow up to be another bully for you.

chocolate chip starfish: as long as you don't have plans to go for a reef this will probably be OK

camelback shrimp: Might become food for that wrasse.

My recommendation is to get live rock to help with the agression issue, read up on the stock you have and decide what to keep or when you can upgrade. From the photos it looks like you don't have powerheads and such as well and you'll need those. How soon can you either upgrade the current tank (rock, sand, equipment) versus going up to a larger tank?
 

sosgal721

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Jul 28, 2007
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Fort Mill, SC
The wrasse has seemed to be pretty friendly with all the fish (except for the clownfish of course) but I will keep an eye on it....
The 4 original fish used to be in a 10 gallon tank, and they just upgraded to a 20 with a stand being build specifically to house a 55 (Freshwater) and the 20. The only other thing that would fit would be a 29g since the base is a fixed size. I also plan on moving in a year (graduating from college) and the thought of moving another 55 gallon scares me...
What rock,sand and equipment would you recommend?
I am not completely familiar with what a powerhead does or what the purpose is. Did a little google search and found that it is basically for air circulation, right?
If it matters the filter is a biowheel 200 (rated for 50 gallons) and contains filter media from the filter that was used in the 10 gallon (to reduce cycle time)

Ive managed to get a picture of the blue damsel (so hard to take pictures of! haha)
Ive done tons and tons of searches on the internet to study up on the fish but so many places have conflicting things to say about them, so I am never sure who to believe!

DSC00105.JPG
 

tidescallme

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Jul 14, 2007
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live rock is usually a must in a saltwater aquarium, it is a natural filter/food supply, live sand is also very benenficial. You are overstocked with fish for such a small aquarium thats why there is disputes, you could try live rock as hiding places, also powerheads keep circulating water flow, which aids in less algae and fish and anything else stay healthier
 

tidescallme

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Jul 14, 2007
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the power heads also kindof represent currents in the natural ocean where these animals would origionally be
 

tidescallme

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yea that is a devil damsel i have on but mine is very friendly i guess fish have personalities too haha
 

sosgal721

AC Members
Jul 28, 2007
107
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Fort Mill, SC
Yeah my damsel is real nice too haha. I just hope it will heal properly.
Anyways, I have decided to get a 29 gallon and get some live rock and sand, is there a specific brand that people prefer. (I thought I knew a lot about fish until I came to this forum! haha) I seem to have bad luck with product picking... my thermometers between my 3 tanks are about 3-5 degrees off from what they actually are (all the same brand)...
 
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