Clowns in my gonipora and the basslet attacking the clowns in it! HELP!

[Sxybeemr325]

I just bought a royal gramma basslet yesterday. I introduced him to my tank and he has been hagning out close to my gonipora since yesterday. todayy, i visited another LFS and bought a six line (for my worm issue) and 2 clowns. Since I introduced my clowns in my tank today,the royal gramma been attacking them constantly! The royal gramma even nips at the clowns! My clowns are hagning out in my gonipora... and my gonapora is almost all closed up now (because of the clowns in it).... I tought the royal gramma was a PEACEFUL fish!!!!! Hes been rocusing with the clowns non stop! What a little terror!

And my other issue other then the royal gramma and the clowns getting attacked by it.... Are the clowns gonna start hosting my gonipora? What happens if they do??? My gonipora is all closed up now.... and the clowns haven t got out of it since they have been introduced to my tank (appx 5 hours ago..)!!

As for my six line. He s been hiding in a rock for 3 hours now.... he should come out..... Hopefully...At least, he ain't causing any problems...

Here are pictures of the Royal gramma ( I beleive it is...) and the clowns in my gonipora getting stalked and attacked! What a mess!! HELP!:frustrat::grumble:

Closed up gonipora.....

 

[Doc]

that is not a royal gramma. Royal grammas are peaceful. you have a royal dottyback, probably the MOST aggressive dottybacks...ever. Catch this fish and return it ASAP or it will kill your clowns. they are super territorial and will not stop beating on your clowns. Your LFS did not know what they were selling you.

Your clowns will end up killing your goni if they keep hosting it. I have had it happen twice. Gonis are tender that way. they do not put up with any irritation well. just the smallest amount will cause them to retract. if it happens too much, they will die. I have found that once they start to get stressed, they just die. If I were you I would

1) Get rid of the dottyback 2)take the goni out for a few days so the clowns can find a new place to live and then put it back. Good luck

-Doc

 

[Sxybeemr325]

return the dottiback! What a stupid thing! the guy at the lfs said it would fine with clowns. I can opbviously see today that it is not....

What if a buy an anemone for the clowns? You thnk they may leave the gonipora alone? What typs of anemone would work?

I do not have another tank to place my gonipora in... or an other heater......

 

[yote]

Since the clowns have already taken up with the goni,then it'll probably be tough to get them into an anemone.Not saying it wont happen,just saying it might be hard to make them move.

 

[Doc]

feel free to chew out the LFS guy who sold you that little beast.

Do you have a sump? it will be fine for three or four days in the sump. If you do not have a sump, see if the LFS will hold it for you for a few days or a trusted friend who has a tank.

To try to get the clowns away from the goni would be to rearrange most of your rock work. it breaks up their sense of territory and requires them to make new territorial boundaries. After a few days, put the goni back in.

If you want to try a nem and your tank is seasoned, try a BTA. there is no guarantee your clowns will host tho. Good luck

-Doc

 

[reeffreak]

Yeah,thats definitely not a Royal Gramma.We here on the east coast called them Bicolor Pseudochromis.I guess Royal dottyback will do.

Its not good for the goni to be hosted by the clowns.They will stay close and they are very sensitive to stress.Trust me,you won't want the goni to get brown jelly disease.Try moving it closer to the top,shield it from getting to much light so they don't bleach.I found most clowns rather host something near the bottom instead of near the water surface.No guarantee though.

 

[Sxybeemr325]

i just moved my gonipora from the left of my tank to the rear right.... I placed my bubble coral at the place of the gonipora.... Hope that will do....

What type of coral may the clown host? Something that can be hosted... not like the gonipora..... I tought about the anemone... And like Dr marco said, a bubble tip anemone.... But I don t know if i want to risk my corals getting stinged by anemone... or the anemone dying and wiping out my whole tank.... Any suggestion on corals that clowns may host? For now, they stayed beside the bubble coral..... They seem to be willing to host practicly anything in this one specific spot...

About the dottyback, any chances that he may be ok with the clowns after a while??? I really hate it as he s beenpicking on the clowns all afternoon.... but the clowns took over it s territory.... What if the dottyback finds another territory in the tank??? COuld that happen? or should I just get rid of it?

 

[Doc]

up to you. your tank is theoretically big enough for it to live in peace with other fish. If you really like it and want to keep it, I have one trick that has worked for me in the past with nasty small fish. Put in a big fish. They are aware of size issues and will be less aggressive if they are clearly outsized by other fish. Drop in a good sized tang soon that is already on your fish list and see what happens. If your tank has been up for 8 months or so, you can try a BTA, but again, no guarantee your clowns will host, not to mention they like to roam after you put them in your tank. Yes they may sting your corals when they move around, but BTA stings are much less harmful than other corals, like carpet nems. If you keep an eye on him and move corals that come in contact, you will be OK. Just be prepared to re-aquascape after adding it.

As far as other corals that your clowns will host, the list is exhaustive. I have seen clowns host in GSP, YSP, toadstool leathers, xenia, fuzzy mushrooms, etc. the problem with that is there really isn't any protection from a predatory or aggressive fish in hosting a coral as opposed to nems.

There you go. up to you now.

-Doc

 

[jhnrb]

Not much to add here. The advice is good. You did get a Royal Dottyback (bicolor dottyback) inch for inch one of the most aggressive dottybacks available. may viciously attack aggressive fish three times its size, shop owners frequently see this fish returned due to its agonistic nature. Marine fishes by Scott W. Michael. (return it now, or, wait until it causes enough damage or flustration and then return it later). good luck.

 

[Sxybeemr325]

Thank you for the great advice Dr. Marco.

As for the tangs, I tought you could not mix the tangs together? If I buy another tang, should I get one bigger, smaller or the same size as my yellow tang? What if they start fighting... then i'll be in trouble:grumble:. My little devil fighting with the clowns, the 2 tangs fighting together and my gonipora....

I will see today when I get back home from work.... See how my little terror(dottiback) is doing and behaving.... As for the gonipora, as i switched it with my bubble coral to the opposite side of my tank, i hope the clowns will leave it alone.... I luve the bubbletip anemone.... My tank has been running for a year now without a problem... i just can t wait to get back home from work, and see what is happening in my tank.......

 

[Sxybeemr325]

What about a naso blonde tang?

 

[reeffreak]

A Naso tang will eventually outgrow a tank that size.You can get a small one and it will take a long time before it does outgrow it.IMO,they are one of the most peaceful tangs and should get along fine with your yellow.

 

[Bifferwine]

The yellow tang is of the genus Zebrasoma. Tangs of different genuses will get along better than tangs of the same genus. So if you get another tang, it would be wise to go with anything besides another Zebrasoma.

I agree with the rest of the advice, get rid of the aggressive fish that was misnamed when it was sold to you, and try to find some way to get the clowns out of the Goni, Gonis are really sensitive and I doubt would survive a pair of clowns hosting in it.

 

[Doc]

I think you can add Tangs if you are careful. I have had three before in my 125, but all were small. Yellow tangs and Regal Blue tangs get along well as do naso tangs. you would want to avoid the genus zebramosa, which is the purple tang, atlantic blue tang, sailfin tangs, etc.

You could add an acanthurus tang which would take control of the tank. Powder blues are great, but sensitive to Ich. i am a huge fan of the Sohal tang. Mine is a great fish. The orange shoulder tang is unique and not often used as is the bristletooth tang.

How big is your yellow tang? since it is established, you would want to add one that is slightly smaller. I really like the Regal Blue tang, which is also super peaceful.

I think you would be fine to add a BTA in your tank.

-Doc

 

[Sxybeemr325]

My yellow tang is now approx. 4 1/2 inches....

I love your sohal tang, but i've never seen one at my lsf. I guess it must be rare to find.... As for the regal blue tang, i have seen one at my LSF approx. 8-9 inches selling for 225.00!!!! I like the regal tang,but find it pricey for a fish that i am personally not "crazy" about... but prefer the sohal or the powder blue.... I have heard about the powder blue and ich.... What are the chances...???

I just got home and my clowns found the new placement of the gonipora!!! This girl I work with offered to give me her fishtank... i beleive it is a 15-20 gallon tank..... How can I put my gonipora in there? Can I mix new salt water, let it sit for 2-3 days and place it in there? should i put a piece of live rock in there for the bacteria? is it going to cycle? I may remove my gonipora and place it in a separate tank for a bit....maybe buy a bta this week end... and hope the clowns will host the bta and leave my gonipora alone!!! Lets say, in a perfect world, that the clowns would start hosting the bta, and then i place the gonipora back in the tank, what are he chances that the clowns will leave the bta and go back to the gonipora?

I will now mov my gonipora almost at the surface. will try this..... those clowns are killing me! :grumble:

 

[yote]

I used to have a clown that would host in any coral I added to the tank.But my Ocellaris's wont fool with anything but my BTA.
You dont have anything to lose.Go for it.Besides,you'll like having a BTA in your tank.

 

[Sxybeemr325]

I just e-mailed a guy who sold me some corals before.... he does everything from home... His basement is pretty much converted into coral land!!! The corals I got from him looks great!
He told me he would receive 2 rose bubble tip anemone at the end of the month.... Any toughts on the rose bubble tip??? Good one..?

 

[yote]

I like em and doubt they would be any harder to care for than the green bubble tips.

 

[Sxybeemr325]

here I am with my clownfish issues again!!!!!

I don t know if you guys remember... About a year ago, I've had 4 clowns jumping out of my tank within 1-2 months. The first pair I bought, they both jumped out. I bought a second pair thinking it was bad luck as even my lfs was telling me they never heard of clownfish jumping out of a tank, and the second pair jumped out. my clowns would always hang out on top of the water....

I just went to look at my 2 new clowns. they now left the gonipora to go hang out on top of my water! Why is that? I have powerheads on top of the water creating a lot of circulation and riveling on top.... are those 2 clowns gonna jump out as well??? What is it that i'm doing wong with the clowns? Why do they always end up going on top of the water and just swim on top there.... their fins on their back are coming out of the water, they can t go any higher then that! no more clownfish suicide.... Somethin must be wrong!

 

[reeffreak]

I don't have any good advice for you Sxy.I've never heard or had any clowns jump ever.

Are they eating?