At what point does fish chasing need to be dealt with?

edsbeaker · May 16, 2020

Hi, I have a 60 gallon with two dwarf angels, flame and coral beauty. They were introduced together in the tank 4 weeks ago. I ordered them from Divers Den and they were represented as 2 1/2” each. Unfortunately the Coral Beauty is at least 3 1/2“, and chases the flame whenever they cross paths. The flames behavior seems to be OK. It is not reclusive or hiding, it grazes, eats and seems to be acting normally, but whenever the CB sees it, it does get chased and goes into a small area that the Coral Beauty can not fit in, then comes right out. Should I remove one?

Ike · May 16, 2020

As long as the Flame isn't showing visible signs of damage and that it's getting worse it should be fine

Ike · May 16, 2020

Ike said:
As long as the Flame isn't showing visible signs of damage and that it's getting worse it should be fine

On a related note, my power brown has been chasing my powder blue for over a year. I think it stresses the powder brown out more than the blue that he can't catch the powder blue

edsbeaker · May 16, 2020

Thank you for the reply. No damage is being done so far, so I’ll keep watch.
That is funny about the Powder Brown.

HB AL · May 16, 2020

My yellow tang has been doing that to my purple tang for 3 years now. Only happens when they get close, then a little chase and there both back to doing there thing, grazing. If its causing damage to the fish or it wont let the fish leave a tiny spot then that's when you gotta step in. If there's no harm then no foul.

Leslie Tabor · May 16, 2020

My breaking point with my hogfish was a death directly caused by his behavior. In hindsight, he has killed many fish in the 2 years I had him. Unless it is from male/female behavior anything that is causing physical damage I won't tolerate going forward. Sounds like your guys are ok at the moment. Watch for escalating aggression as they mature.

vetteguy53081 · May 16, 2020

try the following.
a- Lights out for an hour, even two
b- apllying mirror when the chase begins. The aggressor will focus on its' look-a-like
c- catching/trapping it and place in container or acclimation box for 1-2 weeks.

edsbeaker · May 16, 2020

If I start seeing any damage, I’ll try that. Thanks

Ike · May 16, 2020

Leslie Tabor said:
My breaking point with my hogfish was a death directly caused by his behavior. In hindsight, he has killed many fish in the 2 years I had him. Unless it is from male/female behavior anything that is causing physical damage I won't tolerate going forward. Sounds like your guys are ok at the moment. Watch for escalating aggression as they mature.

Agree with the last part for sure. Using my tangs as an example, the power brown could have cared less when the blue was added, it took a month for the chasing to start, which I was shocked by. I thought it would be a war for a day or two and then they'd be fine. Fish are unpredictable sometimes...

Leslie Tabor · May 16, 2020

Ike said:
Agree with the last part for sure. Using my tangs as an example, the power brown could have cared less when the blue was added, it took a month for the chasing to start, which I was shocked by. I thought it would be a war for a day or two and then they'd be fine. Fish are unpredictable sometimes...

That is a big part of it...some of them didn't read the manual!

Jonify · May 16, 2020

Sounds like it's fine and your tank is a reasonable size ... your flame knows where to hide, and eventually they'll find their rhythm. As long as the flame is still eating, I wouldn't worry about it.