Clownfish and Blenny Help

[Dylan Cutchin]

Hi, Around a week ago I got a Tribal blenny from my LFS for my 34-gallon mixed reef tank. My current stock was a six-line wrasse, 3 clownfish (yes, I know, not normal, but the guy I bought it from had all 3 for two years, and now I have had them for a year so they are all cool), pistol shrimp, and a cleaner shrimp. I never had problems introducing fish to the tank ever before (the clowns were the only original stock), and so I thought all would be good. Boy, was I wrong, the big female and the dominant male was immediately aggressive, and not even just nips, once when into the rockwork and came out with him in his mouth; on top of that, she has become increasingly aggressive towards one of her clown mates. The Blenny now takes shelter in the very back on the tank were the clowns can't go. I and probably going to return him tomorrow as they have yet to stop fighting, the big female is still searching for him as she knows he is in the back. I have several questions. And now even the big female is bulling the tiniest male. Any help is welcome!!

1) Why would the clown be aggressive all of a sudden?

2) Is there a way to stop this?

3) Can I get new fish or will she always act like this now?

 

[JasonK84]

Try putting the aggressive fish in timeout while the new additions get settled in. Acclimation boxes work or if you have a sump you can put the fish down there a few days or more.

 

[Dylan Cutchin]

Try putting the aggressive fish in timeout while the new additions get settled in. Acclimation boxes work or if you have a sump you can put the fish down there a few days or more.

I have a breeder box, would that work?

 

[JasonK84]

I have a breeder box, would that work?

Yeah, just put the aggressive female in it for several days while the blenny gets comfortable. Another option is rearranging the aquascape putting everyone on the same playing field and searching for "safe zones".

 

[Dylan Cutchin]

Thanks!

 

[Dylan Cutchin]

Yeah, just put the aggressive female in it for several days while the blenny gets comfortable. Another option is rearranging the aquascape putting everyone on the same playing field and searching for "safe zones".

I was able to get the big female, but will this put tons of stress on the clown in there; I hate seeing here trapped in such a small box, but I also hate having my blenny getting attacked. Another thought I had is to put the blenny in there if I could catch him, or would they just stress him out by the clowns attacking the plastic?

 

[JasonK84]

It is possible it could work but less likely. The blenny needs to be able to establish a territory within the rockwork to escape. Once he is out of the netting he will be just as vulnerable. Only difference would be he will be adjusted well to your water parameters.

What are the dimensions of the box and how big is the female clown? I ask this because just earlier this week I jailed a Picasso trigger (3") in an acclimation box (14"x 5"x 6") while a pink margin fairy wrasse could settle in. 4 days later the Picasso doesn't even care that the wrasse is there.

A little history on the wrasse and trigger:

About a month prior I had 2 wrasses in the box introducing to the DT after QT. After 3 days I released them out of the box and it was immediate torment from a couple of the established fish (mostly the trigger but also my powder blue). The larger wrasse was able to hold his own until settled in but the small peaceful pink margin kept getting harrased until he escaped into my overflow box. 3 days in the overflow box and he finally found his way down to my sump where I was able to catch him. Upon catching him he had an injured eye. I took him back to QT and treated him for 3 weeks with antibiotics and nursed him back. Then he went back into the acclimation box for a second attempt. 3 days in the box and I set out to catch the trigger. Got him caught and released the wrasse into the DT and put the trigger in the box for a while. Trigger came out 2 days ago and hasn't even glanced at the wrasse that he had previously tried to murder.

Sorry for the long post but IME it is best to jail the aggressor.

 

[Dylan Cutchin]

Hmmm, I would say the box is about 8 inches L x 4 inches wide, and 4 inches tall. The Clown is about 3-4 inches long. And I don't have a sump or a QT. just my 34 G Red Sea Max 130D.

 

[JasonK84]

Hmmm, I would say the box is about 8 inches L x 4 inches wide, and 4 inches tall. The Clown is about 3-4 inches long. And I don't have a sump or a QT. just my 34 G Red Sea Max 130D.

It's a little small for her size but as long as she isn't going nuts I would leave her and let everyone else settle it.