New fish, how do I control the hazing???

[Halal Hotdog]

Hey guys, today I got a harlequin tusk (dream fish). In anticipation for this addition I bought two plexiglass dividers and separated 1/3 of my display from the other 2/3. The existing fish are in the 2/3 and the new addition is in the 1/3.

The reason I did this is because I have a 5-6" clown trigger (another dream fish). He doesn't care about small fish but hates larger new additions. He currently lives peacefully with a (5") purple tang (also dream fish), (2-3") 2 clown fish, and (1-2") molly. He shows literally no aggression to the clowns and molly, but every once in a while he reminds the purple tang who is boss. I have adjusted how I feed, and that has dramatically decreased the aggression.

My problem is the harlequin tusk is 5" as well. Through the clear divider the CT is showing signs of aggression and trying his best to get to the other side, where he sees the new fish. I am going to leave the tank divided like this for 2-4 weeks and allow everyone to see each other, but not interact. Basically I created an acclimation box on steroids.

Will this be enough??? I know a lot of people feel CT are grenades, and if they go berserk they kill everything. So far this CT has not shown that in the 1 year I have had him. My goal is to get his aggression towards the HT to the same level he shows to the PT, which at this time is relatively minimal. After the year of them coexisting together I think they are becoming nice to each other. Advice would be greatly appreciated, especially by trigger owners.

I attached a picture of the plexiglass dividing the tank, just in case someone was interested . $28 from Lowes and divided up a 2'x2' area.

 

[ncaldwell]

Not sure how well it would work with a trigger but for my Achilles tang I had a piece of mirror cut for one end of the tank. He would fight himself until he dies so the other tang had free roam of the tank for a couple days. Then I just put it up if he starts acting up

 

[11f150]

Good idea on the acclimation setup. The trigger will hopefully get use to him with time. Just make sure that right side is getting proper filtration since that plexglass is solid with no holes.

 

[cracker]

You plan to separate for a good long time is. good. I have an eggcrate separation panel that splits the tank in half this has worked & not worked in the past. All depends if the tang is going to be cool. I'd think the longeer the separation the better.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Not sure how well it would work with a trigger but for my Achilles tang I had a piece of mirror cut for one end of the tank. He would fight himself until he dies so the other tang had free roam of the tank for a couple days. Then I just put it up if he starts acting up

I thought about this. When I get the dividers removed I will definitely hang up a mirror and a big CT picture on the other side. On the plexiglass he definitely attacked his own reflection when I first installed it. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Good idea on the acclimation setup. The trigger will hopefully get use to him with time. Just make sure that right side is getting proper filtration since that plexglass is solid with no holes.

That is the reason I used two separate pieces of Plexiglas vs one continuous piece. There is a bit of awkward room between the two panels that allows water to cross to the overflow. From the overflow everything goes into the sump and there is a return on the HT side. Was nervous the space may not be adequate and the water level would rise on the HT side, but thankfully that was not the case.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

You plan to separate for a good long time is. good. I have an eggcrate separation panel that splits the tank in half this has worked & not worked in the past. All depends if the tang is going to be cool. I'd think the longeer the separation the better.

Could you elaborate on your experiences? How long did you separate? What type of fish? Do you feel the success/failure was completely based on the fish?

 

[cracker]

Let's see , had a Yellow Tang that no matter how long time out was it just immediately went on the attack. He finally went back to the lfs for credit. The partition has worked on a sailfin & Copper band. & another yellow tang & Powder blue. These were in another tank though. This new 180 is for butterflys & they are pretty mellow anyway. this is where I had issues with the butt head yellow tang. I used eggcrate so circulation wouldn't be affected.
I would separate for weeks. if I saw aggression I would re intro the partition. This can be tricky to keep the bully on 1 side while the other fish were at the other.
In my experience this worked very well accept the one Yellow Tang.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Good idea on the plexiglass divider. I know CT's are a special kind of aggressive, so this is an extra challenging situation, but I think you're action plan is solid. I may have missed it, but how big is the tank?

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Good idea on the plexiglass divider. I know CT's are a special kind of aggressive, so this is an extra challenging situation, but I think you're action plan is solid. I may have missed it, but how big is the tank?

I think among my initial edit of this thread I may have removed some vital information. The tank is 155 gallon bowfront 6'x2'x2' tank. Aqua scape is laid out to optimize fish swimming both in the anterior and posterior of the tank.

 

[ca1ore]

Mirror trick certainly works for Tangs ...... worth a try

 

[Saltwaterfrenzy]

I have a tusk in my tank along with a baby clown trigger. I have to say that I have had the tusk for about one year and just got the clown trigger early April. So far, so good. It is probably because the CT isn't big enough to compete with the tusk. But I do keep the fish stocked with food throughout the day, which hopefully keeps the aggression down.

In terms of your acclamation idea, that is pretty ingenious. I hope it works for you! You are right, both are beautiful fish to own.

 

[Razz]

I don't have any real experience with these fish as my little 75 gallon isn't suitable for them...BUT, maybe you could OVER Vodka dose, get everyone in a "I love you, man" frame of mind and hope for the best the next day...lol...

 

[HB AL]

The clown is probably just trying to figure out why he cant cruise to the other side of the tank anymore. I would pull the plexi and let them mingle. I bet other than a little posturing and maybe a nibble they will be just fine. Ive had both at the same time before around the same size and they didnt even look at each other, the tusk went in around 4 months after the clown.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have a tusk in my tank along with a baby clown trigger. I have to say that I have had the tusk for about one year and just got the clown trigger early April. So far, so good. It is probably because the CT isn't big enough to compete with the tusk. But I do keep the fish stocked with food throughout the day, which hopefully keeps the aggression down.

In terms of your acclamation idea, that is pretty ingenious. I hope it works for you! You are right, both are beautiful fish to own.

Thank you, I just hope the ability to see each other will dramatically decrease the initial aggression. I also completely agree with you about feeding well to mitigate daily aggression. The only bad side with that is it makes them grow very quickly. My CT eats an equivalency of 1.5-2 medium sized shrimp a day. That is not counting what the other fish get fed. Because of this he has grown very quickly, and he is definitely a chubby boy. If he keeps this up then people will think he is a puffer.

I don't have any real experience with these fish as my little 75 gallon isn't suitable for them...BUT, maybe you could OVER Vodka dose, get everyone in a "I love you, man" frame of mind and hope for the best the next day...lol...

Haha everyone would love each other and the nitrates would be zero. I do however think the CT would be a mean drunk.

The clown is probably just trying to figure out why he cant cruise to the other side of the tank anymore. I would pull the plexi and let them mingle. I bet other than a little posturing and maybe a nibble they will be just fine. Ive had both at the same time before around the same size and they didnt even look at each other, the tusk went in around 4 months after the clown.

I like the idea, and hope it is correct when I pull the plexiglass, but that will be probably in a few weeks. The reason is for a short while I had a 6" vlamingi tang tang in the tank a couple of months ago. Lets just say it was a lot more than posturing. He did not kill the tang because I pulled him out. CT is built like a tank and if he decides to truly attack anything in the tank than it would be goner. CT's definitely have different personalities. I would not be surprised if yours is more mellow to fish his size. Mine is fine with little fish, but anything his size makes him go bananas. I was shocked that 1" mollies did not trigger any aggression from him. I have even seen the molly steal food from him.


UPDATE: So day two is much better than yesterday. CT is definitely spending a lot less time at the plexiglass. Yesterday whenever the HT went near the glass the CT came at it like a bullet, today that is not the case. CT is showing a lot less aggression and frustration. I am hopeful that this may work. I also appreciate everyones suggestions. Will definitely hang up a mirror when the plexiglass comes out. I would love to read anymore suggestions you guys may have.

 

[Razz]

I hope it works out for you...seems to me like it might...

 

[Forsaken77]

Hey guys, today I got a harlequin tusk (dream fish). In anticipation for this addition I bought two plexiglass dividers and separated 1/3 of my display from the other 2/3. The existing fish are in the 2/3 and the new addition is in the 1/3.

The reason I did this is because I have a 5-6" clown trigger (another dream fish). He doesn't care about small fish but hates larger new additions. He currently lives peacefully with a (5") purple tang (also dream fish), (2-3") 2 clown fish, and (1-2") molly. He shows literally no aggression to the clowns and molly, but every once in a while he reminds the purple tang who is boss. I have adjusted how I feed, and that has dramatically decreased the aggression.

My problem is the harlequin tusk is 5" as well. Through the clear divider the CT is showing signs of aggression and trying his best to get to the other side, where he sees the new fish. I am going to leave the tank divided like this for 2-4 weeks and allow everyone to see each other, but not interact. Basically I created an acclimation box on steroids.

Will this be enough??? I know a lot of people feel CT are grenades, and if they go berserk they kill everything. So far this CT has not shown that in the 1 year I have had him. My goal is to get his aggression towards the HT to the same level he shows to the PT, which at this time is relatively minimal. After the year of them coexisting together I think they are becoming nice to each other. Advice would be greatly appreciated, especially by trigger owners.

I attached a picture of the plexiglass dividing the tank, just in case someone was interested . $28 from Lowes and divided up a 2'x2' area.

That's exactly how I advise people to intro new fish, with an introduction box. It even works for species that are hostile towards their own kind. Good job.

I've had Clown Triggers and Tusks, but not a clown that size. As long as I fed them live food, they were happy. Especially the Triggers (of which I had 3 different ones in the same tank as a Tusk). They love shredding apart feeder fish and shrimp. I'm actually surprised the clown hasn't eaten your small fish yet.

You probably will see some aggression when you remove the plate because they need to establish a pecking order. Usually this is light chasing for a few days. Whenever you notice the hazing, feed a little food. Also try to scatter the food so the clown and tusk aren't competing for the same pieces. You don't want the clown to think the tusk is taking away his food, at least until they are comfortable with each other.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

That's exactly how I advise people to intro new fish, with an introduction box. It even works for species that are hostile towards their own kind. Good job.

I've had Clown Triggers and Tusks, but not a clown that size. As long as I fed them live food, they were happy. Especially the Triggers (of which I had 3 different ones in the same tank as a Tusk). They love shredding apart feeder fish and shrimp. I'm actually surprised the clown hasn't eaten your small fish yet.

You probably will see some aggression when you remove the plate because they need to establish a pecking order. Usually this is light chasing for a few days. Whenever you notice the hazing, feed a little food. Also try to scatter the food so the clown and tusk aren't competing for the same pieces. You don't want the clown to think the tusk is taking away his food, at least until they are comfortable with each other.

Personally I am not a fan of feeding live food. I tried to 'train' the CT to only eat off the veggie magnetic clip from two little fishes. I feel this is the reason he doesn't view the smaller fish in the tank as food. Good suggestion about making sure he doesn't view the HT as competition. Will definitely try to spread the food across the tank the first week.

 

[SDReefer]

Do you have a plan if things go south when you remove the plexiglass? Maybe have the HT and PT on one side, and the CT on the other. Having a mirror as well as a picture of a CT will help reduce possible aggression but you should have a Plan B, especially when dealing with these expensive fish.

 

[Forsaken77]

Personally I am not a fan of feeding live food. I tried to 'train' the CT to only eat off the veggie magnetic clip from two little fishes. I feel this is the reason he doesn't view the smaller fish in the tank as food. Good suggestion about making sure he doesn't view the HT as competition. Will definitely try to spread the food across the tank the first week.

You feed him whole seafood on the clip? They still have those predator instincts and dietary needs, though they are hardy fish.

Hopefully he stays peaceful because nobody likes having one of their fish eat another. Just try to keep him well fed because that's his natural instinct, to eat live fish and shrimp. I used to always feed glass/ghost shrimp, but they've become harder to find lately. I even had these predators eating flake food once in a while. Triggers will really eat anything. At least the clown isn't as aggressive as a Queen or Undulated Trigger. Those things are beasts and I always wanted a Queen. Just too nasty.

I love triggers. They have some of the best personalities, along with a dogface puffer.

Good luck. Is the tusk Australian or Indian Ocean btw? A few of us have had instances of the tusks going completely 100% blind and having to be put down. Nobody knows why, but I attribute it to collection methods. I hope yours works out. Great fish to have, one of my favorites.