agressive fish

tankedchemist

tankedchemist

Reef enthusiast
So, I put my clown back in the display tank last night. I was hoping that my flame angel would stop being a bi*** once the clown was back in because her behavior issues only started once the clown got moved to QT. Anyway, the short story is, she's even worse now-- won't leave the clown alone, even when the clown's no where near her "territory." WTF is goin on? I have rearranged the rock a couple times, and she keeps chasing the other fish.... she even tries to use the side of her body to shove the watchman back into his cave, even after the watchman bit her and didn't let go for a while. So, is there an angel fish anger managemet course I could send her to?? :question:
 
i dont think it will improve mate simple get rid of the flame angel imo your tank is way to small for a flame angel there can be very territorial hope this helps manythanks
 
Tankedchemist, unfortunately I think ckckck is right. I love flame angelfish. Along with the navarchus, they are one of the reasons I am in this hobby in the first place. But a flame angel will consider your entire biocube to be "its territory" and will continue to harass your other fish.

There are limitations in this hobby, and while I appreciate and even encourage people to challenge the boundaries, I think you may be up against a simple fact of reef keeping life. I know it always sucks to get advice like this, but you really should consider getting rid of the the flame angel. At the very least, you may try to swap him for another one at your LFS, but don't be surprised if you end up with the same result. Please keep us posted. If you are able to get a flame angel to be a good citizen in a 29 biocube, your experience will be very helpful for others.
 
I agree that the tank is too small for it but you can try taking the angel out for a few weeks and let the clown establish first.
 
See, I did a lot of research on it before hand, and both my saltwater books and the ones at the LFS say flame angels only need 20-30 gallons (varies depending on source, here's 1 example). So I'm really disappointed that even reliable sources are wrong. :( She's my favorite fish, and I don't want to give her up... sad. :disappoin
 
Your research was correct. You can keep a flame angelfish in a 20g. That is, I think it will live. It is a remarkably hardy fish. However it is known as a territorial fish, and causes problems in tanks much larger than yours. They just tend to bully other fish.

Many people agree that a flame should be added to your tank last in order to avoid the problems you are now encountering. Some people have had success. My last tank (120g) had a flame and it was pretty peaceful. There may be a difference between the sexes regarding territorial nature. Or perhaps the Hawaiian species is more docile than the indo-pacific species. I’m not sure. You don’t seem to have a very retiring little guy there though.
 
He was timid when I first added him... and he was the lastfish to be added, but I had to take the clown out and QT him because he had a parasite. The clown was out for 3 weeks. Introducing him back has exacerbated the problems. Maybe taking the angel out and reintroducing would work. sigh...
 
Heres a little something to keep in mind when it comes to saltwater.
No matter what you read,or anybody tells you,theres a 50/50 chance that the fish,shrimp,or whatever will act like its SUPPOSED too.
 
Put flame in QT for a few weeks. Rearrange tank while it's in qt. Introduce a few weeks later and see what happens. If this doesn't help you'll have to decide which fishes you want. The flame or all the others you have.
 

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