Help!

[IIITYIII]

im new to the forum not sure if im even in the right spot i posted somewhere earlier they told me to post here...

i purchased a 29 gallon biocube and my first 2 fish were clown fish which are still doing good then i purchased a spotted mandarin also doing well going on a month in a half maybe 2 months. i purchased a cleaner shrimp and 4 wheel drive goby and my clowns killed both my 4 wheel drive and my shrimp. i am not sure why i thought clowns were suppose to be nice. is my best bet to get rid of the clowns if i want other fish or is their a way i can get them to stop killing everything i stick in my tank.

 

[ox5477]

Clowns can be territorial but I didnt know them to go after other fish outside of their family. I know ski will be along eventually with a better answer then this prob and hopefully some other members who maybe have a better answer as well.

Ox

 

[kj23502]

to the forum!!! I'm fairly new to saltwater but have been reading soo much and can try to help you as well. First we need to know what kind of clowns they are. Some species are more aggressive than others. Did you get cured rock when you set up? Have you been testing ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? How long has it been set up now and how long where the clowns the only occupants?

Be sure to check out realm of knowledge in the pinned topics at the topic of marine chit chat area. READ READ and READ some more. This will prepare you better for how take care of your tank, fish, inverts (such as snails crabs) and if you get to that point corals also.

Also, Mandarins generally don't do good in tanks less than 50 gallons or so. Most ONLY eat live food (copeopods) that grow and multiply in the tank and a 29 gallon tank generally isn't big enough to support the quantity of pods needed to keep the mandarin alive.

p.s. you only need to post once...we'll get to you don't worry

I know maroon clowns can be really nasty, but I don't know about them attacking outside of their clown members either.

 

[IIITYIII]

to the forum!!! I'm fairly new to saltwater but have been reading soo much and can try to help you as well. First we need to know what kind of clowns they are. Some species are more aggressive than others. Did you get cured rock when you set up? Have you been testing ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? How long has it been set up now and how long where the clowns the only occupants?

Be sure to check out realm of knowledge in the pinned topics at the topic of marine chit chat area. READ READ and READ some more. This will prepare you better for how take care of your tank, fish, inverts (such as snails crabs) and if you get to that point corals also.

Also, Mandarins generally don't do good in tanks less than 50 gallons or so. Most ONLY eat live food (copeopods) that grow and multiply in the tank and a 29 gallon tank generally isn't big enough to support the quantity of pods needed to keep the mandarin alive.

p.s. you only need to post once...we'll get to you don't worry

I know maroon clowns can be really nasty, but I don't know about them attacking outside of their clown members either.

these are true percula clowns...the mandarin on the other hand is doing good i know they can starve to death but mine eats frozen brine shrimp as well as copepods so i do not need to worry about him starving he is nice and plump but i understand your concern they are very awesome fish. id say the clowns were in the tank for maybe 2 weeks alone before i got my mandarin.

 

[kj23502]

Do you have an anemone?

 

[IIITYIII]

Do you have an anemone?

no i do not my friends dad suggested that who has a 75 gallon tank but i do not at the moment.

 

[IIITYIII]

my friends dads perculas kill his anemone which scares me

 

[ox5477]

I wouldnt get one right now either. There are plenty of "anenome type" corals out there if you really wanted one, or atleast something like it. Anenomes need a very well established tank with good water parameters. In a nano this is much harder to keep constant water parms so putting a nem in a nano requires alot of skill and knowhow. Not saying that you wouldn't be up to it, but it would just be terrible for you to put one in and have it fold up two weeks later and nuke the tank... and even possibily ruin any future fish adventures you might have.

Have your clowns paired or do they stay in seperate parts of the tank? Because if paired, the clowns will become extra aggressive towards other fish they may see as predatory towards any future off spring they may have. But by themselves, percs should be fine with other fish

Ox

 

[IIITYIII]

I wouldnt get one right now either. There are plenty of "anenome type" corals out there if you really wanted one, or atleast something like it. Anenomes need a very well established tank with good water parameters. In a nano this is much harder to keep constant water parms so putting a nem in a nano requires alot of skill and knowhow. Not saying that you wouldn't be up to it, but it would just be terrible for you to put one in and have it fold up two weeks later and nuke the tank... and even possibily ruin any future fish adventures you might have.

Have your clowns paired or do they stay in seperate parts of the tank? Because if paired, the clowns will become extra aggressive towards other fish they may see as predatory towards any future off spring they may have. But by themselves, percs should be fine with other fish

Ox

i purchased my clowns from dr macs near ocean city and yes the way he was selling clowns was 2 per tank he had little maybe 10 gallon tanks each with a pair of clowns if that makes a difference. but they are usually swimming in seperate parts of the tank which is very weird.

 

[ox5477]

Its most likely because they are not a pair. Technically, you should only call two fish a pair once they have bred as before this, anything can break-up the two. So even though he had them labeled as a pair, doesn't mean that they were... Since they are not a pair, I would think that maybe some of the other fish got in the middle of a territory war between the clowns and ended up as casualties of war. Usually roughly 20G is about the size for one perc or occellaris clown so squeezing two individuals into this 24G might be causing the problems.

But, I guess before I start telling you to return one of them, what are the water stats of your tank as Kj23502 asked about? If your tank is not fully cycled, the fish may have just succumbed to poisoning, something much easier to see happen in a marine tank then freshwater.

Ox

 

[kj23502]

Do you have an anemone?

no i do not my friends dad suggested that who has a 75 gallon tank but i do not at the moment.

I was wondering if you do b/c they could be aggressively defending it. Ox is right...don't go get 1.

What size are the clowns? Is one noticably bigger than the other? Clowns are born male and then 1 will change to female and it's the bigger one that changes.

 

[IIITYIII]

too be honest im not too sure i cycled my tank for 2 weeks my friend is the one helping me with the tank he was the one who checked all my stuff im still learning but he checked and everything was fine when we stuck them murderous clowns in the tank, so im not too much help at the moment and its a 29 gallon tank not a 24 i do want to go bigger i just figured 29 g biocube is agood spot to start.

Do you have an anemone?

no i do not my friends dad suggested that who has a 75 gallon tank but i do not at the moment.

I was wondering if you do b/c they could be aggressively defending it. Ox is right...don't go get 1.

What size are the clowns? Is one noticably bigger than the other? Clowns are born male and then 1 will change to female and it's the bigger one that changes.

yes one clown is def noticeably bigger then the other the one clown may be 1.5 inches and the smaller one is a inch maybe barely breaking a inch. but it is def noticeable.

 

[kj23502]

Be sure to check out realm of knowledge in the pinned topics at the topic of marine chit chat area. READ READ and READ some more. This will prepare you better for how take care of your tank, fish, inverts (such as snails crabs) and if you get to that point corals also.

I can't stress that enough. That way you will know what's going on and how to take care of everything properly. That way if your friend goes on vacation/holiday you will still know how to deal/cope w/things should anything get out of wack.

 

[ox5477]

O I'm sorry, you did say 29G before. I must of just instinctivly said 24 because it seems so many have 24G nanos now a days. And ~30G or 55G tank is the best place to start IMO for marine. Not too much and enough water volume to give some lee-way.

Did you buy the lr from a shop, order online and wait for it to be shipped, or get it from a friend?

Ox

 

[IIITYIII]

O I'm sorry, you did say 29G before. I must of just instinctivly said 24 because it seems so many have 24G nanos now a days. And ~30G or 55G tank is the best place to start IMO for marine. Not too much and enough water volume to give some lee-way.

Did you buy the lr from a shop, order online and wait for it to be shipped, or get it from a friend?

Ox

i bought a 15 pound rock from dr macs, and 2 little pieces from house of tropicals.