Advice on Adding New Fish to Tank

[ashtoreth]

Hi guys,

In my 30gal I have two small oscellaris clowns and was hoping to ultimately have a midas blenny, a firefish, and a fire shrimp as well. It takes a bit of time for my LFS to get these fish in and want to give myself sometime to observe them as well / have them semi-quarantined at the LFS since I don't have a quarantine setup at home so am trying to plan ahead. I'd originally thought to add in the remaining inhabitants one by one (with one added every few weeks) to make sure my bioload doesn't spike and cause a mini cycle (my tank is newly cycled so wanted to take it slow) and thought a blenny and firefish after the clowns could still work, especially since the clowns are decently young. However, one of my clowns seems to be quite a bully even now (the tank only has the two clowns) so I'm wondering if it would be better to introduce the few together and give the clown less of a target to bully? And similarly should I try to introduce the rest earlier rather than later to reduce the risk of the clowns getting used to having the whole space? I'm also wondering on the right time to add the shrimp and clean-up crew -- should I be waiting for after I see significant algae formation?

I'd also considered having a coral beauty down the line (e.g. a year in) if it seemed like the tank can handle the bioload / everything was very stable but have also heard 30gal may be too small. I'm wondering if given how aggressive my one clown is whether I should try a slightly bigger fish like the coral beauty to keep everything in check and maybe forego one or two of the smaller guys?

Thanks,
Amy

 

[40g Nano]

Do not add more clowns. I’m doing a clown harem tank right now but that’s a different story. The two clowns will figure it out, one becoming a female. Coral beauty might be a little big, and they can eat coral. For the firefish and Midas blenny, they will be fine but make sure you have a very tight fitting lid. They are very well known jumpers.

 

[40g Nano]

Also, adding another fish won’t stop the aggression in the two clowns. It is a dominance thing.

 

[ashtoreth]

Yeah, I'm not planning to add any more clowns. My worry was more the continued aggression from the larger clown means it will also bully the blenny and firefish if they are added in individually (e.g. is it better to add both the blenny and firefish in at the same time or will the bioload increase be too much). I have a mesh lid so hopefully it will dissuade jumping unless they get super stressed.

Have folks tried adding blenny or firefish in containers to allow the clowns to get used to them before letting them out? Not sure if that would help improve the chances of limiting aggression from the clowns to the newcomers or if you think the blenny and firefish will probably be fine and the aggression my clown has is likely just to other clowns?

 

[ShepherdReefer]

After complying with the list of fish I want to use in a tank, I pick the least aggressive first and end with the most aggressive last.

 

[vlangel]

The clowns probably should have been added last. Maybe you should put them in an acclimation box, redo the aquascape and add the midas blenny and firefish. Then after a week when the new fish are comfortable, release the clowns.

 

[40g Nano]

clowns are fine.
agression is normal until one becomes female

 

[mnreefer327]

clowns are fine.
agression is normal until one becomes female

100% agree with this. It is normal to have some aggression between newly established clowns until one turns female. They'll get over it. Also, I do not think a coral beauty would be a good choice in a 30g. I wouldn't worry too much about adding other fish. I don't think the clowns will go after them like they do eachother.