Holiday tension: How do you deal with conflict in your tank?

[Peace River]

Holiday tension: How do you deal with conflict in your tank?

The holidays can be filled with stress, tension, and sometimes even aggression. Even thinking about it can lead to stress, so let’s just move past any potential family tension and talk about the tension in your tank? Coral warfare is a thing and fish can be aggressive, so how do you deal with it? Do you avoid the conflict by avoiding certain corals and fish? Do you separate the coral so they keep their distance? Do you overcrowd the fish so hopefully they won’t establish territories? Maybe it just becomes a free-for-all in your tank! Tell us about your approach and how you manage conflict?

By @TheDragonsReef

 

[BuddyBonButt]

I have a yellow watchman goby and pistol pair in my 90gal but I REALLY WANT a diamond goby. I'm going to try but if things get bad I'll rehome the diamond. Don't want to kill anything

 

[i cant think]

I honestly don’t know what I do that avoids aggression. I think it’s quite literally just luck of the draw and also using coral as territory as well as the rocks.
Although I have seen a few of my fish recently having wounds from something (what it is I don’t know however I have suspicions on my Golden Dwarf Boxer Shrimp or my Sally Lightfoot Crab).

 

[doubleshot00]

I care more about fish fighting than corals. So i picked my 10 fish that would get along. Now saying that clown fish suck and ill never buy one again.

 

[BuddyBonButt]

I care more about fish fighting than corals. So i picked my 10 fish that would get along. Now saying that clown fish suck and ill never buy one again.

They do suck. Mine just started biting but leaving my more delicate fish alone finally since adding a pistol shrimp. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my Watchman goby was constantly swimming in the water column. Turns out the clownfish were just nipping at its butt and couldn't get to the hiding spot. Now he has a pistol shrimp and he's got a lot more confident

 

[doubleshot00]

They do suck. Mine just started biting but leaving my more delicate fish alone finally since adding a pistol shrimp. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my Watchman goby was constantly swimming in the water column. Turns out the clownfish were just nipping at its butt and couldn't get to the hiding spot. Now he has a pistol shrimp and he's got a lot more confident

If mine keeps it up he's going to live in the sump by himself. He's the only bully in my tank right now. I guess they are like a lot of fish as they mature they become jerks.

 

[BuddyBonButt]

If mine keeps it up he's going to live in the sump by himself. He's the only bully in my tank right now. I guess they are like a lot of fish as they mature they become jerks.

Yeah, when I first got mine they were eating out of my fingers right away no fear just very peaceful fish and now they're starting to mature, they're getting more aggressive. I've had these fish for over 6 months, hand fed them every day, and about 3 or 4 days ago they finally bit me trying to put coral on my rock. Then I found out he was messing with my Watchman goby so I fear that they may be on their way out soon too

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I sit them down and have a rational conversation with them. I explain that we need to celebrate our differences and that violence should be the last resort. I have a staff of crisis counselors on call that are willing to come over and arbitrate on a moment's notice. You would be surprised on how useless this approach is , yet it is highly effective. After enough counseling, the fish usually work out their problems and there is peace in my tank again.

 

[flashsmith]

I have a mix that should have never worked out. Melanarus wrasse,Yellow Coris,Sixline,Blonde Naso,Chocolate mimic tang,Tomini,Blue eye Kole,flame back angel,Fiji foxface, Swallowtail angel and 4 anthias. My Hermit crabs are currently the only menace in my tank. I think alot of times it's luck and aquascaping.

 

[rogersb]

Thunderdome!

 

[design.maddie]

I need to start reading the thread before just voting. I thought this was in reference to fish only. Corals? oh gosh, I am at a point that everything is wanting to fight each other and with range. I think that means I have a few too many corals. Then I look at other's tanks and they seem to have so many more corals than me. I then realize I don't have doubles of any species really. Maybe the fact that all my corals are a "Mixed LPS/SPS" tank should mean I am going to have battlegrounds.

 

[Slocke]

It's an annoying balance. For a while I had thought I achieved balance by only getting peaceful fish but recently my pink streaked wrasse has started bullying my mccoskers flasher. Who'd have thought a pink streaked could be a bully?

 

[Jwise]

I have 10 tangs in my aquarium and they all get along for the most part i did add them all at the same time and carefully plan to keep them coexisting well together. I feed heavily which my tank actually benefited from because my nitrates would never come up before that and they Would stay at 0. Now they are at 5 and are great.

 

[JGT]

I sit them down and have a rational conversation with them. I explain that we need to celebrate our differences and that violence should be the last resort. I have a staff of crisis counselors on call that are willing to come over and arbitrate on a moment's notice. You would be surprised on how useless this approach is , yet it is highly effective. After enough counseling, the fish usually work out their problems and there is peace in my tank again.

This.. along with mood stabilizers seems to do the trick for me.

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

The first thing I do is tell said conflict about the tank to go hang out at her moms house and then I hang out with my tanks with no conflict lol hahahahaha totally kidding but havent had much conflict and if there is banned to the sump for a timeout which i am starting to realize they dont mind its like there own mini apartment lol

 

[Troylee]

Pbiwa!

 

[Bucs20fan]

I have a yellow watchman goby and pistol pair in my 90gal but I REALLY WANT a diamond goby. I'm going to try but if things get bad I'll rehome the diamond. Don't want to kill anything

You shouldnt have any issues in a 90g. Most diamond aggression comes from another diamond or sand sifter.

 

[Borat]

I sometimes imagine being a Rome Emperor watching gladiator fight.. the strongest win!

 

[i cant think]

I have a yellow watchman goby and pistol pair in my 90gal but I REALLY WANT a diamond goby. I'm going to try but if things get bad I'll rehome the diamond. Don't want to kill anything

I wouldn’t do a sand sifter unless the tank is a minimum of 3 years old and has a 2-4 inch sandbed.

 

[Bucs20fan]

I wouldn’t do a sand sifter unless the tank is a minimum of 3 years old and has a 2-4 inch sandbed.

I can agree with this. I have a mated pair of diamond gobies in my 60g. They will eat prepared foods quite aggressively contrary to popular belief. But they do get a substantial amount of nutrition from the sand.