Is it normal for a long nose hawkfish to attack a watchman?

[Brah02]

My long nose hawk and watchman goby have been in the same tank for over a month, with no issues. Today, I came home and witnessed the hawkfish attacking the watchman. His tail is pretty much gone poor guy. I separated him but he’s not looking good. Is this normal behavior for long nose hawks?

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

My long nose hawk and watchman goby have been in the same tank for over a month, with no issues. Today, I came home and witnessed the hawkfish attacking the watchman. His tail is pretty much gone poor guy. I separated him but he’s not looking good. Is this normal behavior for long nose hawks?

Probably - they can be aggressive with others. It's at least more normal than a tomato clown attacking the algae scraper when I went to clean their tank. (had to wear gloves or they could draw a bit of blood) lol

 

[littlefoxx]

Do you have a pistol shrimp? If so hawks love shrimps and might have went after the goby to get at the shrimp. If no pistol shrimp no clue

 

[littlefoxx]

Probably - they can be aggressive with others. It's at least more normal than a tomato clown attacking the algae scraper when I went to clean their tank. (had to wear gloves or they could draw a bit of blood) lol

Tomato clowns are nuts! Mine hosts an airstone (well the bubbles it makes). The pump died and I had to get a new one. Took 3 days to get here. She chased her male out of the dang 300 gallon tank cause she was mad her bubbles were not working

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Tomato clowns are nuts! Mine hosts an airstone (well the bubbles it makes). The pump died and I had to get a new one. Took 3 days to get here. She chased her male out of the dang 300 gallon tank cause she was mad her bubbles were not working

My pair were in a 20 gallon. No wonder they didn't want anything else in there if 300 isn't enough. LoL

 

[Brah02]

Do you have a pistol shrimp? If so hawks love shrimps and might have went after the goby to get at the shrimp. If no pistol shrimp no clue

No pistol shrimp yet… crazy that it’s been fine up until today

 

[littlefoxx]

My pair were in a 20 gallon. No wonder they didn't want anything else in there if 300 isn't enough. LoL

she thinks she owns the tank

 

[littlefoxx]

No pistol shrimp yet… crazy that it’s been fine up until today

Weird. Hawks are strange. Mine loves to insert himself if two fish start to squabble its like he loves drama. Maybe yours just decided it didnt like yellow

 

[BonnieB]

Probably - they can be aggressive with others. It's at least more normal than a tomato clown attacking the algae scraper when I went to clean their tank. (had to wear gloves or they could draw a bit of blood) lol

Tomato clowns are nuts! Mine hosts an airstone (well the bubbles it makes). The pump died and I had to get a new one. Took 3 days to get here. She chased her male out of the dang 300 gallon tank cause she was mad her bubbles were not working

IMO clowns in general are hysterically weird! My hybrid orange storm clown, the male, believes that all sides of the tank belong to him! If my Diamond Goby is sifting sand near the side or my hermits are cruising by the glass, he literally gets in between them and the glass and tries to push them away!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

my longnose hawk was a bully to everyone. i named him texas. as in dont mess with texas! finally got rid of him

 

[littlefoxx]

IMO clowns in general are hysterically weird! My hybrid orange storm clown, the male, believes that all sides of the tank belong to him! If my Diamond Goby is sifting sand near the side or my hermits are cruising by the glass, he literally gets in between them and the glass and tries to push them away!

I had a trigger who would grab and fling snails and hermits who got in his area

 

[Uncle99]

Ambush fish.
Not overly surprised.

 

[Brah02]

Will my watchman recover? He seems fine besides his tail is missing

 

[CBonito]

Will my watchman recover? He seems fine besides his tail is missing

Yeah, he'll recover as long as he's out of the stress. Feed him lots of small meals and it will help.

 

[bluemon]

Do you have a pistol shrimp? If so hawks love shrimps and might have went after the goby to get at the shrimp. If no pistol shrimp no clue

No way a hawk would attack a pistol shrimp unless it’s REALLY tiny. I have seen some really tiny ones for sale at LFS though, about the size of a pinky fingernail

Will my watchman recover? He seems fine besides his tail is missing

What size is the tank?

Does the goby have enough rock to burrow underneath?

A watchman goby would/should have no trouble burrowing into its hole to escape the hawks aggression.

A FTS would help

 

[Brah02]

Do you have a pistol shrimp? If so hawks love shrimps and might have went after the goby to get at the shrimp. If no pistol shrimp no clue

No way a hawk would attack a pistol shrimp unless it’s REALLY tiny. I have seen some really tiny ones for sale at LFS though, about the size of a pinky fingernail

Will my watchman recover? He seems fine besides his tail is missing

What size is the tank?

Does the goby have enough rock to burrow underneath?

A watchman goby would/should have no trouble burrowing into its hole to escape the hawks aggression.

A FTS would help

Problem is they are in QT. I was going to bring them to my display tank tomorrow after a water change. Made it a full 30 days in QT then decided to act up. Should I rehome the hawk before I move to the display or should I test if they’ll be ok? I just don’t know if I’d be able to get him out if he becomes aggressive again

 

[bluemon]

Problem is they are in QT. I was going to bring them to my display tank tomorrow after a water change. Made it a full 30 days in QT then decided to act up. Should I rehome the hawk before I move to the display or should I test if they’ll be ok? I just don’t know if I’d be able to get him out if he becomes aggressive again

What size is the display? Do you have enough rock work and sand in the tank?

As long as you introduce the goby into a potential burrow you dig out for them, it should be okay.

A hawk and a sedentary goby like that in a small QT was risky to begin with

 

[littlefoxx]

No way a hawk would attack a pistol shrimp unless it’s REALLY tiny. I have seen some really tiny ones for sale at LFS though, about the size of a pinky fingernail

What size is the tank?

Does the goby have enough rock to burrow underneath?

A watchman goby would/should have no trouble burrowing into its hole to escape the hawks aggression.

A FTS would help

My longnose tried to eat my full size one! It got “shot” but it kept trying so I had to move the hawk. That fish was crazy

 

[bluemon]

No way a hawk would attack a pistol shrimp unless it’s REALLY tiny. I have seen some really tiny ones for sale at LFS though, about the size of a pinky fingernail

What size is the tank?

Does the goby have enough rock to burrow underneath?

A watchman goby would/should have no trouble burrowing into its hole to escape the hawks aggression.

A FTS would help

My longnose tried to eat my full size one! It got “shot” but it kept trying so I had to move the hawk. That fish was crazy

Holy heck, get that fish some help!

It needs to learn its boundaries. Crazy fellow.

My hawkfish when I had him was just very shy and reclusive

 

[Ziggy17]

Keep a close eye on the YWG for secondary bacterial infection from that tail. May want to get some kaneplex in hand just in case, if you don’t already have it. I find it works well with bacterial. You may not need it, but it’s better to look at it and not need it, than to look for it and not have it….