Mixing firefish?

[vetteguy53081]

I have a mix if both with no issues and very peaceful fish they are !

 

[Reefrats]

Made the mistake of getting 3 young purple firefish. We have had them for 30 days. Two have paired up and one of them has started aggressively harassing the third. His tail is bitten and it is now constant. LFS said to bring one back. I’m not sure if I should bring back the harrasser or the harrassee.

 

[Big G]

It's a common occurrence with Firefish. You may find that later the pair may not get along after awhile and you may have to re-home one of them too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have both regular and purple mixed

 

[Reefrats]

It's a common occurrence with Firefish. You may find that later the pair may not get along after awhile and you may have to re-home one of them too.

Bummer... thanks

 

[Big G]

Bummer... thanks

Yes, it's kinda sad when one of them starts shunning or showing aggression and the other one hides in the corner or rocks. The phenomenon is called "conspecifics" and here's a good link to an article:
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/feature-articles/color-wars-reef-fish-and-aggression.htm

 

[Reefin Ryan]

agreed with the one who said a basselet like a Royal Gramma could be a better idea although grammas can get grumpy in their old age. There are some other dartfish species like the blue gudgeon that look different enough and are generally in higher areas of the water column that would also make a better decision.

 

[Reefrats]

Yes, it's kinda sad when one of them starts shunning or showing aggression and the other one hides in the corner or rocks. The phenomenon is called "conspecifics" and here's a good link to an article:
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/feature-articles/color-wars-reef-fish-and-aggression.htm

Thank you for sharing! I specifically asked if they would school at the LFS. I wish they told me to only get one. I got home and read about them and realized I made a bad decision. But they were okay for a few weeks. Now I can’t catch one to bring it back.

 

[Reefrats]

Yes, it's kinda sad when one of them starts shunning or showing aggression and the other one hides in the corner or rocks. The phenomenon is called "conspecifics" and here's a good link to an article:
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/feature-articles/color-wars-reef-fish-and-aggression.htm

After reading that I don’t think I ever want two of the same fish in my tank again. And I only have 4 fish... it’s a WB 130.4 and I just have the 3 fire fish and a goby. I don’t want many fish, I want corals but I have a lot to learn first. Thanks again!

 

[Big G]

Thank you for sharing! I specifically asked if they would school at the LFS. I wish they told me to only get one. I got home and read about them and realized I made a bad decision. But they were okay for a few weeks. Now I can’t catch one to bring it back.

Don't beat yourself up about this. I learned the hard way too.

 

[jp_75]

i had one purple for a while... until i introduced 3 zebra dartfish! it just disappeared! zebra took its hole. after that one of zebra’s jumped out of the tank ( yes i have screen top)
very cool fish!
next time i will add 6-10 zebras same time.