Tomini Tang Being Bullied?

[trevorhiller]

I just added a Tomini tang to my 60 gallon cube on Friday. The tank has two small oscellaris clowns and a flame hawkfish in it. Today the Tomini tang seems to have adjusted to the tank and is out swimming all over the place but I noticed his back fin is slightly ripped. It wasn't like this yesterday.

I am suspecting it was the clownfish although the Tomini seems to be unfazed by either the clownfish or the flame hawkfish being near him so I'm not really sure what happened to his fin. I also haven't seen any actual bullying in person or on camera. However, the clownfish which usually host the upper right hand corner of my tank are aggressively swimming across the front of the tank.

I have had my clownfish for about 10 months and they aren't the biggest fish; they have always just moved out of the corner when I am doing tank maintenance so if they are being aggressive, it's new. I haven't heard of flame hawks being aggressive to other fish, but I suppose that is also a possibility since the flame hawk is bigger than my tang.

Any tips on how to proceed? I really don't want the Tomini being bullied as I have waited a long time for this fish, but this is the first time I've ever had signs of fish aggression and I'm not sure if this just normal turf wars or something more I should be concerned about.

Thank You!

 

[sfin52]

I just added a Tomini tang to my 60 gallon cube on Friday. The tank has two small oscellaris clowns and a flame hawkfish in it. Today the Tomini tang seems to have adjusted to the tank and is out swimming all over the place but I noticed his back fin is slightly ripped. It wasn't like this yesterday.

I am suspecting it was the clownfish although the Tomini seems to be unfazed by either the clownfish or the flame hawkfish being near him so I'm not really sure what happened to his fin. I also haven't seen any actual bullying in person or on camera. However, the clownfish which usually host the upper right hand corner of my tank are aggressively swimming across the front of the tank.

I have had my clownfish for about 10 months and they aren't the biggest fish; they have always just moved out of the corner when I am doing tank maintenance so if they are being aggressive, it's new. I haven't heard of flame hawks being aggressive to other fish, but I suppose that is also a possibility since the flame hawk is bigger than my tang.

Any tips on how to proceed? I really don't want the Tomini being bullied as I have waited a long time for this fish, but this is the first time I've ever had signs of fish aggression and I'm not sure if this just normal turf wars or something more I should be concerned about.

Thank You!

Things should settle down. Just watch to make sure it heals

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just added a Tomini tang to my 60 gallon cube on Friday. The tank has two small oscellaris clowns and a flame hawkfish in it. Today the Tomini tang seems to have adjusted to the tank and is out swimming all over the place but I noticed his back fin is slightly ripped. It wasn't like this yesterday.

I am suspecting it was the clownfish although the Tomini seems to be unfazed by either the clownfish or the flame hawkfish being near him so I'm not really sure what happened to his fin. I also haven't seen any actual bullying in person or on camera. However, the clownfish which usually host the upper right hand corner of my tank are aggressively swimming across the front of the tank.

I have had my clownfish for about 10 months and they aren't the biggest fish; they have always just moved out of the corner when I am doing tank maintenance so if they are being aggressive, it's new. I haven't heard of flame hawks being aggressive to other fish, but I suppose that is also a possibility since the flame hawk is bigger than my tang.

Any tips on how to proceed? I really don't want the Tomini being bullied as I have waited a long time for this fish, but this is the first time I've ever had signs of fish aggression and I'm not sure if this just normal turf wars or something more I should be concerned about.

Thank You!

Suspects- The clowns. Lower lights and even place a mirror in area the clowns are hanging at. This should lessen but if you see additional damage, you can pinpoint who the culprit is by setting your cell phone on video mode for 40 minsand dropping a little food and walking away. MUST WALK AWAY
come back and review video and you should see who the culprit is

 

[trevorhiller]

I’ve heard the mirror trick for tang on tang aggression but didn’t know it would work for clown on tang too. That’s good to know.

You guys are always so helpful, I really appreciate it!

 

[Tcook]

I’ve heard the mirror trick for tang on tang aggression but didn’t know it would work for clown on tang too. That’s good to know.

You guys are always so helpful, I really appreciate it!

Mirror works on all. I've used it for tangs, angels, and wrasses.

 

[i cant think]

Mirror works on all. I've used it for tangs, angels, and wrasses.

That’s lucky, I used it once and it only worked on the tang. Nobody else cared.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Mirror had my yellow tangs trippin out . Left my brown tang alone for a good period to allow acclimation

 

[nereefpat]

Tangs also tend to dart around like idiots and hurt themselves. Fins heal quickly in the right environment.

 

[trevorhiller]

Tangs also tend to dart around like idiots and hurt themselves. Fins heal quickly in the right environment.

He definitely does that, he had a scrape on his side after the first day I got him. Do you think it’s possible that he ripped a fin on a rock or something else in the tank as compared to unseen aggression?

I’m not sure how easily their fins are damaged. He’s honestly the first fish I’ve had who’s an active swimmer. I’ve always had nano tanks before this so my options have been limited. (fire fish, clowns, yellow watchman, etc. nothing big/active like a tang.)

 

[nereefpat]

Do you think it’s possible that he ripped a fin on a rock or something else in the tank as compared to unseen aggression?

Yes, exactly. I wanted to suggest that as a possibility.

 

[trevorhiller]

Good to know, since he doesn’t seem bothered by close proximity of the other fish, I think I’m going to watch him and see if I notice any more injuries or signs of aggression.

 

[trevorhiller]

So I tried the mirror trick with the clowns. They seem unbothered by it being right next to where they hang out and it’s business as usual.

I’m starting to think it is actually the flame hawk fish that is bullying the Tomini tang. They are both about the same size, but flame hake is quite the beefy fish from a month in QT being fed twice a day.

I’ve noticed that the tang will swim right next to the clowns while eating, but he seems to go into the rocks when the flame hawk is nearby. I tried the video camera trick and didn’t catch any aggression but the tominis fins look more tattered.

Tonight I switched out some of my Marco rocks for new Tropic Eden rock and I purposefully rearranged the flame hawks “home” under a ledge. I’m hoping the new scape will help a bit because I was able to add quite a few more hiding places.

Fortunately the tang still comes out and swims around and doesn’t seem scared—Even when I was rearranging the tank. He unfortunately has quite the chunk missing from his tail fin and his back dorsal fin. I’m hoping the damage isn’t too severe for it to heal.

I may end up having the pull the flame Hawkfish and put him back in a seperate tank for a bit if this continues.

 

[trevorhiller]

Update:
Today I went to feed the tank and noticed that the Tomini is hiding in the rocks, he would barely come out at all.

Frustrated I was going to have to try to get the flame Hawkfish out, I moved the mirror down by the sand hoping the flame would notice it as a last ditch attempt.

30 mins later I go check on the tank and the flame is there attacking his reflection and the Tomini is right next to him doing the same!

I’m hoping this will be the solution. Any suggestions on how long to leave the mirror in place?

Reef Tank Fish Aggression Mirror Trick

Tomini tang was being bullied by someone in the tank (I suspect the Flame Hawkfish) so I taped a mirror to the side of the glass to distract the fish with th...

youtube.com

 

[moorjames]

lol my Tomini is scared from any movement outside of the tank (and hides) and is an (A)hole to anything inside the tank (except the clowns- pretty sure the clowns would kick his butt)

 

[trevorhiller]

So I’ve tried the mirror trick several times for a few days at a time. The second and third time, the flame hawk has showed less interest. He still goes to the mirror and sits there staring at himself, but isn’t trying to attack his reflection. The tomini tang on the other hand gets very aggressive smacking the glass with his tail. He even ignores food when the mirror is up.

The tangs tail was finally healing up nicely and growing back his tail and today I go back and check on him and it’s all frayed again. At least it is still mostly there unlike last time where large chunks were missing.

The tang mostly hides in the rocks until I come around the tank and then he’ll come out.

I have noticed some agression between the two of them finally, although it’s mostly been tang on flame hawk and not the other way around. It’s typically when the flame hawk gets too close to the Tomini.

Any other fish agression tips? My Tomini is finally starting to fatten up with twice a day heavy feeding, but he’s obviously still being bullied to some extent.

I’m debating about trying to catch and remove the flame hawk for a few days because in a week my Banggai cardinal is going to be done with QT and ready for introduction. Does this seem like the next logical step to try to put the flame hawk in his place?

I’m getting a little annoyed with the hawk fish as much as I enjoy him and definitely don’t want him going after the Banggai which is much smaller.

 

[trevorhiller]

In an unexpected plot twist today I went to feed the tank and the hawkfish who is typically begging for food like a puppy was conspicuously missing. In fact, I thought he might have died because I couldn't find him despite checking the overflows and filter socks. The tomini tang was out and about though, grazing on all the rocks instead of hiding like typical.

I ended up finding the flame hawkfish buried deep in a rock, he didn't even come out to eat food today. I believe the Tomini finally showed him who is boss.

I'm hoping that the two of them learn to live together and just stay out of each others' way without one of the two being forced to seek refuge deep inside my rocks.