Help introduce juvenile clown to established tank?

surfisjah · #1 06-15-2015, 09:23 AM

unfortunately my male regular clown ended up on my floor. I have a new juvenile ready in my quarantine, but everyone chased him when I added him to the big tank. I knew the female would, but now I have the 6 line, bicolor pseudochromis and even the regal chasing the poor little fellow. I returned him to the quarantine tank. Was he about to be supper for the other fish? Should I wait until he's at least as big as the 6 line? Thanks

mike31154 · #2 06-15-2015, 02:34 PM

Could be a while until the juvenile gains much if any size, so not sure that's a viable strategy. Even if he gains an inch in size, being a new introduction, he's going to be chased for a while & the established larger fish will be after him. How large is your 'big' tank? Provided the little guy has a few places to hide, the aggression should eventually subside. Another option would be to put him in a small enclosure inside the large tank for a few days, if you have such an enclosure or can fabricate something. It's kind of the way it goes in most cases, the newcomer either evades the attacks long enough to survive, or he gets beat up & dies. Some folks have used mirrors to distract larger fish when introducing new ones. The large established fish get preoccupied with their own reflection & forget about the newcomer.

Myka · #3 06-15-2015, 02:37 PM

Did you add him at the end of the day when the lights were out and all the fish were sleeping so he could acclimate overnight without getting harassed?