Aggression, space and your fishes

[Achilles Tang]

Many of us love marine fishes as much as we love our corals and inverts.

We spend the same amount of time hunting down nice specimens or rare ones... and buy... and buy... and buy!

But when it comes down to the crunch... we know that there are limits.

These can be space constraints in our tanks, characteristics in different fishes and there's also the issue of humane treatment.... etc

Do we know where the limits are?

Let's hear your views!

*opens up can of worms*

[nicholasloh]

well, its kinda hard to haf to cope with the fact that you cant keep more fishes and stuff even if you like to. so i usually ban myself from visiting LFS/LFF lor...

abt corals, i'll only grab them if i haf enuff $$$.

but still, a word of advice to newbies, if you wanna add 7 fishes at once to your very young tank, then say goodbye to them b4 u go to bed after adding them. as that mebbe ur last chance of saying byebye.

[wts684]

It is very common to see the fishes die in our tank, no mattar how hard u are trying to solve. There is no solution to resolve the issue till date.

Died and buy, died and buy........

I believe, most likely is due to the healty of the fishes. There is no authority to control how the people catch the fishes, it would be great if they catch fishes by net.

[DeepBlue]

These can be space constraints in our tanks, characteristics in different fishes and there's also the issue of humane treatment.... etc

Do we know where the limits are?

In stocking a tank...one should always know the natural instinct and characterisitcs of the LS you are going to add.

Limits: there is always one. abiding to the limit --> that requires great discipline

when I say knowing the LS, I am referring also to the tank setup as well.

For example:

One should know Angel fishes dun do too well together....yes, there are successes here and there, do expect frequent casual fights and bullying going on...

they are worst than tangs who may be aggressive to tangs only, Angels will bully other fishes as well...esp smaller ones

Checking out the compatibility of fishes is important....you dun put a small blenny with a trigger...they just get eaten up...

how about rock works and king of sanf we use...they are important if you want to keep wrasses and gobies....

Keeping a successful FOWLR is something rather tough as well, it takes a lot of reading up and matching the fishes... not a simple issue of buying and stocking only

[livebait]

Sorry for being off topic but what is or are the best way to remove an agressive fish in a tank?

[giantbicycle]

Sorry for being off topic but what is or are the best way to remove an agressive fish in a tank?

catch it out lorh..

[Domino]

Really, I try to see the challenge as not having a fully packed tank. It takes self discipline but the life of the LS is at stake and we must always bear that in mind. Top priority is the best survival conditions for the LS and the small eco-system.

I actually enjoy taking it very slow and making the pleasure of building up my tank last. I am really impressed when I see the results that some fellow reefers get after just a few months. I only have 10 small common fish and two softies after seven month in my 4ft... Maybe I should feel ashamed of my own results, but I don't really care, just going at my own pace and getting "more hobby for money". I just take ages to add any fish to my tank. before hand, I have to read about it from several sources to ensure the compatibility with other tank inhabitants. But hey, not a single fish has died since I started in january 04, not a single disease... So I guess in my own way I am happily succesfull and so is my modes tank.

SRC is a great place I spend quite a bit of time reading. I help were I can and have almost always gotten good feeback when in trouble.

[moron_clown]

It is very common to see the fishes die in our tank, no mattar how hard u are trying to solve. There is no solution to resolve the issue till date.

Died and buy, died and buy........

I believe, most likely is due to the healty of the fishes. There is no authority to control how the people catch the fishes, it would be great if they catch fishes by net.

WRONG!what gives u the idea that fishes will die no matter how well u kept them?totally wrong perception..and death in the marine aquarium is only common because of "poor husbandary skills,poor budget allocation and poor knowledge".true that most of us will have inevitably lost a couple of fishes due unforseen and uncontrollable circumstances but most of the time,fish death can be reduced significantly and even totally eliminated by proper acclimatisation.most cyanide caught fishes will die after they had their first meal because of liver failure causing toxic poisonings.it is our own role to choose healthy,quarantined specimens. now lets get back to topic proper

i think most of us are guilty of impulse buying because of the ease and relatively low costs of buying quality specimens.till the prices inflate to similar prices in the states,i think there will still be some clowns trying to squeeze 20 clownfishes and 10 anemones into a 3 feet tank,or try to keep a pair of unmated mandarine fish...inflating the prices will help alot as reefers will think long and hard(and hopefully study more) before laying their hands on new livestocks.only then can we eradicate the thinking among some reefers that "its so cheap that if it dies,i can buy another one,no big deal".

thanx at for starting an intresting topic,made me reflect on my past behaviour long and hard.

[ReDDeviLs]

Sometimes after afew months of "no fishes dead" i start to add afew fishes again through out the week or month and found out some fishes missing again.. i would stop adding and find wheres the fault.

if ich outbreak,i will stop adding fish for like 2-3weeks feed more and do a little water change.. basically thats how i handle with dying fishes.

I will also check with the lfs or the internet that the fishes are can do well with my exsisting residents before adding them. if the old resident will bully the new fish and i really love the new fish,i would fish out the old ones just to make space for the new 1.. either banish the old bully into the sump, another tank of mine or sell/give it away.

At the same time, i would check how much gallon the fish needs and then do the necessary calculations.

hope im doing the right thing.

[livebait]

catch it out lorh..

but with all the rocks and hiding places it's very difficult....

[neokn]

It is very common to see the fishes die in our tank, no mattar how hard u are trying to solve. There is no solution to resolve the issue till date.

Died and buy, died and buy........

I believe, most likely is due to the healty of the fishes. There is no authority to control how the people catch the fishes, it would be great if they catch fishes by net.

This is a picture of fish harvesting. The bottle he is carrying contains cyanide.

[Dispar_Anthias]

Looks like this is the place for SRC tang police

[giantbicycle]

but with all the rocks and hiding places it's very difficult....

oic...use fish trap ...in that case...good luck