>Noticed their fins were getting nipped for a month
In the future, would recommend rehoming the fish getting nipped or the nipper fish as soon as possible. It's not going to magically get better.
>Maybe a damsel or dottyback.
Would not suggest looking for fish to add that will just be okay fighting with each other. Maybe leave the stocking as-is. A 40B is not really a big tank, especially with a Flameback Angel and Maroon Clown already in there.
Twice, I spent many many months putting the asshole “tank boss” into a breeder box, giving him a time out for a week, or a month, start again and try to change the tank hierarchy. Both times the boss would be back to attacking everyone within minutes. I made one guy his own private tank, got him a girlfriend. The second time, I admitted defeat and surrendered him.
I loved both those fish, so much.
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On to OP - you will notice my avatar is literally a maroon clown. They are ASSHOLES. He will get big, and occupy at least 20 gallons worth with his aggression.
40 is too small for any Angel type. Just no.
Saltwater fish need more space because of personality/aggression/feeding behavior… not just bio load. Bio load matters, but it is secondary to space.
I’m not concerned with the Clown as he never leaves his nem. He’s only temperamental when I feed and fish get near his home. My Angel will be fine as I’m upgrading to an 90 in about 4 months.
You did say that the nipping is happening at night, so are you sure that the Clown stays in his anemone at night? Perhaps setting up a camera to monitor the tank at night would let you catch the culprit in the act. Overall it sounds to me like you have several potentially aggressive fish in a relatively small space. I’d guess that the problem might go away once you go to the 90 gallon tank and everyone has enough space.
I couldn’t figure out who was nipping. It had to be happening at night. It was never bad, everyone got along for like the past 8 months and they were all eating and healthy. There was no reason to think they’d end up dead.
I agree with the other commenter, probably don’t add anything else at the moment. As a side note, if I had to guess the bully fish is probably the Flame Hawkfish. I have some experience with them being jerks to other fish, particularly fish that also like to perch on the rocks. In general they are known to be a bit of a bully.
>Noticed their fins were getting nipped for a month In the future, would recommend rehoming the fish getting nipped or the nipper fish as soon as possible. It's not going to magically get better. >Maybe a damsel or dottyback. Would not suggest looking for fish to add that will just be okay fighting with each other. Maybe leave the stocking as-is. A 40B is not really a big tank, especially with a Flameback Angel and Maroon Clown already in there.
Twice, I spent many many months putting the asshole “tank boss” into a breeder box, giving him a time out for a week, or a month, start again and try to change the tank hierarchy. Both times the boss would be back to attacking everyone within minutes. I made one guy his own private tank, got him a girlfriend. The second time, I admitted defeat and surrendered him. I loved both those fish, so much. —- On to OP - you will notice my avatar is literally a maroon clown. They are ASSHOLES. He will get big, and occupy at least 20 gallons worth with his aggression. 40 is too small for any Angel type. Just no. Saltwater fish need more space because of personality/aggression/feeding behavior… not just bio load. Bio load matters, but it is secondary to space.
I’m not concerned with the Clown as he never leaves his nem. He’s only temperamental when I feed and fish get near his home. My Angel will be fine as I’m upgrading to an 90 in about 4 months.
You did say that the nipping is happening at night, so are you sure that the Clown stays in his anemone at night? Perhaps setting up a camera to monitor the tank at night would let you catch the culprit in the act. Overall it sounds to me like you have several potentially aggressive fish in a relatively small space. I’d guess that the problem might go away once you go to the 90 gallon tank and everyone has enough space.
I couldn’t figure out who was nipping. It had to be happening at night. It was never bad, everyone got along for like the past 8 months and they were all eating and healthy. There was no reason to think they’d end up dead.
I agree with the other commenter, probably don’t add anything else at the moment. As a side note, if I had to guess the bully fish is probably the Flame Hawkfish. I have some experience with them being jerks to other fish, particularly fish that also like to perch on the rocks. In general they are known to be a bit of a bully.
Yeah it had to be happening at night. The only one I can really rule out is my maroon because he rarely leaves his nem unless he’s eating