Agression between a yellow tang and maroon clownfish

Hey guys, I bought a large maroon clownfish. He must be about 6-7 years old and is over 5 inches long. I bought him because a close friend of mine wanted to give him to a good home and I figured I could easily put him in my 125 section of my frag system. I have a yellow tang and a small lemon damsel in the 125. Immediately when I put the maroon clownfish in the tank my yellow tang began "herding" him into the corner but wasnt attacking him. He did this for a while but soon started going after him with his scalpel. I turned off the lights and the aggression stopped. About 6 hours later I turned the lights back on to see if the yellow tang would have mellowed out a bit but he started attacking the maroon again. Im a bit at a loss here. I dont want the maroon clownfish to get hurt. My friend has grown attached to him and I dont want to let him go.

Should another day or two of lights out help? Unfortunately I dont have a scape to move around. Just my frag racks. Does anyone have any input? I really dont want to get rid of either fish, but if I have to I will. Thanks in advance.

 

This is the main problem with adding aggresive or even semi-aggresive fish to a tank. Once they have been established in the tank it is very difficult if not imposible to add any other fish without it turning into a brawl. I would suggest splitting them up with the use of egg crate if thats possible. Once the Maroon has established a home it will me much more adept at defending itself.You can try rearranging the tank a little but IME this seldom stops the fighting completely. If this is not feasable for you it may be necessary to rehome one or the other but keep in mind with these particular fish you will go through the same thing if your intention is to add any more fish in the future.(species dependant)

 

I will section the tank with eggcrate. But the funny thing is, this is the most friendly maroon clown Ive ever seen. They are obviously notorious for being aggressive towards any other fish but this maroon clown will even let you hold him. I dont plan on adding any other fish to this tank. The only reason I added the maroon clown was so he had a home big enough for a fish his size. The yellow tang is also very friendly. But I guess that doesnt mean much when adding another fish to his home. Ill section them off and see how that goes. Any other ideas?

 

You can try tapping a small mirror on the side of the tank, sometimes this will distract the tang and or the clown (which ever the aggressor) for a few days allowing newer fish more time to acclimate.

Good Luck to you.

 

Good idea corailline. Ill give that a shot. I just sectioned off the tank. The clown can still move around the barrier, but the tang isnt going on his side.

 

I hope you can get them to play nice!!

 

Well I have some good news. I hope.. The tang got around the barrier and was still showing aggression towards the maroon clown. But he wasnt attacking him with his scalpel. Instead he was herding him into a corner then backing away. Its much better than before, thats for sure. Hopefully another day or so of lights out and they will be okay together. I was expecting some aggression, but not this much. I would hate to lose a fish that my friend loved so much. He had him for six years and it was one of his first fish he bought when he got into the hobby.