Aggression Between Fish in a Marine Aquarium
Unfortunately, aggression between fish in a marine aquarium is a common problem. Let’s face it, a coral reef can be a tough place to make a living, and the fish we keep in our homes have evolved to survive in that fish-eat-fish world. When we pluck them off the reef and place them in their new home, it is only natural to expect a few scuffles along the way.
However, when scuffles turn into major aggression issues, serious problems can ensue. Harassed fish may become injured, sick or even die.
When it comes to aggression between marine fish, like many things in life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure–or if you prefer the metric system–28.3 grams of prevention is worth 0.45 kilograms of cure.
I’m not sure if those decimal places are significant figures…
When planning ahead, to prevent aggression between fish in a marine aquarium, the best thing to do is to plan to add the fish in order of aggression–from the least aggressive first to the most aggressive last. The premise behind this advice is as follows:
Most aggression between fish is territorial in nature–Fish A is defending their territory, feeding place or resting place from Fish B.
When you add the fish in reverse order, you allow the less aggressive fish to establish their territory before a more aggressive fish.
If you follow that protocol when adding fish to your marine aquarium, the more aggressive fish, Fish B in our scenario, is actually being added to the more meek fish’s territory, and the more aggressive fish doesn’t yet even have a piece of turf to battle over.
Of course, this little strategy is not a cure for mixing incompatible species, but it is certainly a great place to start.
Here are a few other tips for dealing with aggression between fish in a marine aquarium:
Don’t mix fish from the same family, stick with the one-fish rule–one fish per family, per aquarium
Don’t mix fish that look similar to each other–mixing fish like the royal gramma and royal dottyback is a recipe for disaster:
Don’t mix fish that occupy the same niche in the tank–if you mix niches, the fish may fight with each other for their own turf
Don’t add fish that are notoriously aggressive–if they have a reputation for being aggressive, leave them at your local fish store–damselfish and maroon clownfish are notoriously aggressive fish–don’t expect them to be mild-mannered in your tank
- Keep your fish well-fed–squabbles often happen between fish over food or territory. You can’t give them more territory, but you can always give them more food. Keep them well fed so they don’t need to fight over food.
- Add a cleaner fish to your tank. Research has shown that the cleaning behavior of certain fish can actually reduce aggression in an aquarium
You probably won’t be able to completely avoid aggression between fish n your marine aquarium–fish will chase each other, nipping at each other and even try to impale each other (have you ever seen a tang threaten another fish with its tail spine?), but by following the tips above, you will be ahead of the game in managing the aggression.
Written by Al Ulrich
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