Still fairly new- my fish is a killer!

[Klnsheree]

Literally, my clown fish was a killer. When I first started my tank, I bought a blue damsel. It was doing really well. I also bought a coral banded shrimp. Some snails, crabs, and a clown fish. The snails and crabs died. No idea why. Later in I bought two starfish. The two fish continued to do well and I got an anemone. It died the next day. I gave my tank some time. I got another clown fish then got an anemone again. It lasted all of a month. New snails, no crabs, and a little goby. Everything was fine and dandy then one day the larger clown fish went haywire and started harassing the blue damsel until it died. Everything was fine and then it went on another killing spree a week later. It killed the smaller clown fish and ripped the coral banded shrimps front legs and attacked it until it died. It then tried attacking the goby. That was the last straw. I took it back and asked for store credit. Gave my goby time to relax and come out of hiding. I bought a purple fish and a pajama cardinal. I'm not sure what kind the purple one was. I can't remember its name. As soon as I got them in the tank it started picking at the cardinal fish. Then it saw the goby and all hell broke loose. I thought the poor goby was a goner the next morning when I saw it at the filter. But it was just hiding. Missing its top fins. Then the purple fish started attacking the baby starfish that had come in in a live rock. So I took it back.
What the heck is making my fish so mean?! I knew I could possibly have trouble with the clown fish. But I was told that the purple fish was peaceful and would get along with everybody.

[Lsufiregal]

Literally, my clown fish was a killer. When I first started my tank, I bought a blue damsel. It was doing really well. I also bought a coral banded shrimp. Some snails, crabs, and a clown fish. The snails and crabs died. No idea why. Later in I bought two starfish. The two fish continued to do well and I got an anemone. It died the next day. I gave my tank some time. I got another clown fish then got an anemone again. It lasted all of a month. New snails, no crabs, and a little goby. Everything was fine and dandy then one day the larger clown fish went haywire and started harassing the blue damsel until it died. Everything was fine and then it went on another killing spree a week later. It killed the smaller clown fish and ripped the coral banded shrimps front legs and attacked it until it died. It then tried attacking the goby. That was the last straw. I took it back and asked for store credit. Gave my goby time to relax and come out of hiding. I bought a purple fish and a pajama cardinal. I'm not sure what kind the purple one was. I can't remember its name. As soon as I got them in the tank it started picking at the cardinal fish. Then it saw the goby and all hell broke loose. I thought the poor goby was a goner the next morning when I saw it at the filter. But it was just hiding. Missing its top fins. Then the purple fish started attacking the baby starfish that had come in in a live rock. So I took it back.
What the heck is making my fish so mean?! I knew I could possibly have trouble with the clown fish. But I was told that the purple fish was peaceful and would get along with everybody.

What size tank are we talking about? How much rock?

[oscarinw]

How big is your setup? I had to take a purple firefish out of my 95 gal because it was aggressive so sometimes they are just like that. What kind of clown was your killer? Ocellaris clowns are among the least aggressive and I have never had a problem with them.
Nothing points to you doing something necessarily wrong. Sometimes fish are just crabby and territorial.
Good luck with things.

[gone fishin]

Yes what size tank is it. It is important to know what the purple fish was.

The main thing to impart here is that you need to be proactive in doing research on your stocking list. Know what you want and if you can have it. Do not rely on the LFS. A lot of times the employee do not know or just looking to make a sale.

[TankStudy]

I've actually had some very aggressive ocellaris clowns and at the same time super peaceful ones. I guess their temperament varies from clown to clown.

[Klnsheree]

24g
Clarkii clownfish.
I just can't remember the name of it. I usually write it down next to my tank but with sick kids it just didn't happen this time.
I'm not sure exactly how much rock. We have one large piece and several pieces that the goby uses as caves.

[Klnsheree]

My tanks not the prettiest right now. Were getting over an algae outbreak. It this shows amount of rocks

[Klnsheree]

I've never had trouble before with the lfs not being straight forward. He and his wife have been close friends to the family for quite some time.

[gone fishin]

As clowns mature they will claim that entire tank for their own and become quite aggressive. This is especially true if the second clown added was a female.

All fish have their personalities and some are more aggressive than others. I once had a royal gramma that is supposed to be fairly peaceful that was a full blown psycho.

forgot to add anemones really need a mature tank.

[Deinonych]

The "purple fish" sounds like it might be a purple dottyback, Pseudochromis porphyreus. They are highly aggressive toward timid fish.

[gone fishin]

The "purple fish" sounds like it might be a purple dottyback, Pseudochromis porphyreus. They are highly aggressive toward timid fish.

This was my thoughts.

[Lsufiregal]

The "purple fish" sounds like it might be a purple dottyback, Pseudochromis porphyreus. They are highly aggressive toward timid fish.

+1

Also 24g is kind of small when adding anything aggressive. I have a 14 g and it houses only a pair of clowns. It also looks like you don't have much rock, the fish are def fighting for territory and may not feel secure bc of lack of hiding spaces.

[necessary_evil]

Switch your clown for some ocellaris clowns

[fscmocsaj]

Poor water conditions can also make your fish aggressive. What are your tank parameters? How long has the tank been up?

[hkgar]

Here is a link to a fish compatibility chart. Although fish will have individual personalities, this chart is a good starting point.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

Anemones need bright light and, as mentioned, a stable mature tank. They do not tend to live long in captivity and I doubt most "seasoned" hobbyists even try to keep them. Clowns will get along just fine without them, plus as they roam the tank they can do damage to many corals

[FTDelta]

Your tank is too small for Clarkii Clownfish pair. That's why they were aggressive to begin with. Trade them off for Percula or Occelleris. The maximum fish you can have in a 24 gallon tank is 3.

[FTDelta]

Poor water conditions can also make your fish aggressive. What are your tank parameters? How long has the tank been up?

Water condition and parameter is irrelevent in clownfish aggression.

[FTDelta]

Post a pic of your purple fish so we can make a proper ID (if you can).

[Griznock]

The "purple fish" sounds like it might be a purple dottyback, Pseudochromis porphyreus. They are highly aggressive toward timid fish.

my first thought was this monster,killed my dragon wrase so i made a spear out of a fork and removed him

[Sk8r]

Clarkiis need a hundred gallons to be moderately civilized. Starfish aren't good in small tanks, and coral bandeds will kill fish. A blue damsel needs about a hundred gallons (note, this is not APIECE, but it is the space required for these fish to be calm and wellbehaved.

[Klnsheree]

The tank is mature. I actually purchased it from someone on here. It had been set up for a few years before I got it. I never changed sand or anything when I got it. I added new filter media and new saltwater. And let that alone cycle with the live rock that she had in it for a month.

[Deinonych]

I would recommend doing some more research on fish compatibility, coming up with a few options, and posting them in the fish compatibility thread here. Steve (snorvich) is very knowledgeable and has helped me immensely with my stocking decisions. Only caveat is that he does not make recommendations, so make sure you have a list ready when you post.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2068112

[Oceanminded]

I would recommend doing some more research on fish compatibility, coming up with a few options, and posting them in the fish compatibility thread here. Steve (snorvich) is very knowledgeable and has helped me immensely with my stocking decisions. Only caveat is that he does not make recommendations, so make sure you have a list ready when you post.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2068112

+1 Steve has helped me avoid some horrible stocking errors. My tank so far is very peaceful. Liveaquaria also has good info on what requirements different fish have. :reading:

[Klnsheree]

Ok. Thanks y'all. Hopefully my tank is at peace. It certainly seems to be. And I have had no trouble from my star fish. The and sifting starfish is doing his own thing and the red one is happily eating seaweed and apparently grazing in algae. The baby one- I have no idea what it is as it came unannounced on a piece of rock disappears for weeks at a time. And when it shows back up is bigger each time. Right now it's the size of a penny. When I first saw it it was half the size of my pinky finger nail. When it gets bigger, I will get rid of one of the star fish. More than likely the red knobby starfish