Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got a dilemma. A coworker's getting out of the hobby and wants to rehome some equipment and three fish. He's been holding off shutting down his tank because he can't find a new home for them. I recently set up a 90-gallon tank and vowed to take things slow. So far, so good - 90 pounds of live rock, four green chrome damsels, a maroon clown, and a yellow tang.

He's got a 6" fox face, a 4" Ocellaris Clown, and an 8" Niger Trigger that he's looking to rehome. My question is, can I add these fish to my tank without expecting chaos? Will this max out my tank's capacity?

My coworker also suggested that if I take his fish, I should remove all my live rock for a few days. Apparently, after a few days, I can add it back, and there shouldn't be any territorial issues. Has anyone heard of this? Will this mess up my water parameters? Should I just add the fish and see what happens? I do have spare tanks to hold the live rock if this method makes sense.

It's likely the setup will work, except for the clowns – that's pushing the limits of the bioload. If you're prepared and equipped, it's doable in the long term.

Acclimation, or "howdie boxes" as I've heard some folks call them, can make a big difference. These are essentially clear tanks inside the main tank, like large breeder boxes. This approach can really help ease the transition.

I've heard some good things about the trick of rearranging the tank's rock – not something I've tried myself, but it might be worth considering. Leaving the lights off for a day can also be beneficial.

You don't necessarily need to remove the rock entirely, just rearrange the aquascape so it's unrecognizable to the fish. This way, they lose their territories and become less aggressive, making them less hostile to the new additions. I've tried this method once and it was successful.

I've had my fair share of mixing clowns, and I gotta say, it's a recipe for disaster. Maroon clowns, in particular, are notorious for their aggression. You're looking at a major turf war with that Ocellaris Clown coming in. I've tried rearranging the rockwork, creating separate areas, blocking lines of sight - the works. But with a maroon clown, it just doesn't seem to matter. They're a lot like tomato clowns in terms of behavior, and trust me, they can be a handful. If you're dead set on trying this, make sure you've got a backup plan in place, like a spare tank on standby.