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HOT TIPS Column: September 2005 Issue of Advanced Aquarist

September's theme is "Aggressive Fish Tips." Please submit any tips you might have for people housing or wanting to keep aggressive fish. Your tips and tricks will help new and existing reefkeepers and also helps to bring the hobby to the next level (plus it's just cool to get published in a magazine like Advanced Aquarist).

When published, your hot tip will have your username published (along with your real name if you so desire). Every month we will be running a new HOT TIP thread so stay tuned and help out when you can.

The staff at both Reefs.org and Advanced Aquarist would like to thank you for your continued interest and support of our online community, magazine, and services.

Let the submissions begin!

Best regards,

Reefs.org and Advanced Aquarist staff

[Mihai]

I guess that the lack of answer reinforces my thinking: just don't!.

If you have a nice and peaceful reef tank, one of the worst thing you can do is add an aggressive fish that will terrorize/kill all of the shy/peaceful inhabitants in your reef.

If you want aggressive fish, just make a special tank just for them.
Just my 2c.
Mihai

[Ranger]

Other than the previous advice of "don't rock the boat", If you have a new aggressive fish, try to reaarange the aquascape to negate any territorial issues there may be with established fish.

[vitz]

always keep one eye on the fish, and one eye on the algae scrubber stick, net, or whatever your other hand is holding/doing in/near the tank or water

it may help keep you from getting nailed by a tesselata eel like i was

many of the aggressive fish, including the more sedate by nature fish, like lions, can be surprisingly quick and sudden, and many of the aggressive predators have other dangers in addition to teeth (tesselatas have an anticoaglant in their saliva that can keep a bite wound bleeding for hours, and make a hand go numb for a day)

NEVER hand feed a lion fish, regardless of how 'tame' you think it may be

use good sound stocking rate rules, remember that 1" of an 8"grouper is like 6" of damselfish, at a minimum, and each damsel should have a minimum of 3-5 gallons of water for maximum comfort/life support