adding fish: seeking assistance

[Tavion]

Hi everyone,
Just setting up a new marine tank and we're starting with the easy-going fish, like clowns, after doing a ton of research.
But we have a concern - what if something goes wrong with these gentle fish and we end up losing them?
If we're left with the more aggressive fish, how do we safely introduce new, more docile fish to the tank?
Are we missing something obvious here?
Thanks for your input.

[dusked6]

Hi everyone,
Just setting up a new marine tank and we're starting with the easy-going fish, like clowns, after doing a ton of research.
But we have a concern - what if something goes wrong with these gentle fish and we end up losing them?
If we're left with the more aggressive fish, how do we safely introduce new, more docile fish to the tank?
Are we missing something obvious here?
Thanks for your input.

You're on the right track by starting with docile fish, and I'd recommend holding off on adding more aggressive ones until you're confident your tank is stable. Quarantining new purchases is also a good idea, if possible. Now, if you do lose a docile fish and want to replace it, here's what I'd do: quarantine the other fish, add the new docile one, rearrange the tank to reduce territorial behavior, and then reintroduce the other fish. This approach seems logical to me, but it does require a quarantine tank.

[Tavion]

Thanks so much for the advice, really appreciate it. We were thinking along those lines, but hadn't considered the quarantine part. However, we're a bit stuck - what if we don't have access to a quarantine tank? Is there another way around it, or are we out of luck? Thanks again for your help.

[rustix]

So you're planning on adding some semi-aggressive fish after the docile ones, what kind are you looking at? Depending on what you've got in there already, that'll give you different options for introducing new fish.

If you're dealing with something like a Lionfish that'll eat the more docile fish, try adding the new ones at night when the aggressive one's not as active, it's less likely to think you're feeding it. Adding fish at night can help prevent territorial or aggressive fish from attacking the new ones. Rearranging your rock work might also help, but that's not always an option and can be a huge hassle if it is.