How do you replace a fish when it dies?

When a fish you have dies how do you replace it without the others picking on the new fish? Would i make any difference if you've had the fish for a few weeks or over a year? Thanks!

 

You can try turning the lights off for a bit, or rearranging the rock work or whatever you have in the tank so that each fish needs to reclaim its own area. Or just drop him in and keep an eye on him. What do you have currently in the tank? That will be the big factor in how you would go about it.

 

what do you have and what are you planning on getting

 

Well I don't have any yet I'm getting a 90 gallon soon I'm just thinking long term.

 

Whatever you decide on just make sure you've researched thoroughly on the compatibility of the fish you decide on + any inverts or corals if you go that route.

It would definitely make a difference if you had a certain fish for a length of time in the tank. If say you had a cheap damsel in the tank and it established a territory, it would most def be aggresive towards anything being added. It's pretty much nature, so if you can stock in 2 week increments and stock slowly you should be fine. Just make sure to let your bio load catch up after you add anything. SW is much less forgiving so be patient even though it's hard when the time comes.

good luck!

 

I know exactly what your getting at here, and I had some problems with it awhile ago. I had my tank fully stocked with a clarkii, rabbit fish and some smaller bottom dwelling fish. During the stocking all the fish were happy and got along right off the bat. When my rabbit fish started getting to big I decided it was time to get rid of it, so I took it in to the LFS and started looking at new options. The clarkii never even gave a mean look towards anything in the tank until I started trying to replace the rabbit. It killed and fed everything I put in there to it's anemone. The only solution I could find to the problem was to get rid of the clarkii.

You may have some problems, and when it comes time to replace a fish you may have to get rid of a fish or QT it while the new arrivals get settled. The best way to avoid this will be to research very closely and steer clear of any fish that have aggression problems. Clownfish, damsels and dottybacks come to mind as fish you may want to avoid.

 

wait until you get the 90 gallon, then get only a few fish to keep tank keepin easy

 

We usually just turn the lights off for a bit to calm everything down. Our damsels pick on new arrivals from time to time but never for long. Once they establish who is the boss and who owns the cave they go on about their business. If you end up having an ongoing problem try moving around the rock work.