Frequent Aquarium Questions

• What would cause my blue discus to turn black??
  
  
• If a puffer fish dies does it have a venom it will secrete and kill all other life in the tank.
  
  
• I have a yellowtailed damsel, a percula clown and a cleaner shrimp. Lately the damsel has been "attacking" both the clown and the shrimp. what should i do with the damsel?
  
  
• I just bought what I was told was a bicolor blenny, but he looks much more like a royal gamma without the bottom fins. He is half magenta and bright yellow on the tail half. Could you please identify my fish?
  
  
• Is it safe to have clownfish in a tank with fake coral or do I need real coral?
  
  
• We have a juvenile dragon wrasse that we hadn't seen since before christmas and today 1/14/05 he came out for about 20 minutes, had a shrimp, and is now gone again. Do you have any idea what might be wrong with him?
  
  
• I have ayellow tang and would like to buy some clown fish. Will they get along?
  
  
• Will a small green chromis school with a blue chromis?
  
  
• What salt water fish can be put into a five gallon tank that won't hide?
  
  

• What would cause my blue discus to turn black??
  
  Could be from a number of reasons IE: water quality, possibly being alone(discus like to be in schools), Temp, and Stress could all cause the color change in your discus.
  
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• If a puffer fish dies does it have a venom it will secrete and kill all other life in the tank.
  
  The toxin you are referring to is tetrodotoxin. It is not however released in any way during the death of the fish. It can be eventually released into the tank if the dead fish is left in the tank long enough to decay.
  
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• I have a yellowtailed damsel, a percula clown and a cleaner shrimp. Lately the damsel has been "attacking" both the clown and the shrimp. what should i do with the damsel?
  
  When keeping damselfish you should always bear in mind that they can be extremely aggressive fish. The behavior you have mentioned (damsel attatcking a clownfish and cleaner shrimp) is not uncommon by any means. To answer your question as to what to do with your damselfish I would reccomend removing him from your system and donating the fish to a fellow hobbyist or returning it to a local fish store before he does serious damage to your other inhabitants.
  
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• I just bought what I was told was a bicolor blenny, but he looks much more like a royal gamma without the bottom fins. He is half magenta and bright yellow on the tail half. Could you please identify my fish?
  
  From your description, you probably have a bicolor pseudochromis.
  
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• Is it safe to have clownfish in a tank with fake coral or do I need real coral?
  
  The healthiest systems for clownfish are reef environments. However, there is no reason that you can't successfully keep clownfish in a tank with artificial decorations.
  
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• We have a juvenile dragon wrasse that we hadn't seen since before christmas and today 1/14/05 he came out for about 20 minutes, had a shrimp, and is now gone again. Do you have any idea what might be wrong with him?
  
  Your dragon wrasse like so many other wrasses hide in the substrate. As long as he is still eating and looks healthy, he will be fine. As he gets more and more comfortable, he will come out more.
  
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• I have ayellow tang and would like to buy some clown fish. Will they get along?
  
  Tangs and clowns get along great together.
  
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• Will a small green chromis school with a blue chromis?
  
  Hi Harvey, Chromis usually school in numbers of three of more and with like chromis.
  
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• What salt water fish can be put into a five gallon tank that won't hide?
  
  We'll start by saying a five gallon tank is too small for a saltwater aquarium. The only fish we can recommend for that tank are either one damsel or one Percula or Occellaris clownfish (not both). Neither of those species should hide unless of course, you have no live rock in the tank.
  
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