Are my clowns going to kill each other?

[Philipgonzales3]

The one that was slightly larger seemed to have made the one that is slightly smaller do the submissive twitches pretty early on. We noticed that the smaller one was really fiesty early on, but we thought he had given in.

The clowns have had their fins nipped on and off. They had seemed to have just been healing all the way back up and I come home to two pretty beat up clownfish. All of my other fish have no damage on them, including their fins. The clownfish are at opposite sides of the tank and the suspected male is manning the fake anemone and the suspected female is in the opposite corner hosting the mag float near the overflow.

The suspected male has more damage but is swimming and acting more normally. The suspected female is swimming like it's the hurt one a bit and breathing a little hard.

Should I assume this is normal aggression or assume they weren't meant to be?

Here is the suspected male:



And the suspected female (I believe the purple marks on it look more red in person):

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Man,

I can't tell if this is a serious issue or if these guys are just clowning around...

Ok that was my dad joke for the day.

Seemed like they are fine based on their behavior.

It seems like the suspected male is being slightly more dominant but hard to tell.

 

[nicodim55]

Man,

I can't tell if this is a serious issue or if these guys are just clowning around...

Ok that was my dad joke for the day.

Seemed like they are fine based on their behavior.

It seems like the suspected male is being slightly more dominant but hard to tell.

They look like they're getting along fine to me. They look to be closed to the same size, so maybe the aggressor (probably ends up being the female) was establishing dominance over the other. I would just watch them closely to see if she keeps picking on him.

 

[Hemmdog]

Ouch, hopefully they sort out their differences soon for ya bud.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

They look like they're getting along fine to me. They look to be closed to the same size, so maybe the aggressor (probably ends up being the female) was establishing dominance over the other. I would just watch them closely to see if she keeps picking on him.

Well I was basing my concern out of how bad the smaller ones fin looks and the bigger one in the opposite corner breathing a little hard and seemed to be swimming a lot slower and with less energy than normal if that makes sense.

I decided to check on them and they are swimming like nothing happened...weird fish... *shrugs shoulders*

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Ouch, hopefully they sort out their differences soon for ya bud.

Yeah, I thought they had settled it already. Their fins were almost healed. Well we'll see how many rounds of this they can put me through before I go crazy...too late...

Lol.

 

[GabeM]

Yeah looks like they are just sorting out who will be dominant and become female if they are both juvenile (clownfish husbandry is really interesting) Did you buy them as a pair or separately? If they are both already female they will not be able to go back to male (They only change gender from male to female) and one will kill the other. In the future I would recommend buying a matched pair who have already sorted this out.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Yeah looks like they are just sorting out who will be dominant and become female if they are both juvenile (clownfish husbandry is really interesting) Did you buy them as a pair or separately? If they are both already female they will not be able to go back to male (They only change gender from male to female) and one will kill the other. In the future I would recommend buying a matched pair who have already sorted this out.

I bought them from the fish store on the same day. They were in separate tanks. I believe they were both at the LFS a small amount of time and assumed were both juvenile based on their size.

Of course those are both assumptions. I knew that the male to female change was a 1 way trip. Did not think about the possibility of them both being mature females already. I think it's unlikely...right?

 

[nicodim55]

I bought them from the fish store on the same day. They were in separate tanks. I believe they were both at the LFS a small amount of time and assumed were both juvenile based on their size.

Of course those are both assumptions. I knew that the male to female change was a 1 way trip. Did not think about the possibility of them both being mature females already. I think it's unlikely...right?

Judging by their diminutive size, I doubt if they already changed in to females. Just my 2 cents, good luck.

 

[GabeM]

I bought them from the fish store on the same day. They were in separate tanks. I believe they were both at the LFS a small amount of time and assumed were both juvenile based on their size.

Of course those are both assumptions. I knew that the male to female change was a 1 way trip. Did not think about the possibility of them both being mature females already. I think it's unlikely...right?

They would have to have both been the dominant clownfish in a tank for enough time to change (and yes this can happen alone from link below) - definitely possible but they seem small. Keep an eye on them and if they start hurting each other badly you may need to bring one back and make sure you get a male (will be a smaller one in a group).

Buying matched pairs has been a much better experience for me rather than trying to get two strangers to get along!

Source: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-lone-clownfish.242334/

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not surprised. I too have had this occur and yes, it has been once the clowns started to pair off or hang together, the fin nipping, which then was struggling to swim and eat to death.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Well it looks like the suspected female got beat up some more.

 

[Hemmdog]

Well it looks like the suspected female got beat up some more.

This is like a weekend at Michael Vick’s house!

 

[Nanofan12]

Might be time to separate them for good. Just my opinion

 

[Hemmdog]

Might be time to separate them for good. Just my opinion

+1

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Might be time to separate them for good. Just my opinion

+1

IDK. I'm on the fence. If I decide to I may swoop one out while they are sleeping. The suspected female is doing the submissive twitches so hoping it has given up.

With the move being on Friday I want to see how they hold up until then. IDK. Any other opinions? You think I should call it at this point?

 

[Nanofan12]

I mean you could wait it out a few more days. If it gets worse for sure separate then.

 

[Hemmdog]

Do you have a acclimation box?

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Do you have a acclimation box?

No. Never needed one yet. Guessing I should add it to the list sooner than later?

 

[Nanofan12]

You can always use a critter keeper or hamster ball in the tank.