clown bully

White Hair · Nov 16, 2019

have 2 clowns in a less than month old tank no corals, an orange and a frost bite been together for about 2 weeks, at first there was no problem then the orange seems to bother the frostbite frequently,they will be swimming around then the orange will dive bomb the other. First is this a common thing, and can i do anything about it. Thought about maybe going back to LFS see if they will trade or give me credit, thoughts?

Mical · Nov 16, 2019

First relax, clowns try to assert dominance between pairs. This is common and when one "wins out" over another it turns into a female. There's millions of threads on clowns regarding your concerns, just let nature play out. If it gets too extreme and one starts losing fins or showing signs of physical body damage, then you should separate them. But most times this is just a natural occurrence.

Eve · Nov 16, 2019

White Hair said:
have 2 clowns in a less than month old tank no corals, an orange and a frost bite been together for about 2 weeks, at first there was no problem then the orange seems to bother the frostbite frequently,they will be swimming around then the orange will dive bomb the other. First is this a common thing, and can i do anything about it. Thought about maybe going back to LFS see if they will trade or give me credit, thoughts?

Completely normal, that’s just dominance. Only worry if it gets to the point where you see any injuries, but other than that it will be okay.

TheShrimpNibbler · Nov 16, 2019

White Hair said:
have 2 clowns in a less than month old tank no corals, an orange and a frost bite been together for about 2 weeks, at first there was no problem then the orange seems to bother the frostbite frequently,they will be swimming around then the orange will dive bomb the other. First is this a common thing, and can i do anything about it. Thought about maybe going back to LFS see if they will trade or give me credit, thoughts?

People tend to say right off the bat that this is normal, but I disagree. We need more info. Were the fish in the tank at the lfs together? What sizes are they? Has there been any damage to either fish yet? Does the one being bullied twitch on its side when attacked? It could be two females, and if so, this will not stop unless you take one back.

White Hair · Nov 17, 2019

TheShrimpNibbler said:
People tend to say right off the bat that this is normal, but I disagree. We need more info. Were the fish in the tank at the lfs together? What sizes are they? Has there been any damage to either fish yet? Does the one being bullied twitch on its side when attacked? It could be two females, and if so, this will not stop unless you take one back.

not in same tank at lfs,about 11/4 inch long, the bully is a little bigger, no damage,does not twitch that i have noticed

Jon Fishman · Nov 17, 2019

Make sure you have a top. One of mine was being chased etc, and ultimately jumped

TheShrimpNibbler · Nov 17, 2019

White Hair said:
not in same tank at lfs,about 11/4 inch long, the bully is a little bigger, no damage,does not twitch that i have noticed

About the same size and from different tanks is not a good mix. They could both be females, which would require you to remove one. That’s not for sure though, but since the smaller one is not submitting and the larger one is being aggressive, this is a possibility. Were they both the biggest clownfish in their tanks? If so, I would take one back and exchange it for a smaller one. They could work it out. If there begins to be damage, I would take one back then too and exchange for a small one. If you do take one back, make sure that it is the aggressive one.