clown fish attacking each other..

angelBklf450 · Mar 9, 2020

Hi, so i just got my first saltwater tank about 2 month ago, after cycling the tank i added clown fish and he did fine for like a month so i desided to add another one( he is bigger than the old one) but the old clown keeps chasing and attacking him.
So im wondering if this is normaal or not , let me know what you guys think

Spare time · Mar 9, 2020

It is normal. The larger one will chase the smaller one and the smaller one will do a little wiggle/twitch.

Uncle99 · Mar 9, 2020

What’s bigger mean? If you added a fish, greater than say an 1”, you may have added a female and if the one you already have is a female, that’s not going to work.

If they do some battle but it’s not constant, then, they may be jus5 resetting the hierarchy.

Keep watch, if one is getting battered, then separate for 48 hours, and put back in.

If it doesn’t stop, then one has to go.

Rule of attempting to pair clowns is always add a small one, about 1/2 to 3/4”.
That way your sure not to have a female

Also, pairing chances and acceptance may increase when same species and color are introduced.

NeonRabbit221B · Mar 9, 2020

More than likely you have two females. Always add a smaller one as the second one.

angelBklf450 · Mar 9, 2020

Uncle99 said:
What’s bigger mean? If you added a fish, greater than say an 1”, you may have added a female and if the one you already have is a female, that’s not going to work.

If they do some battle but it’s not constant, then, they may be jus5 resetting the hierarchy.

Keep watch, if one is getting battered, then separate for 48 hours, and put back in.

If it doesn’t stop, then one has to go.

Rule of attempting to pair clowns is always add a small one, about 1/2 to 3/4”.
That way your sure not to have a female

Okay thanks i will keep an eye on them

angelBklf450 · Mar 9, 2020

NeonRabbit221B said:
More than likely you have two females. Always add a smaller one as the second one.

Ok but then one is suposed to become a male right ?

Colt13 · Mar 9, 2020

angelBklf450 said:
Ok but then one is suposed to become a male right ?

They start as male, they cannot go to female then back to male. Once they’re female it’s for good

NeonRabbit221B · Mar 9, 2020

angelBklf450 said:
Ok but then one is suposed to become a male right ?

As mentioned above what you want to look for is the "wiggle". The larger one will typically approach to strike and the smaller male will shimmy or wiggle after avoiding. No way to sex them that I have heard of besides behavioral.

Behavior does change depending on species but that is largely what I have seen.

angelBklf450 · Mar 9, 2020

Colt13 said:
They start as male, they cannot go to female then back to male. Once they’re female it’s for good

That i did not know but thanks for the info

Spare time · Mar 9, 2020

Spare time said:
It is normal. The larger one will chase the smaller one and the smaller one will do a little wiggle/twitch.

This is a dominance thing. However I didn't see that you said the smaller one is going after the bigger one. Was the original clownfish in a previous pair?

angelBklf450 · Mar 9, 2020

Spare time said:
This is a dominance thing. However I didn't see that you said the smaller one is going after the bigger one. Was the original clownfish in a previous pair?

i bought them at my lfs so i doubt they were in pairs & yes the smaller one is chasing the big on thats what i found to be very strange, at one point te big one jumped and almost fell outside the tank.