Clown fish being aggressive to other clown fish

badstorm48 · Feb 29, 2016

I know that they establish dominance over each other and one will submit, but with mine it's like the other will submit and the other will keep going after him even though he submits to her. I don't see any marks or find messed up but it's like if he comes out of the corner she goes at him and he'll submit and a second later will go back at him. Eventually she'll stop for a little bit but do it again. Really I'm just worried that she's going to stress him out to much and kill him and I don't want that to happen. They are both blood orange clowns and I've had them for 3 weeks now. I have a 40 gallon breeder so there's plenty of room for them. So, I'm just wondering if this is just something that all clowns go through for a little bit and then stop and they will be fine together or is it something they will stop. They were fine for the first couple weeks but week 3 seems to be bad. I may just be over worrying about it. They are both the same size as well. The one that does submit however has never tried to be aggressive to the other. He always submits. Advice would be appreciated. I have thought of taking the aggressor out and putting them in another tank for a couple days then putting her back in and see how that works has anyone had any luck with this or is it pointless to do and unneeded stress for the fish.

badstorm48 · Feb 29, 2016

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the one that is constantly getting bullied

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the bully

eatbreakfast · Mar 1, 2016

The victim is definitely showing more wear and tear than a male should normally have. You can try putting one in a social acclimation box, where they can both see each other, but I wouldn't separate them for a period of time. If the aggression doesn't subside than one will likely need to be rehomed.