Clownfish acting strange

[brittneya]

hi!
We have a Mated pair and juvenile male clownfish we got all together. Today I noticed the juvenile male acting strange. He didn’t eat during the morning feeding and then he was in the top corner of the tank upside down swimming weird. I googled what that could mean and planned to watch him. Seems he may need to fast for a few days. Just now I went to check on him and couldn’t find him. He’s hiding and only came out when the other male and female briefly chased him and it seemed they “nipped” at him. I should also mention the tank is my husbands, he’s gone and I do not know what I’m doing.

 

[Reeferman47]

hi!
We have a Mated pair and juvenile male clownfish we got all together. Today I noticed the juvenile male acting strange. He didn’t eat during the morning feeding and then he was in the top corner of the tank upside down swimming weird. I googled what that could mean and planned to watch him. Seems he may need to fast for a few days. Just now I went to check on him and couldn’t find him. He’s hiding and only came out when the other male and female briefly chased him and it seemed they “nipped” at him. I should also mention the tank is my husbands, he’s gone and I do not know what I’m doing.

I know the problem here. The clownfish in a mated pair will attack a clownfish because they have probably picked a territory and are trying to defend it from other fish. They can start to be aggressive. When I was new to the hobby I made this mistake and lost a snowflake clownfish. If you can you should try to separate the male juvenile clownfish and put him into a nursery tank (Basically you put this in the tank and it has holes so the water can flow in and the fish can't be bothered). You could do this until he comes back and you can show him this. I hope everything works out and the little clownfish is okay. I will leave a link to a nursery tank below. I will be here if you have anymore questions for me.


-Reeferman47

 

[brittneya]

I know the problem here. The clownfish in a mated pair will attack a clownfish because they have probably picked a territory and are trying to defend it from other fish. They can start to be aggressive. When I was new to the hobby I made this mistake and lost a snowflake clownfish. If you can you should try to separate the male juvenile clownfish and put him into a nursery tank (Basically you put this in the tank and it has holes so the water can flow in and the fish can't be bothered). You could do this until he comes back and you can show him this. I hope everything works out and the little clownfish is okay. I will leave a link to a nursery tank below. I will be here if you have anymore questions for me.


-Reeferman47

Thank you!
Does it make a difference that he is their baby? At what point is he old enough? We have a second tank that I can put him in but is it bad for him to be all alone? Gosh I wish I would have asked more questions before he left lol.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its a product of aggression and the female may need to be placed in an acclimation box for a time out. During mating/pairing, the larger being female can or will show aggression, establish a territory and in a sense try to be the boss. Shaking or shimmying, moth locking and swaying side to side are some of the behaviors with pairing.

 

[brittneya]

Its a product of aggression and the female may need to be placed in an acclimation box for a time out. During mating/pairing, the larger being female can or will show aggression, establish a territory and in a sense try to be the boss. Shaking or shimmying, moth locking and swaying side to side are some of the behaviors with pairing.

Thank you!
Is this something that happens after time? They have been together for a few months. The juvenile is the mated pairs baby. Is this a sign that it’s time to separate them?