Clownfish aggression

[Lyss]

I read It is common for the female to do this to the male ( on this forum )

She does it always, it's more a matter of whether or not the little one will accept it and become the male. Ideally he submits to her "bully" behavior and they pair. I was lucky in that mine did exactly this pretty quickly, but I know that for many people it's not so seamless, and for some it doesn't work out with those two clownfish at all and they introduce a different male for her to try to pair with.

 

[SlugSnorter]

My clownfish recently started being aggressive towards my firefish. My black ice clown has been in the tank for a year ,and my firefish has been in the tank for about 2 weeks. My clownfish has never been aggressive towards any of my tank mates throughout the year, but today I noticed it chasing my fire fish and a little chunk was taken out of its tail. My other fish are a tailspot blenny and a hectors goby and my clownfish is never aggressive around them. I plan to take it back to my LFS and get another fish instead if the aggression doesn’t stop. Would I be able to trade it for a different clown?

firefish and clowns are the same neiche, so clown is more likely to attack them

 

[Andresnyc93]

I ran into this issue as well but with my flame angelfish, he was the last fish added and my clownfish never bothered or even cared about other additions until the flame came along.
Hate to say it but re-homing them is the best option since they are stubborn as they can get. I’ve added new clowns since and they haven’t even bothered to come anywhere near the other fish.
Sometimes is just best to add them at the end since they’re in the same family as damsels, which are known to get semi-aggressive.

 

[Spicy Reef]

I did run into this with a blue/green Cromis (I guess also from same niche?) I put the Cromis in a floating plexi container to get everyone use to the idea. Clowns investigated did not act aggressive so after a day I put it in with everyone and boy oh boy the clowns went after it hard. the Chromis was/is smaller but very nimble and quick, they were never able to nip/bite it and the Cromis kept sideling up to the clowns as if to tease them. I watched intensively for the day, the clowns seem to have given up and they're all happy...

side note: I believe people commenting here, have truly read somewhere that certain behaviors are happening when they post,
HOWEVER, I would really appreciate an article link about it or a personal experience rather than just an outright statement. I can't believe this behavior isn't documented somewhere, although I can't find it...

 

[Lyss]

I did run into this with a blue/green Cromis (I guess also from same niche?) I put the Cromis in a floating plexi container to get everyone use to the idea. Clowns investigated did not act aggressive so after a day I put it in with everyone and boy oh boy the clowns went after it hard. the Chromis was/is smaller but very nimble and quick, they were never able to nip/bite it and the Cromis kept sideling up to the clowns as if to tease them. I watched intensively for the day, the clowns seem to have given up and they're all happy...

side note: I believe people commenting here, have truly read somewhere that certain behaviors are happening when they post,
HOWEVER, I would really appreciate an article link about it or a personal experience rather than just an outright statement. I can't believe this behavior isn't documented somewhere, although I can't find it...

Most ppl are commenting from knowledge and experience, not just regurgitating something they read somewhere. But if you're ever in doubt about what information to trust, you could Google it. I'm sure some misinformation sometimes slips through, though I would highly doubt it is ever intentional here. That might come off sounding short, and I really don't mean to be rude! It's just that not everyone is going to invest the extra time to find an article to share along with their response.

That said, I'm not clear on what specific behavior you're asking about. Clownfish aggression, as well as male/female pairing behavior is well documented. Chromis are in the Damsel family so it's not way off for clowns to become territorially aggressive towards Chromis added after the clowns were already established. Firefish are not in the Damsel family, they are dartfish, so I'm not sure what was meant by "same niche" there.

 

[Jekyl]

Most ppl are commenting from knowledge and experience, not just regurgitating something they read somewhere. But if you're ever in doubt about what information to trust, you could Google it. I'm sure some misinformation sometimes slips through, though I would highly doubt it is ever intentional here. That might come off sounding short, and I really don't mean to be rude! It's just that not everyone is going to invest the extra time to find an article to share along with their response.

That said, I'm not clear on what specific behavior you're asking about. Clownfish aggression, as well as male/female pairing behavior is well documented. Chromis are in the Damsel family so it's not way off for clowns to become territorially aggressive towards Chromis added after the clowns were already established. Firefish are not in the Damsel family, they are dartfish, so I'm not sure what was meant by "same niche" there.

This.

Articles on the subject can be found during personal research. The information most of us provide on this forum is direct personal experience. Anything outside of that is still done usually through research and the willingness to help out.

 

[Spicy Reef]

As I said
"side note: I believe people commenting here, have truly read somewhere that certain behaviors are happening when they post,"

I do NOT, am NOT questioning anyone that has or will comment!

I have done many searches and information with varying degrees is all over the place. My own experience backs up the jist of what is being said in this thread.

My only hope/wish is that there might be some actual studies out there...

Clownfish Behavior - Can Clownfish be Aggressive? - SeaFish

Clownfish are very lively fish and are with extraordinarily aggressive behavior. As a result of they're fairly lively, clowning around

www.seafishpool.com

 

[Ergot]

all clowns are aggressive, the common “Nemo” one the least so.

 

[Spicy Reef]

Maybe we could learn something by listening to our fish...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Taking fish from a large ocean environment int a closed system with less room, aggression becomes an issue as many fish are territorial in nature. While female clowns are often the aggressor due to hierarchy, the male can be as aggressive especially if paired with a female and spawning.
Introduction plays and important role and at times introducing a fish at lights out helps- not always. Acclimation boxes and mirror are hit and miss- Providing hiding spots and similar structure also helps

 

[Spicy Reef]

Taking fish from a large ocean environment int a closed system with less room, aggression becomes an issue as many fish are territorial in nature. While female clowns are often the aggressor due to hierarchy, the male can be as aggressive especially if paired with a female and spawning.
Introduction plays and important role and at times introducing a fish at lights out helps- not always. Acclimation boxes and mirror are hit and miss- Providing hiding spots and similar structure also helps

What about captive bred?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What about captive bred?

Captive bred are not only a little more docile but also less susceptible to brooklynella disease

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

I don't know what the return policies of your LFS are. You could try the mirror trick with the clownfish to see if that helps.

What is the mirror trick?

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

What is the mirror trick?

I did a search for "mirror" and found it. Thanks anyway!