Clownfish pair showing serve aggression

[jmag101]

Hey so I have a clownfish pair and the male is showing huge aggression. It first started when I noticed part of my female’s tale was missing and got infected so I put her in a quarantine tank until the infection stopped and then I put her back in the tank. As soon as she was in the she hid in the back and laid on her side which was concerning she only came out to eat. I thought is was mainly due to her struggling with swimming with her tail but today she swam out to the front of the tank the male went after her. She buried her face into a cave, and even still the male went after her grabbed her by the tail and shook her. She is now back in her quarantine tank bc I was worried if I left her he would kill her. I’ve I had the pair for two months and it seems that the aggression is getting worse and I don’t what to do any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[CocoReef]

Could be the pair maturing and creating a pecking order. In my experience the females are the aggressive ones but I recommend using a breeder box. Keep the victim in the box for a week or so and see if the aggression subsides. This lets the fish heal while still allowing the pair see each other.

 

[jmag101]

Could be the pair maturing and creating a pecking order. In my experience the females are the aggressive ones but I recommend using a breeder box. Keep the victim in the box for a week or so and see if the aggression subsides. This lets the fish heal while still allowing the pair see each other.

Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, my female died last night.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Sounds like the pair never truly bonded, and the male was unhappy being subdominant, so it turned on the female (not to become the new female). Sorry this happened, it’s not uncommon and I’ve seen a lot recently where the male is the aggressor.
If you ever decide to repair, be sure to get one significantly smaller than the current one (and similar breeds seem to help chances of success).

 

[Peace River]

Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, my female died last night.

I am truly sorry for your loss. Unfortunately this is part of the mystery, adventure, and frustration of keeping clown fish.

 

[kevgib67]

Ya it happened to me also, sucks. First 2 fish I added to my new tank, juvenile ocellaris. They were inseparable for a month then the one turned psycho and killed the other one. I was thinking it was a pairing dominance thing at first and by the time I realized it wasn’t it was to late. I picked up a new one about 1/2 inch larger ( since the original was just under an inch I new it was still a male) and the have been a happy couple for almost a year.