Clownfish pairing? Or fighting?

[Houstoner]

I have had these two Black storm clowns for about 2 and a half months now in my 24g AIO. Clowns are the only fish I have in there with only snails and small hermit crabs. They were relatively the same size when I got them but now there is a noticeable size difference. So no problems until about 3 days ago when I noticed a fin was slightly torn on one side of the smaller clown. Now both fins are slightly torn. The little fights were more present now but not that much more aggressive. The smaller one, and the bigger one will instigate the fights randomly and I have seen both do the little twitch and submit to one another.
My question is I have a little acrylic isolation chamber should I put the bigger one in and let the smaller heal up inside the display? Or would that be interfering with their sexing ritual?

 

[Dom]

It would be helpful if you could post video of their behavior.

 

[Houstoner]

It would be helpful if you could post video of their behavior.

I'll get a video of them tomorrow with the lights on. With the lights off they don't fight at all and snuggle up on the side of the glass.

 

[Peace River]

I have had these two Black storm clowns for about 2 and a half months now in my 24g AIO. Clowns are the only fish I have in there with only snails and small hermit crabs. They were relatively the same size when I got them but now there is a noticeable size difference. So no problems until about 3 days ago when I noticed a fin was slightly torn on one side of the smaller clown. Now both fins are slightly torn. The little fights were more present now but not that much more aggressive. The smaller one, and the bigger one will instigate the fights randomly and I have seen both do the little twitch and submit to one another.
My question is I have a little acrylic isolation chamber should I put the bigger one in and let the smaller heal up inside the display? Or would that be interfering with their sexing ritual?

The size difference is a good thing. It means that, as expected, the bigger one almost certainly has become a female in comparison to the smaller one which is now likely your male - nothing unusual there. Sometime the pair bonding can get a little aggressive and sometimes the female is just down right grumpy. I would suggest that you give them a little leeway to work through there issues but there may come a point where you need to intervene so you don't lose the male. Based on your description, at this point a couple of things that you may want to try is (1) reorganize the tank, and (2) add more hiding places. Good luck!

 

[Billdogg]

The size difference is a good thing. It means that, as expected, the bigger one almost certainly has become a female in comparison to the smaller one which is now likely your male - nothing unusual there. Sometime the pair bonding can get a little aggressive and sometimes the female is just down right grumpy. I would suggest that you give them a little leeway to work through there issues but there may come a point where you need to intervene so you don't lose the male. Based on your description, at this point a couple of things that you may want to try is (1) reorganize the tank, and (2) add more hiding places. Good luck!

^^^This^^^

A issue that is making the problem worse is that your tank really isn't big enough for a pair of clowns. Something in the 50g or larger size would be more appropriate for a bonding pair. You certainly will not be able to add any other fish to that tank because the female will harass them to death, and I have doubts that the male will survive.

jm.02

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sounds like either. Agree video may help. I have a current breeding pair and they started that way but now stick together always and protect the lower left of the tank.

 

[glb]

Clowns can get aggressive when mating. I have two in a 40g and they love each other to pieces. It’s normal to have the female get much bigger than the male. Good luck!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Clowns can get aggressive when mating. I have two in a 40g and they love each other to pieces. It’s normal to have the female get much bigger than the male. Good luck!

I forgot to mention and correct- Female will be the larger of the two