Clownfish picking on chromis

[jk_s124]

Hello, tried searching for discussion about this but was unable to find much. I recently introduced a blue green chromis into my biocube 29. I have a firefish, perc and ocellaris as well in the tank. Everything was great for the first few weeks, but the past 2-3 weeks our chromis has been trying to shoal with our clownfish. The larger clownfish doesn't seem to mind but it is stressing and bothering the smaller one. The smaller one is constantly charging at the chromis every time it gets near and the chromis is not getting the hint. I'm concerned it's stressing out the clownfish too much. Has anyone had a similar experience? Would it be best to remove the chromis if this continues to persist much longer? Thanks!

 

[EmdeReef]

What you’re deacribing sounds like you have a bonded pair of clowns, the larger being the female. it’s very likely that the clowns have picked their nesting ground and will not appreciate any other fish around.

As long as there’s no damage/wounds on any of the fish I’d say you’re ok. The clowns can stand their ground very well even with much larger fish. The male trying to chase away the intruder is pretty normal behavior.

If you start noticing wounds or fin damage etc then you’ll have to take out the chromi or the clowns.

 

[jk_s124]

The chromis is very persistent with this behavior. He gets chased away and barely moves and almost shimmies himself back to the clownfish's corner. It's quite funny really. The chromis doesn't seem to be bothered by the clownfish chasing him away either. No damage to the chromis, but the small clown seems to have a little white around the bottom left of his mouth. Noticed a week after this behavior started. I assume it's a wound that was a bit infected. Seems to be clearing up just fine. I'm just worried that the little clown is getting stressed out by the constant nuisance of the chromis.

 

[EmdeReef]

It’s common for clowns to get a bit too enthusiastic cleaning the mating grounds which can result in discoloration around the mouth. That usually goes away after a few days. If you can post a good pic we can confirm.

I honestly don’t think the behavior you’re describing should be too stressful to the clown. They are usually pretty aggressive and proud about it .

If I put my hand in the tank my clowns will go after it immediately. One of them will even charge my foxface which is almost 3x its size...

 

[dbl]

I agree with @EmdeReef...all sounds like rather normal behavior from clowns. I did move this over to the appropriate forum to see if there are any other opinions.

 

[Big G]

Never fails to amaze me how aggressive clownfish can be at times.

 

[jk_s124]

Thanks so much for the response! Much appreciated.

This picture is a bit blurry but I think it shows what I was describing.

 

[jk_s124]

I agree with @EmdeReef...all sounds like rather normal behavior from clowns. I did move this over to the appropriate forum to see if there are any other opinions.

Sorry thought I had this in the fish behavior forum. New at this!