"Clowning Around" or what?

Luna · May 12, 2017

I need some advice & suggestions. I added a second clown fish to my tank today and the clown I had in there went after it. I don't know if there setting male / female, are they fighting. And the bad thing about that is my 6 line wrasse goes after both of them. What can I do? I tried to upload video, but wasn't able to.

Katrina71 · May 12, 2017

Yes it is aggression.

Luna · May 12, 2017

Will they ever become a mated pair and should I just let it take it course. Right now I have the new one locked up in a breeder box. When I let it out the attacks look so violent. - wtd?

GHsaltie · May 12, 2017

What are the sizes of the two fish? You always want to make sure the newcomer is smaller than the resident clown to ensure that you end up with a male and female. If they are similar in size it is possible that you ended up with two females, in which case the aggression will not stop until one is eliminated. Also different species of clowns are more aggressive than others, even to their mates or potential mates.

eatbreakfast · May 12, 2017

^what he said.

Also sixlines are jerks and aggression gets worse, not better.

GHsaltie · May 12, 2017

eatbreakfast said:
^what he said.

She actually

.

Luna · May 12, 2017

There both about inch and a half or so. One is a snow flake and other is regular . I can see it causing tensions in the tank . Will it calm itself, if so, how long?

GHsaltie · May 12, 2017

Was the newcomer by itself when you purchased it? I feel pretty strongly that you have two females, or at least a female and transitioning male. Your best option is to take one or the other back and replace it with a much smaller clown. Otherwise, no the fighting is not likely to stop and you will end up with a severely injured or dead clown.

Luna · May 13, 2017

No newcomer was with 2 others one bigger and one about the same size. The same size one was kinda picking on it, so I bought it & stuck him in my 10 gal with a baby clown (less than an inch) for about 2 weeks than I saw another baby so I stuck the bigger one in my 40b & have the 2 babes together

eatbreakfast · May 13, 2017

Luna said:
No newcomer was with 2 others one bigger and one about the same size. The same size one was kinda picking on it, so I bought it & stuck him in my 10 gal with a baby clown (less than an inch) for about 2 weeks than I saw another baby so I stuck the bigger one in my 40b & have the 2 babes together

In that case, they are likely sorting out their roles and it will settle shortly.