Does putting a clownfish in time out help with agression?

[Jennyw]

Shes awfully brutal to the other clown. He looks so beat up. Ive heard that floating her in a colander (or in my case a Tupperware with holes poked in it) can give the guy a break. But then on FB people said I was crazy, and it will cause her stress. (They didn't seem to care about his stress. They also said clowns shouldn't be in pairs, so.... yeah)

Can it help? How long should I do it? is a couple hours okay? - My original question was how long to keep her in time out

 

[Peace River]

You need to manage the well-being of both fish, but you run the risk of restarting the hierarchy process if you put the aggressor in time out. Have you tried to increase the hiding places? Clowns are wired for dominance so aggression is often part of the process as the hierarchy is established - it is part of the mystery and misery of keeping clowns. Good luck!

 

[siggy]

What about having a third clown?

 

[moz71]

it will give tempory relief but doesn't resolve issue As soon a they get back together it will continue. What is size of your tank? I had a pair battle for a month Still never pared and eventually found there spots at opposite sides of a 125 gallon tank. 3rd clown will just get worse

 

[Jennyw]

Okay, I rearranged the rocks so there's more caves. Hopefully the corals are okay with that. I fed them both a little extra, maybe that will help too. Poor guy. She's mean. I hope it gets better for him.

 

[Jennyw]

it will give tempory relief but doesn't resolve issue As soon a they get back together it will continue. What is size of your tank? I had a pair battle for a month Still never pared and eventually found there spots at opposite sides of a 125 gallon tank. 3rd clown will just get worse

It's a 32 biocube. It's just them plus maybe 2-3 hermits.

 

[spiraling]

What is the size difference? Is she a lot bigger than him, or are they close in size?

 

[Jennyw]

They're fairly close. I bought two babies, but one died within hours (shock maybe?) So a couple weeks later we got a second one. It was slightly bigger, but not much. Think 7/8 inch and 3/4 inch long. She's still slightly bigger, not much. But definitely in charge.

 

[mattzang]

what kind of clowns?

 

[redfishbluefish]

There is also a chance you have two females, and if that's the case, it will never get better.

 

[Jennyw]

what kind of clowns?

They are the regular ones.

 

[Jennyw]

There is also a chance you have two females, and if that's the case, it will never get better.

How would I know? They were pretty small. And the agression is fairy new. The beat up one seems submissive

 

[W1ngz]

You can't tell the sex of a single clownfish by looking at it. Size of each in a pair are the only way I know.
If the smaller one is submissive, then it's likely that's the male, and the female is just a bit too agressive.
Do you know how old the fish are?

The best thing I think you can do is monitor and use your judgement. Some agression to establish position is normal, but if you feel it gets too bad then you may have to return the female or swap her.

 

[Jennyw]

I got them in Jan/Dec. They were captive bred, and I bought them as soon as the store got them in stock. They were maybe 3/4 inch at the time. So, maybe a little over a year?

 

[W1ngz]

If they've been together that long, then the large one is the female and the small is the male. If she is still being that agressive after this long, she's rejecting the male. Someone has to go.