Female Clown

Codeblack88 · Jun 18, 2021

Hi, I have a Premium Black Snowflake clown that has been in the same tank for about two years. Its male counterpart died about a year and a half ago and she sat alone for 2 - 3 months. After I replaced him with a Gladiator (Both are ocellaris and he was smaller then her) and they were fine for the last 3 months until yesterday she started to chase him and nip at his fins. Today I found him dead. Is it safe to try to replace him with another clown or should I just rehome the black snowflake and restart?

Birdbrains? · Jun 19, 2021

It sounds like you have to try again. I know it is sad every time a fish is lost but you must remind yourself that marine lifeforms spawn in massive numbers and usually only a tiny fraction is healthy and strong enough to survive in the wild. If your tank setup has plenty of hiding places where the subdominant specimen has a chance to get the dominant fish off of its back, I guess you will just have to keep on trying until the new specimen turns out to be a good combination with your established fish.

Peace River · Jun 19, 2021

Clowns are wired for dominance (and therefore usually aggression) so attempting to pair clowns won't ever be truly "safe", but some are easier than others. Using an acclimation box, rescaping (even slightly), and adding hiding places are all ways to increase the chances of success. I have had some clowns that just couldn't be paired, but most will be able to with some patience. Good luck!

Azedenkae · Jun 19, 2021

Codeblack88 said:
Hi, I have a Premium Black Snowflake clown that has been in the same tank for about two years. Its male counterpart died about a year and a half ago and she sat alone for 2 - 3 months. After I replaced him with a Gladiator (Both are ocellaris and he was smaller then her) and they were fine for the last 3 months until yesterday she started to chase him and nip at his fins. Today I found him dead. Is it safe to try to replace him with another clown or should I just rehome the black snowflake and restart?

Last time I was asking around about individual clownfish behavior, turns out they are kinda consistent with how bad they can be. One case is not telling enough, but it is possible she will keep on killing new mates.

It is up to you what you do next, but that's just a risk I thought I'd share. The main concern is that she was fine with the new mate until boom, she is not. Which makes it especially hard to ensure long term success.

Codeblack88 · Jun 19, 2021

Thank you for all your input. I decided to try one more time with a new clown. Does anyone have any suggestions with acclamation? I was thinking putting the new clown in a acclamation box for a week or two and then slowly if you do see him into the tank when the lights are off or something similar thoughts?

Appoloreefer · Jun 22, 2021

Azedenkae said:
Last time I was asking around about individual clownfish behavior, turns out they are kinda consistent with how bad they can be. One case is not telling enough, but it is possible she will keep on killing new mates.

It is up to you what you do next, but that's just a risk I thought I'd share. The main concern is that she was fine with the new mate until boom, she is not. Which makes it especially hard to ensure long term success.

And there is always a chance that you could get a clown that she will accept, you just never know unless you try