Fins ate off

[scooter24]

I had 3 clowns, 2 cardinals and 1 wheeler goby in qt together. The 3 clowns grew up in the same tank, I just acquired them. When in qt I noticed the one larger clown was picking on the smaller clown so I added a divider for the qt process as i thought the small qt tank was the issue and all went well. The small clown Goby and cardinals were on one side and the 2 larger clowns on the other. They finished qt and went in the display 2 days ago. I get home today and noticed the goby sitting on the rock and he looked weird. I shined a light on him and his tail fin and Dorsal fin was all ate off. When I forced him to move to see better the one clown went down by him and looked like it was nipping again so I think he is the culprit. I immediately pulled the goby out and put him in the 2.5g tank I have a tiger pistol shrimp qt'ing in. The goby can still move around but not easy obviously but will the fins grow back? I've never delt with this before . There are no signs of nipping or fin damage on any other fish

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had 3 clowns, 2 cardinals and 1 wheeler goby in qt together. The 3 clowns grew up in the same tank, I just acquired them. When in qt I noticed the one larger clown was picking on the smaller clown so I added a divider for the qt process as i thought the small qt tank was the issue and all went well. The small clown Goby and cardinals were on one side and the 2 larger clowns on the other. They finished qt and went in the display 2 days ago. I get home today and noticed the goby sitting on the rock and he looked weird. I shined a light on him and his tail fin and Dorsal fin was all ate off. When I forced him to move to see better the one clown went down by him and looked like it was nipping again so I think he is the culprit. I immediately pulled the goby out and put him in the 2.5g tank I have a tiger pistol shrimp qt'ing in. The goby can still move around but not easy obviously but will the fins grow back? I've never delt with this before . There are no signs of nipping or fin damage on any other fish

Yep- the larger and more aggressive is the female. Its called clown Hierarchy. Separate the female for 2-2 weeks in an acclimation box or sump. Without aggression, tail will grow back.
Female clownfish are much more dominant than their male counterparts. They greedily try to eat most of the food that gets into the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They will often aggressively protect their "home", whether that be an anemone, a nesting site, a clay pot or the entire fish tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its spot, you most likely have a female clownfish.
This is how the social hierarchy works for clownfish: There is one dominant female clownfish, partnered with a male, who is the next most dominant fish. The female is larger (often much larger) than the male. Next are non-mating males and juveniles. They are usually smaller still than the dominant male. If the male mate were to die, the next dominant male would become the mate (if the female accepts him). If the female were to die, then the dominant male would change to female and the next male in line would become the mate.

 

[scooter24]

Yep- the larger and more aggressive is the female. Its called clown Hierarchy. Separate the female for 2-2 weeks in an acclimation box or sump. Without aggression, tail will grow back.
Female clownfish are much more dominant than their male counterparts. They greedily try to eat most of the food that gets into the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They will often aggressively protect their "home", whether that be an anemone, a nesting site, a clay pot or the entire fish tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its spot, you most likely have a female clownfish.
This is how the social hierarchy works for clownfish: There is one dominant female clownfish, partnered with a male, who is the next most dominant fish. The female is larger (often much larger) than the male. Next are non-mating males and juveniles. They are usually smaller still than the dominant male. If the male mate were to die, the next dominant male would become the mate (if the female accepts him). If the female were to die, then the dominant male would change to female and the next male in line would become the mate.

I've never delt with a female clown that have been this aggressive. So it's kinda upsetting for the goby to have gone through this. Once the fins grow back I'm kinda nervous to add him back into the display as I don't want this to happen again.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've never delt with a female clown that have been this aggressive. So it's kinda upsetting for the goby to have gone through this. Once the fins grow back I'm kinda nervous to add him back into the display as I don't want this to happen again.

After they grow back, reintroduce her but change the scaping prior to that and it may cause her confusion. If not, you have a decision to make regarding keeping her

 

[scooter24]

After they grow back, reintroduce her but change the scaping prior to that and it may cause her confusion. If not, you have a decision to make regarding keeping her

Well the goby is up in fishy heaven, I just had to put it down. I went back in the check on the goby and shrimp and the pistol was eating him alive. So I pulled him out out put it down. Like my luck lately in this hobby is ****. I try and do everything right, qt all fish, get fish that are supposed to be nice with other fish. And I still have issues.

 

[Karen00]

So sorry for your loss! That is a traumatic way to lose a fish. :-( Hopefully you don't have issues with any of the others.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Well the goby is up in fishy heaven, I just had to put it down. I went back in the check on the goby and shrimp and the pistol was eating him alive. So I pulled him out out put it down. Like my luck lately in this hobby is ****. I try and do everything right, qt all fish, get fish that are supposed to be nice with other fish. And I still have issues.

Unfortunately… we never know behaviors until something like this happens

 

[kmullen1]

After they grow back, reintroduce her but change the scaping prior to that and it may cause her confusion. If not, you have a decision to make regarding keeping her

I am currently having this issue. My female has eaten almost all the fins off my male (who she has been bonded with for easily 6 months) he can still get around, but he’s clearly terrified and tries really hard to hide from her. She bites the **** out of me when I clean she she has known “anger” issues. I should remove her? And I can add her to my sump? Should I put her in the refugium?? Thank you for any input.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

Female clowns are nasty. Had a cute pair of clowns until one became the female and bullied the male until he was swimming sideways at the top of the tank all torn up, tried to let it just run its course but the male was going to die if I didn’t do something about it. Removed the female and now he’s sooo happy. Eats like a champ and swims around and has fully healed. Just how they are… Sorry for your loss, that always sucks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am currently having this issue. My female has eaten almost all the fins off my male (who she has been bonded with for easily 6 months) he can still get around, but he’s clearly terrified and tries really hard to hide from her. She bites the **** out of me when I clean she she has known “anger” issues. I should remove her? And I can add her to my sump? Should I put her in the refugium?? Thank you for any input.

This is clown hierarchy where a female is often aggressive and will corner the male, beat on him, steal all the food , why male is often smaller and even take over the entire tank
Isolation of the aggressor often ma work for 10-14 days