Help Clownfish Aggression

[Kiui1849]

I have 2 "MaiTai" clownfish approximately 4-5 months old who came from the same clutch. One is slightly bigger but not by much. They're in a 15 gallon (I asked the store owner who's owned clowns for over 20 years and he said it was fine. I am starting to doubt it now.) They were introduced to the tank at the same time and I haven't had any problems until now. All of the nitrates, salinity, etc is fine but there is a sudden on set of aggression and the smaller one has completely bit off the other one's fins. It was sudden and they've never had any serious fighting other than occasionally fin nipping and some submission. We moved the bully clown out of the tank so the bullied clown would hopefully improve and maybe establish some territory. We added the bully back into the tank 24 hours later because we didn't have a full seperated tank set up. The bullied clown quickly hid in the rocks and hasn't come out of the rocks since. His condition has now worsened and we can't take back either fish. (Return policy & it's a three hour drive.)

Above is a picture of the bullied clown. Now he is quite pale and his fins are even worse. He won't swim anymore either he just lays on the bottom. Is this a normal or extreme case or aggression? Is there a way to correct it/Will they figure it out or do they just need to be seperated?

 

[MnFish1]

1. The clown looks quite 'bad'. I would be concerned about its survival (as I'm sure you are) - watch carefully for infection. I would separate the sick one - into a hospital tank - so you can monitor its feeding, etc.
2. Clownfish are like cichlids. If I'm going to buy a pair - I always buy a pair thats alone in a tank - so that its much more likely that they will get along when they are brought home.
3. Additional fish in the tank can also help - so that the more dominant clown does not set up a huge territory (depending on the size of the tank. a 15 gallon tank would about be the territory of a solitary clown in the wild.

Hope this helps - normally fin injuries heal - this just seems so severe - that I think the only way it's going to heal is in a separate tank. You could also try a tank divider - but if you do not separate them IMHO - the stronger fish will kill the other one eventually if it does not die from the current injuries

Best of luck - and sorry about the fish

 

[Kiui1849]

1. The clown looks quite 'bad'. I would be concerned about its survival (as I'm sure you are) - watch carefully for infection. I would separate the sick one - into a hospital tank - so you can monitor its feeding, etc.
2. Clownfish are like cichlids. If I'm going to buy a pair - I always buy a pair thats alone in a tank - so that its much more likely that they will get along when they are brought home.
3. Additional fish in the tank can also help - so that the more dominant clown does not set up a huge territory (depending on the size of the tank. a 15 gallon tank would about be the territory of a solitary clown in the wild.

Hope this helps - normally fin injuries heal - this just seems so severe - that I think the only way it's going to heal is in a separate tank. You could also try a tank divider - but if you do not separate them IMHO - the stronger fish will kill the other one eventually if it does not die from the current injuries

Best of luck - and sorry about the fish

Thanks. We decided to just completely seperate them and keep the aggressive clown as a solitary fish. He's (she?) Is even yrying to attack my hand now so it seems like a case of aggressive case of puberty + not enough space. At the store they were paired together and have been living together peacefully for months in a 10 gallon.

 

[Kiui1849]

1. The clown looks quite 'bad'. I would be concerned about its survival (as I'm sure you are) - watch carefully for infection. I would separate the sick one - into a hospital tank - so you can monitor its feeding, etc.
2. Clownfish are like cichlids. If I'm going to buy a pair - I always buy a pair thats alone in a tank - so that its much more likely that they will get along when they are brought home.
3. Additional fish in the tank can also help - so that the more dominant clown does not set up a huge territory (depending on the size of the tank. a 15 gallon tank would about be the territory of a solitary clown in the wild.

Hope this helps - normally fin injuries heal - this just seems so severe - that I think the only way it's going to heal is in a separate tank. You could also try a tank divider - but if you do not separate them IMHO - the stronger fish will kill the other one eventually if it does not die from the current injuries

Best of luck - and sorry about the fish

Aaa I'm not so sure you want/need an update but he's doing splendid now. His fins have all grown back completely except for his dorsal fin which is almost grown back. I just really wanted to share this with someone because I wasn't sure he was gonna make it.