Help - My ocellarius and picasso are fighting

brentsreef · Apr 11, 2013

My ocellarius and picasso are fighting theyve been withbeach other for a few days and they were fine until now the occelarius keeps beating up the picasso what should I do? Or is this normal?

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Mike J. · Apr 11, 2013

Most likely it will eventually kill it. Just something to think about. Maybe separate them? Clownfish are mean. My 4 year old Maroon bit my wife yesterday and actually drew blood.

harley · Apr 11, 2013

Are they fighting, or establishing sex? Are they just attacking eachother or does one do a vibrate thing near the other? How long have they been in the tank?

brentsreef · Apr 11, 2013

Well theyre not really fighting one is attacking another. Theyve been in a tank together for about a week, I think theyve done theyre establishing sex fight but I'm not sure

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harley · Apr 11, 2013

Is one damaging the other or just chasing? You could always turn the lights out and re arrange the rockwork to make them establish new territories, but clowns do this for awhile. If one is riding up near the other and "vibrating/shaking" they're still establishing roles. If not, I'd keep an eye on them to make sure they don't start killing eachother. What size tank?

Liquid360 · Apr 11, 2013

Which clown is the largest and by how much?

brentsreef · Apr 11, 2013

The ocellarius is bigger by about a half an inch. They're chasing as well as making contact with eachother

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Liquid360 · Apr 11, 2013

I've got five clowns which even include a mated pair. I've always followed a rule which has worked everytime. The newest clown must be a good bit larger than the current tanks residence. The new clown will always get beat up on but If the new one is bigger than the fighting ends once dominance is established. When I've broken this rule it never works. If possible trade the new one for a larger one.... but u never know. They might work it out. Make sure there are hiding spots so he can stay outta the way to hide till things cool down.... IMO

aquaman.15 said:
The ocellarius is bigger by about a half an inch. They're chasing as well as making contact with eachother

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brentsreef · Apr 11, 2013

the guy at my LFS told me the opposite thats why I got a smaller one

Liquid360 · Apr 11, 2013

Interesting... everyone has different methods. That's why I always put IMO.

aquaman.15 said:
the guy at my LFS told me the opposite thats why I got a smaller one

Liquid360 · Apr 11, 2013

IMO....It's a given that an existing clown will bully/attack any new clown in her place. So the question is which would survive the attack and be able to defend herself? To me it seems the larger is more likely. Like an aggressive terroir defending his territory against a great dane. There'll be lots of barking but no real damage. I know there will be MANY who'll disagree but this has been my experience.

Trex · Apr 11, 2013

aquaman.15 said:
the guy at my LFS told me the opposite thats why I got a smaller one

Best to do that -- a smaller one has a better chance of being either a male, or an un-sexed juvi. The last thing you would want is 2 females, the odds of 2 females existing long term (( longer than a couple of months )) are slim to none.

I would keep an eye on them, when you notice real damage it, the smaller one stops eating, etc then I would separate them.

brentsreef · Apr 12, 2013

He seems fine today and he did eat, but I'm still going to keep an eye on him. Ill keep you guys updated

Liquid360 · Apr 12, 2013

Awesome! Hopefully they've worked things out. Best of luck!

Engloid · Apr 12, 2013

From my experience they usually don't do a good job hiding. They go to a corner or just up to the water surface to show submissiveness. The problem is that its rarely enough to calm the aggressor. Based on my experience, I will never again put a clown in one of my tanks. I have a marroon now but if I broke down the tank it would be rehomed. Luckily its not a problem and stays in the rocks most of the time.

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harley · Apr 12, 2013

Actually clowns can change sexes at any given time. And you'll want to add a small juvi clownfish to the mix ideally, this way they don't have to battle for which sex they will become the bigger one will win that battle and it will be short and sweet. If your clown looks like its having a seizure, thats a good thing, it becoming submissive

cet98 · Apr 13, 2013

harley said:
Actually clowns can change sexes at any given time. And you'll want to add a small juvi clownfish to the mix ideally, this way they don't have to battle for which sex they will become the bigger one will win that battle and it will be short and sweet. If your clown looks like its having a seizure, thats a good thing, it becoming submissive

just to clarify and not confuse anyone, clownfish do not "change sexes at any given time" (which to me implies they can switch whenever they want to)

All clownfish start out as unmature juvi males.
In time, one clownfish will out compete the other(s) for food, grow larger and dominate its territory...that clownfish will then turn female.
Once a clownfish turns female, she can NEVER turn back to male. This is a one time sex change.

On the other hand, any male (either juvi or submissive mate) can turn female once the dominate female clownfish either is removed or dies.

For this reason, it is always recommended to introduce a small clownfish as to better insure it is male.

harley · Apr 13, 2013

cet98 said:
just to clarify and not confuse anyone, clownfish do not "change sexes at any given time" (which to me implies they can switch whenever they want to)

All clownfish start out as unmature juvi males.
In time, one clownfish will out compete the other(s) for food, grow larger and dominate its territory...that clownfish will then turn female.
Once a clownfish turns female, she can NEVER turn back to male. This is a one time sex change.

On the other hand, any male (either juvi or submissive mate) can turn female once the dominate female clownfish either is removed or dies.

For this reason, it is always recommended to introduce a small clownfish as to better insure it is male.

sorry, yes, should've written that clearer. males can always turn female, not vice versa. my bad