HELP WITH CLOWNFISH

[ehalvie26]

So I've had my clownfish for 2 months now and at the beginning everything was fine. The male was doing his dance, they were hosting together, swimming together, all the things a pair of clownfish would do. Well as of 2 weeks ago the female as become super aggressive. She would chase the male around the tank and constantly harassing him. The first few times he did his dance but eventually stopped doing it. I decided to step in when I started noticing signs of fin nip on the males clear part of his rear fin. I took the female out for a day, re scaped the tank, and introduced her back in. He immediately started doing the dance and thing seemed like they were better. Until 2 days later when she started doing the same stuff again. I did a water change, checked the parameters (everything was perfect), and it still hasn't stopped. Any idea on what I should do?

 

[ScubaFish802]

Do you have access to an acclimation box you can place inside the tank?

 

[ehalvie26]

Do you have access to an acclimation box you can place inside the tank?

I have a small breeder net that I've used for shrimp in fresh water tanks

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

I have the same issue, a pair of clowns went from being a "pair" for a year to this (video below). I'm assuming they were never a pair, or the new environment (QT) caused them to split and re-establish dominance. So I must ask, did you change any rock work in your tank recently? A drastic change in the environment could make the clowns re-establish dominance. Also, to answer your question yes a breeder box will work, I put mine in a top-fin breeder box to give him a break from her relentless harassment.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hate to say typical clown behavior but it is .
Females are just aggressive monsters and territorial

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Hate to say typical clown behavior but it is .
Females are just aggressive monsters and territorial

The worst part is if she attacks something, the male will most likely join in. They're like a two-person gang terrorizing the neighborhood.

 

[ehalvie26]

I have the same issue, a pair of clowns went from being a "pair" for a year to this (video below). I'm assuming they were never a pair, or the new environment (QT) caused them to split and re-establish dominance. So I must ask, did you change any rock work in your tank recently? A drastic change in the environment could make the clowns re-establish dominance. Also, to answer your question yes a breeder box will work, I put mine in a top-fin breeder box to give him a break from her relentless harassment.

I did move the rocks around about a week ago but only because the female was being hostile. I'm going to try the breeder box at least as well and hope things get better.

 

[ehalvie26]

Hate to say typical clown behavior but it is .
Females are just aggressive monsters and territorial

And that's what I've read. I just hope they get there issues figured out.

 

[ehalvie26]

Here's a picture of Svedka's tail for reference

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah typical female aggression with tail. You can turn down whites to calm female down or an anemone to keep her occupied

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Clown pairs often break down if there hasn't been time for the bond to strongly form. The male does need to be isolated due to the fin damage, but then, it makes it less likely that you will be able to get them back together. Everyone tries the trick of moving decor around etc. It doesn't always work. At the root of the problem of course is that clowns switch sex and it isn't always the "small one is a male" - it really is "the smaller, less dominant one, if it behaves well, will remain a male and be tolerated by the female".

Jay

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Clown pairs often break down if there hasn't been time for the bond to strongly form. The male does need to be isolated due to the fin damage, but then, it makes it less likely that you will be able to get them back together. Everyone tries the trick of moving decor around etc. It doesn't always work. At the root of the problem of course is that clowns switch sex and it isn't always the "small one is a male" - it really is "the smaller, less dominant one, if it behaves well, will remain a male and be tolerated by the female".

Jay

Cool, good to know. If someone isolates the male in the same tank as the female, then could that also break the bond?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, but if the bond is already damaged/broken, it would best best to split them up. You could always try a CAREFUL reintroduction at a later date.
Jay

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

@ehalvie26 I just reintroduced the clowns, there is no aggression now. So I guess if you separate them for a bit in the same tank, then reintroduce the isolated clown they may very well re-establish their bond, or at least that's what my pair seems to have done. If anything changes I'll let you know.