How long does it usually take?

[salttanklife]

My clown fish is being a bully!

I put two clowns in my tank after the cycle that was both about 1/2" around 3 months ago. I know that both was males and that they'll fight for dominance for one to change sex. 1 is around 3/4 now (the male) and the other is around 1 1/4 now (the female). They got along fine up until a couple of days ago, but now the female is bullying the mess out of him. I found him in the back compartment of my JBJ 30 yesterday because he jumped in there. I'm assuming he needed a break from getting beat up. They haven't had anything to host until I put a Hollywood Stunner in the last week and the female decided that it was hers.

How long will she continue to bully until she finally realizes he has gave in? He does the little shake things every time she comes near like he's scared for his life. Could it be because of her hosting the chalice? Also are these the same type of clowns? She has more of a black body and he's all orange.

 

[RyanCSGO]

the shake/twitch is him submitting to her.
the aggression i had with two clowns lasted for about 3 weeks before it subsided.
hopefully someone will chime in soon with a bit more info.

 

[salttanklife]

Yeah I'm just wondering how long I need to wait before finding one of them a new home. I really don't want to because they both have been getting along great with good personalities. She nips at me every time I put my hand in the tank but that doesn't bother me at all.

He difficulty submits every time but I just don't know the usually time frame that she realizes he doesn't want a fight. She's been keeping him in the lr

 

[Tahoe61]

As near as I can tell from my experiences with clowns, clown pairs are a lot like human couples. There will be spats from time to time, some spats worse than others. I have had pairs together for years and then all the sudden the female will slam the male literally, for days and then it settles down again.

If the male is totally reclusive, hiding, displays tattered fins, breathing heavily surface then it's time to intervene and remove the female for a time out or replace the male.

If your male can jump into the back compartment and you have no lid on the tank I can almost promise he will eventually jump out of the tank and not into the back.

 

[WetWhistle]

I like to get a larger size difference between two fish when I plan to pare them. It speeds up the dominance process as one is clearly bigger then the other. When they are close in size like these ones the fighting can get pretty nasty. I would feed them a little more to cut down on aggression and making sure both get food. Full fish tend to be less aggressive. As the male summits over the next few weeks the aggression should lesson and get to normal levels. It will never fully go away as the female will need to keep dominance over him to stop the male from changing sex. But it should settle out. Each clown pair is different for time frame but it should be between a few weeks to a few months.

Side note sometimes the female just doesn't like her suitor and she will reject him and it will get worse. So there might come a point where he will have to be removed if he stops getting enough food.

 

[reeferfoxx]

In my experience the black ones are going to be dominant between the blacks and oranges. Tahoe and Ryan are right. If the male expresses torn fins or heavy breathing, it's time to remove. Males should show submissive behavior by turning sideways and twitching. According to what you are saying about there sizes, I would say they are just now figuring out who is male and who is female. She is going to show her dominance, and keeping him in his place is natural.

As far as him jumping ship into the back compartment, I would get a better lid on the tank. This is all a learning curve for the little juveniles.

 

[salttanklife]

Thanks for all the help to all. The fins look fine as of now. He's eating fine and stays in hiding only a short while before getting bold enough to come out.

I'm looking at the clearview tops for the tank and will probably go with one of those. It's a 30 gallon jbj rimless and I really can't come up with a diy project that looks right on it. I tried a piece of plexiglass, but didn't like it. I like running it topless for the looks. The fish safety is more important than looks though.

 

[WetWhistle]

If he is eating and coming out he should be fine. It is when the fins are all beat up and they stop eating and loose weight that it is a bad situation.

 

[Jeremiah Otterbein]

It took mine about three weeks maybe even a month.,once the aggression started. I was about to give up as well. As the others said, so long as the little guy isnt showing signs of abuse, and is eating, you are ok. I was about to throw in the towel when neither would eat, as the female was too preoccupied with stopping the male from eating! Now they're fine, aside from the occasional nip and shudder.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Garlic laced pellets can help get appetites going if that were an issue. At least something to look at if that were the case.

I would give it time. I think all will work out. If you can remember, post the quoted price on the clear view lid. I was curious about one also!