Larger clownfish attacking smaller clownfish PLEASE HELP!!!

[gabeJLFT]

i’ve had a 5 gallon tank for about 1.5 years and a pair of clownfish for about 8 months and they got along fine until the last 2 days. the bigger one is significantly bigger than the smaller. i saw the bigger one start nipping at the fins of the smaller one then a couple minutes later i see the bigger one bite hard onto the smaller one and whip him around while still biting on to it. afraid that the larger would kill the other, i put the smaller into a bucket with saltwater, a small piece of live rock, and a small filter. what’s happening and what should i do??? someone please help!!

 

[Brew12]

Can someone from #reefsquad provide some help?

Clown behavior isn't my forte but hopefully we can get some eyes on this fairly quickly.

 

[Capitol Reef Corals]

They probably need more space. 5 Gallons is probably too small for the pair in my opinion. I had a pair of frostbites in 5.5 gallons and after a few months they started to turn on each other. Once I put them in my display they met up again and were fine. I'd try to upgrade to a 10 gallon at least.

 

[gabeJLFT]

also after some of the biting the smaller one was shaking like he was having a seizure. i thought he was dying but he started swimming again after

 

[Capitol Reef Corals]

also after some of the biting the smaller one was shaking like he was having a seizure. i thought he was dying but he started swimming again after

That's a sign of submission. The smaller one is trying to submit to the larger more dominate one. How do/did they interact with each other when you put food in the tank?

 

[gabeJLFT]

when i put food the larger one usually eats most of it pretty quick and the ones he doesn’t get the smaller one gets that but i always try to but the brine shrimp right in the smaller ones face and he gets those ones

 

[gabeJLFT]

they don’t fight when eating if that’s what your asking

 

[Deezill]

They probably need more space. 5 Gallons is probably too small for the pair in my opinion. I had a pair of frostbites in 5.5 gallons and after a few months they started to turn on each other. Once I put them in my display they met up again and were
fine. I'd try to upgrade to a 10 gallon at least.

Yeah I agree they need more than 5 gallons. Image being locked in a small room with your siblings gs for 8 months arguments would ensue bad mouth g one another lol I would say try getting a bigger tank and the aggression might go away

 

[gabeJLFT]

i have a 15 gallon that they will be going in soon but it’s still cycling

 

[Crabs McJones]

5 gallon is way to small for a clown pair. I'd consider getting them at least a 20 gallon. And the behavior you are seeing is a dominance play. When the little one "shakes" its a sign of submissiveness. And generally the female will beat up the Male to assert her dominance.

 

[gabeJLFT]

5 gallon is way to small for a clown pair. I'd consider getting them at least a 20 gallon. And the behavior you are seeing is a dominance play. When the little one "shakes" its a sign of submissiveness. And generally the female will beat up the Male to assert her dominance.

ok thanks so much for the help! i will turn the 5 gallon into a quarantine.

 

[SciGuy2]

It's the clownfish equivalent of Klingon mating ritual. Give them more space, and when they settle in, I suspect you'll have eggs.