Male clown not submitting?

[reef wrangler]

Are there times when a male clown will not submit to the female? I have two ocellaris clowns, one black who is much larger than the other one so I assume she's female, one orange (the male). I've had them for about 10 months. They were young when I got them. Other than when they were first put into the tank together, they have stayed separate from each other. The female one has hosted an anemone and has never let the male in it. In the past 4 weeks or so, the female has started chasing the male around. At first she was just rushing him and he would back into the corner of the tank. This past week, she has chased him relentlessly. I have seen both of them twitching but very rarely. I haven't seen her bite him but he now has some frayed fins so she must be at times. He's still eating well. He just doesn't seem to want anything to do with her. If they are figuring things out and will eventually pair, how long does this take? I fear she is going to chase him to death!

 

[Cory]

Thats an unusual amount of time. Ime they usually fight until near death then one will change its sex and submit.