Maroon Clownfish help

[jwd911]

Hi guys/gals,
I just got my biocube 32 cycled and ordered two gold striped clownfish. They're both about 2 1/2" and I've had them about 4 days. I think I messed up and bought two of the same size when I should have bought one large and one small. They fight all the time and have torn each other up a little. I realize they are establishing "who's the boss" but at this size will they or is it going to end in a death? I wouldn't even be making this thread if I had a lfs that does saltwater but I'm 1 1/2 hours from Houston and can't make the trip very often.

This is what they're doing. One clown swims around and the other stays up at the corner of the tank. From time to time the more aggressive one swims up and chases him a little.

Just give them time?

 

[killingseed2000]

seems normal to me. give them time. as long as they are not hard core fighting you are good.

 

[jwd911]

Thanks. I just had to pick the most aggressive clowns didn't I? lol... They're not fighting till the death but you can see in the first picture the torn pectoral fins. Hopefully the bullied one won't get too stressed.

 

[killingseed2000]

someone has to be the alpha (the female) so some bullying as to say does happen.

 

[jwd911]

lol they're fighting over who's going to wear the dress in the family.

These two are my first saltwater fish. Are they going to do this to my future purple dottyback or goby shrimp duo?

 

[Areseebee]

I thought pairing maroon clowns wasn't like pairing percs in that you had to physically separate them and basically give supervising together time slowly. There's a million people here that know more about this than I, but that's my impression. Make sure you've read substantially about pairing maroons specifically.

 

[killingseed2000]

Are they going to do this to my future purple dottyback or goby shrimp duo?

no

 

[Tahoe61]

That is a tough one.

My concern is that one clown is hovering in the corner with torn fins from the aggression, not a good sign ime.

I would put the aggressor in a breeder or acclimation box. When I kept Maroons in the same sized tank the dominate female never allowed any other fish, crabs or shrimp into the tank, she killed every thing that went in including small potential male clowns.

Good Luck.

 

[GHsaltie]

^agreed, gold stripes in particular are, in my opinion, worse than some triggers. Also keeping in mind that maroons can get some massive size on them. I've seen one female that was about 5in. I felt bad for her poor mate. Also make sure you keep an eye out for any potentially developing infections due to the wounds.

 

[jwd911]

Thanks for chiming in guys. My tank is in my office and they're driving me crazy going back and forth. Will probably replace them.

 

[pendraig]

I had the same issue - 2 of the same sized juveniles. Both were dominant. The weaker one eventually submitted and became the male after a few weeks. He eventually healed, and they are now a breeding pair generally in harmony. I do NOT keep any other fish with them because once they paired, all other tankmates disappeared. And they will get BIG, so I keep them in my 105 gallon SPS only tank. All my other fish (including Ocellaris and Tomato Clowns) are in my LPS/softie/nem tank. Maroons are my favorite - looks and how they swim - but they are not for the faint-hearted.

 

[jwd911]

I had the same issue - 2 of the same sized juveniles. Both were dominant. The weaker one eventually submitted and became the male after a few weeks. He eventually healed, and they are now a breeding pair generally in harmony. I do NOT keep any other fish with them because once they paired, all other tankmates disappeared. And they will get BIG, so I keep them in my 105 gallon SPS only tank. All my other fish (including Ocellaris and Tomato Clowns) are in my LPS/softie/nem tank. Maroons are my favorite - looks and how they swim - but they are not for the faint-hearted.

I knew they were aggressive but didn't know that they were THIS aggressive I love them and imo they're the most beautiful clownfish but they might not be for me. I want something more peaceful and while it may end up being a good pair, I would like to at least have one more fish in there. We'll see, I'm going to give them some time.

 

[jwd911]

This may be a stupid question but would a dwarf lionfish go well with these two maroons? It would be these two and the dwarf lion. I've been reading all sorts of different things regarding this question and wanted to see if anyone has had any experience with maroons and dwarf lions. Seems like out of all the clowns these mean little guys could do okay with a dwarf lion. If by chance they can coexist, what size should I buy?