Need advice on replacing a clownfish

[Crazeh]

Hi all,

Story begins when I added two juvenile perc. clown fish to my tank, they were best friends for about 6 weeks and suddenly the smaller of the pair became aggressive and bullied the other to death in I estimate 30 hours. I knew aggression was to be expected but certainly not that...

Anyways I’ve largely left the tank alone since to let it mature, only added a GSP and some CUC. It's now three months later and I'm now looking for some advice on how to try again with a clown pair.

Is it best to add another whilst the existing clown is still quite small, or should I wait until it is larger before adding another juvenile? If it’s OK to leave the clown as a single, I welcome other fish recommendations. I have room for 1 more max.

For reference tank is a 6 month old 13.5G (Fluval EVO), other tank mates are a firefish and blood shrimp, and CUC, which haven't caused any problems.

Thanks

 

[Reeferdood]

@Humblefish

 

[Captain Quint]

Crazeh, since they were both small and both more than likely still male a tough battle of dominance was inevitable.

If it were mine I would allow the existing clown to grow a bit and be alone a month or two to become female. They can become female in as little as a month but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

A couple of months down the road you could introduce a much smaller clown and submission should be a much easier transition.

That is both IMO and IME.

BTW, I'm sorry to read of the battle ending in death.

 

[MTBake]

I'm going through the same thing. I pulled the one out that was getting beat up. It's now in a 10 gallon qt. It has some torn fins and a coupe spots on its side that look like bites.

I'm planning on leaving the one in my display tank alone for a couple months to get larger before trying to pair it again. The one in my qt will get it's own 29 gallon tank.

 

[CalebWBrink2000]

Clowns pair up easier if there is a dramatic size difference. If you buy one large clown and one small/juvenile clown, you will likely see better results.

 

[Crazeh]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll let this one grow another few months first before getting another juvenile.

 

[Captain Quint]

I'm going through the same thing. I pulled the one out that was getting beat up. It's now in a 10 gallon qt. It has some torn fins and a coupe spots on its side that look like bites.

I'm planning on leaving the one in my display tank alone for a couple months to get larger before trying to pair it again. The one in my qt will get it's own 29 gallon tank.

Hope your battered one gets well soon. I like the fact that you have a 29g for it when healthy. Back when the ORA Platinums originally came out I had the same issue and did just as you are doing.

 

[Captain Quint]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll let this one grow another few months first before getting another juvenile.

That's awesome my friend. You're doing the right thing for sure. Would you send pics when you replace with a smaller one, please? Thanks for sharing as it may help someone in the future. Again sorry about your loss.

 

[Crazeh]

That's awesome my friend. You're doing the right thing for sure. Would you send pics when you replace with a smaller one, please? Thanks for sharing as it may help someone in the future. Again sorry about your loss.

Yes of course! Thanks again

 

[MTBake]

Hope your battered one gets well soon. I like the fact that you have a 29g for it when healthy. Back when the ORA Platinums originally came out I had the same issue and did just as you are doing.

I'm going to end up with 2 pairs of clowns in 2 different setups when this is all done. Really glad I keep my 10 gallon qt/observation running at all times. Just had to scoop him out and into qt he went. Seems to be getting better by the day