Need Advise on Maroon Clown Fish Aggression

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

I have 2 Maroon clownfishes that were getting alone great for about a month. Today I saw them fighting each other. They were both aggressors. One was not chasing the other. So I immediately put my hand in there and luckily managed to corner one and extracted him. He is now in the refugium section of the sump. He's here for the time being. 1 or 2 days max while I contemplate my options.

Normally I would be the cold hearted ******* that I am but this was my first fish and my wife loves him to death. So I'm trying to see what options I have in trying to get them to be pals once again. I also understand that I may have to bite the bullet and re-home him.

Some background info here :
I have a 90 gallon tank
Only change made in the last week was adding a potters angelfish whose been a model citizen

Thanks in advance.

lewis.maryann08 · Oct 2, 2016

They will do that to figure out who is going to be the male or female

JaimeAdams · Oct 2, 2016

Put him back in display and let them fight it out.

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

JaimeAdams said:
Put him back in display and let them fight it out.

Won't one of them die? I literally saw them go at it for 1 minute and they both now have cut fins.

JaimeAdams · Oct 2, 2016

Was this the only time that you saw them fighting? Is one larger than the other? How long have they been in the tank?

leena2674 · Oct 2, 2016

Best practice is to keep them together but have enough hiding spots where one can evade the other when he/she gets tired. This behavior means they are trying to determine who will be dominant (female). Maroons tend to fight a bit harder than a lot of other clowns. Successful pairing of adult maroons can be challenging. Juveniles can usually be paired more easily.

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

JaimeAdams said:
Was this the only time that you saw them fighting? Is one larger than the other? How long have they been in the tank?

They have both been in the tank for about a month.

Yes first time I've seen them fight. I check my fish daily for marks, health, color and behavior and they didn't have ripped fins wary this morning. Saw them fight then notice ripped find on both. Yes, same size.

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

They're juveniles. There are plenty of hiding spots, caves and rock. They both chose to go at one another. They literally looked like rams in how they charged each other, then took a second to gather themselves and charged each other again.

sil40sx · Oct 2, 2016

It's going to be tough if they have same/similar size.

One of your option is trade the one in the refugium for a smaller one.

Humblefish · Oct 2, 2016

With maroons, there should be a noticeable size difference between the male and big mama.

Also, the female will be a lot darker than the male.

Below is a photo of a pair I owned. The female is in her nem.

Jisko · Oct 2, 2016

I would say let them battle it out, however I'm not expert. Personally I had two Clarkii Clownfish and when I introduced the 2nd one it took around two weeks of them going at it before the new one gave up. Clownfish can be very hardheaded thats for sure...

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

sil40sx said:
It's going to be tough if they have same/similar size.

One of your option is trade the one in the refugium for a smaller one.

That seems like the most logical choice. Ultimately want them to be healthy. I don't want either of them to undergo any unnecessary harm.

I just read about acclimation boxes. Meaning putting one in a plastic container and keeping him quarantined within the tank and having them resolve as much aggression this way.

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

Humblefish said:
With maroons, there should be a noticeable size difference between the male and big mama. Also, the female will be a lot darker than the male.

Below is a photo of a pair I owned. The female is in her nem.

Nice pair!

I'm not optimistic that I'll get that far with mine without one of them dying from either biting or disease from inflicted damage.

CastAway · Oct 2, 2016

USMC 4 LIFE said:
That seems like the most logical choice.

+1

Physical size may key in influencing behavior. Sounds the most logical to me too.

Humblefish · Oct 2, 2016

@USMC 4 LIFE I inherited the female. I was nervous about pairing her, so what I did was buy a small, juvenile maroon. She basically ignored him (but also didn't harm him) for the first 6-8 months. After that they paired up nicely.

I ultimately had to get rid of them because the female started "attacking" any corals I put within a 4 foot radius of her nem & eggs.

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

Humblefish said:
@USMC 4 LIFE I inherited the female. I was nervous about pairing her, so what I did was buy a small, juvenile maroon. She basically ignored him (but also didn't harm him) for the first 6-8 months. After that they paired up nicely.

I ultimately had to get rid of them because the female started "attacking" any corals I put within a 4 foot radius of her nem & eggs.

I'll find the little dude a good home then.
Appreciate the help everyone.

Jisko · Oct 2, 2016

Good luck on relocating him! hope you find a good home

just wanna add... i love your stand... and the sump looks beautiful so clean haha

USMC 4 LIFE · Oct 2, 2016

Thanks man. Yeah I got a heck of a deal on the rimless display tank, stand, sump, and LED light all for $800. I ran into a guy that sells tanks on the side. Works at a major aquarium company.

Jisko · Oct 3, 2016

USMC 4 LIFE said:
Thanks man. Yeah I got a heck of a deal on the rimless display tank, stand, sump, and LED light all for $800. I ran into a guy that sells tanks on the side. Works at a major aquarium company.

Wow... Wish I could be this lucky haha

sil40sx · Oct 3, 2016

USMC 4 LIFE said:
That seems like the most logical choice. Ultimately want them to be healthy. I don't want either of them to undergo any unnecessary harm.

I just read about acclimation boxes. Meaning putting one in a plastic container and keeping him quarantined within the tank and having them resolve as much aggression this way.

Yup, if either one doesn't want to submit, and both are attacking, I wouldn't take the risk. They will end up getting injured,. or worse, die.

I tried the acclimation box, and got mixed results (not on clowns though). I guess its still depends on the fish. First one was a copper band butterfly, still got attacked ferociously by my purple tang even after 2 weeks. The other one that I got lucky was an angel fish, took only couple days, and the purple tang stopped showing aggression, that's why I took him out the box after a week and they got along well.