newly introduced ocellaris being chased

[markkazdad]

We added a new ocellaris to our Nano Cube today. The "old" ocellaris is now chasing the new one around the tank. The old one will retreat to its anemone for a bit and then come back out for more chasing.

Just wondering if I should give them time to get used to each other or if this will lead to quick death for the new one and perhaps it needs to be moved.

 

[JohnC]

If they are close to the same size watch them carefully, I alway try and introduce a fish that is much smaller than the old one because they usually submit faster, so there is less fighting.

 

[markkazdad]

Yes, they are close to the same size. About 1.5"

 

[JSB]

Mark,

Clowns are damsels and damsels are territorial. They are also sequential hermaphrodites (the bossiest/biggest alpha becomes the female). You can try to rearrange your tank to cause the aggressor to have to reassess her territory. Otherwise, expect an ongoing fight, sometimes ending in death. As a rule of thumb, always introduce clowns in pairs (if you plan on having more than one). Or, at a minimum, make sure the later additions are younger/smaller that the current fish.

 

[markkazdad]

Update -- the chasing was not subsiding after a day, so rather than tempt fate, we moved the new one to our 20L and it is already hosting the RBTA in there.

I don't think there is room in a 28 gallon Nano Cube to reasonably separate as you suggested, but if we try again, we will try to find a smaller specimen. More likely we'll use the saved bio load for something completely different.