Orange Storm clownfish

canadianeh · May 15, 2020

So I got two orange storm clownfish and they are about 1.5”. One is a tiny bit larger than the other. They are in QT tank for observation only. No meds.

First question: I noticed one has their bottom fins ripped and looks like the fins were nipped by others. I should have checked this before so got them but lesson learned. Should I worry about any disease? I read there is disease that has rotten fins as the sign? If they are just from fighting with other fish, how long the fins will be back to normal?

Secondly, I put two PVC in my 10 gallons QT tank, and one of them started to host one of the PVC already and will not let the other one into the same PVC.From time to time, I see him chasing the other one away from the PVC. When should I be worried that one try to kill the other? Is this bickering normal between the juvenile? How do I know is it normal bickering before pairing?

tsouth · May 15, 2020

Hey canadianeh, hope you're well! In order to preserve the well being of both fish, i would recommend finding a divider for them. The behavior does seem aggressive, and it would most definitely help everyone (including the new fishes!) sleep better tonight!

I can not attribute the fins to a disease without knowing whether or not the fins were in this condition when you received them, and they were separately packaged. Fin rot looks jagged and that's about as far as I can help you on that front. Do not fret just yet, clownfish are very hardy and based off of what you've told us so far, I'd suspect it's the nipping for now.

You stated this isn't a mated pair, so I would think that these two are most definitely duking it out. The kicker here is that due to their size being so similar, it's going to be a tough battle for one to establish their dominance as the female. It's going to be an even tougher battle if the both of them have already turned female.

Separate them for now. If possible, trade/return one for a much smaller one (ideally), or much bigger one. At least 50%.

If/when you place them into the DT, you could also keep one in an acclimation box or in qt. Long plays here, I know.

All my best to you and the new ones!

Sebastiancrab · May 15, 2020

canadianeh said:
So I got two orange storm clownfish and they are about 1.5”. One is a tiny bit larger than the other. They are in QT tank for observation only. No meds.

First question: I noticed one has their bottom fins ripped and looks like the fins were nipped by others. I should have checked this before so got them but lesson learned. Should I worry about any disease? I read there is disease that has rotten fins as the sign? If they are just from fighting with other fish, how long the fins will be back to normal?

Secondly, I put two PVC in my 10 gallons QT tank, and one of them started to host one of the PVC already and will not let the other one into the same PVC.From time to time, I see him chasing the other one away from the PVC. When should I be worried that one try to kill the other? Is this bickering normal between the juvenile? How do I know is it normal bickering before pairing?

I would take the injured fish right back to the LFS and ask for an exchange. I have done that with a clown I brought home recently who would not eat. It's worth a try.

canadianeh · May 15, 2020

tsouth said:
Hey canadianeh, hope you're well! In order to preserve the well being of both fish, i would recommend finding a divider for them. The behavior does seem aggressive, and it would most definitely help everyone (including the new fishes!) sleep better tonight!

I can not attribute the fins to a disease without knowing whether or not the fins were in this condition when you received them, and they were separately packaged. Fin rot looks jagged and that's about as far as I can help you on that front. Do not fret just yet, clownfish are very hardy and based off of what you've told us so far, I'd suspect it's the nipping for now.

You stated this isn't a mated pair, so I would think that these two are most definitely duking it out. The kicker here is that due to their size being so similar, it's going to be a tough battle for one to establish their dominance as the female. It's going to be an even tougher battle if the both of them have already turned female.

Separate them for now. If possible, trade/return one for a much smaller one (ideally), or much bigger one. At least 50%.

If/when you place them into the DT, you could also keep one in an acclimation box or in qt. Long plays here, I know.

All my best to you and the new ones!

The thing is I cannot 100% be sure that the fins were jagged from the store or whether it happened during driving home. They were in a bag together when I brought them home. I don’t have any divider right now but maybe I can go to Home Depot tomorrow and get egg crate. I hope this is okay. In the mean time, I am not using any light and leave it dark overnight. I also haven’t fed them at all. I read that it is better to feed the next day when you just got new fish? They will be new resident for my new Red Sea Reefer 250. Also, how long before the fins back to normal assuming they don’t fight? Actually, they don’t fight. One of them more dominant than the other. The chase only goes one way when I observe. The one that has jagged fins is more dominant.

Sebastiancrab · May 15, 2020

If your tank has just cycled, it's best to feed sparingly at first because you are building up the bacteria. But if you have an established tank and they are hungry, I don't see why not. I had trouble getting my two new ones to eat! Maybe someone else can comment about the fins growing back. They are new for me too.

canadianeh · May 15, 2020

Elaine123 said:
If your tank has just cycled, it's best to feed sparingly at first because you are building up the bacteria. But if you have an established tank and they are hungry, I don't see why not. I had trouble getting my two new ones to eat! Maybe someone else can comment about the fins growing back. They are new for me too.

They are in QT tank right now for two weeks at least for observations, and not DT. I just asked the store and he said that they don’t exchange livestock. My luck I guess. But, I can’t confirm whether I missed the fins when I picked the fish or it happened during the transport. I guess I have to accept it.

Sebastiancrab · May 15, 2020

So sorry about that. I can see both sides. I would check out other possible stores in the future. The guys at my LFS know I am a regular customer (a tiny one!) but they do take care of me.

Sebastiancrab · May 15, 2020

You are not the only one that this has happened to:

Can a clownfish tail grow back?

hey, i just bought a 2 occlerius clownfish at my LFS. when i got home, i realized that one had a chip out of his tail. will this grow back? if so, how long? thanks. ill post pics later.

www.nano-reef.com

Spieg · May 15, 2020

Clown fish are very durable and can withstand a lot. I wouldn't worry over it too much at this point. Their fins can heal in a week or so after a fight. If you can add a few more pieces of PVC to provide more hiding places, it might help reduce the territorial struggle for the time being.
I assume you are medicating the QT in case there is a disease issue?

canadianeh · May 15, 2020

Spieg said:
Clown fish are very durable and can withstand a lot. I wouldn't worry over it too much at this point. Their fins can heal in a week or so after a fight. If you can add a few more pieces of PVC to provide more hiding places, it might help reduce the territorial struggle for the time being.
I assume you are medicating the QT in case there is a disease issue?

I have two big PVC pieces already in the QT tank. They are there for observation and I prefer to not medicate them if I don’t need to. They are captive bred and very small. I have never had any experience using medication and I am worried that I might kill them.

spiffyreefer · May 15, 2020

I recently purchased two clowns - a black snowflake and a black ice ocellaris. They arrived nearly identical in size and I had similar observations about the fins once I put them in the tank together. Within a day I noticed nips in the fins of one of them. My black snowflake clownfish is more aggressive / dominant (my guess is it will be female) than the other. I watched it chase and nip the fins of the other quite a few times during the first week or so. Perhaps I should have separated them to prevent further injury, but I let it go after researching behavior for juvenile clowns of the same size when they are establishing their hierarchy. It's been about three/four weeks and the nipping has stopped, they seemed to have paired up and the fins on my less dominant clown have fully healed. One is clearly the boss now. Sounds like it could be a similar situation., but if you do have two females you'll have a problem on your hands. Good luck!

canadianeh · May 15, 2020

spiffyreefer said:
I recently purchased two clowns - a black snowflake and a black ice ocellaris. They arrived nearly identical in size and I had similar observations about the fins once I put them in the tank together. Within a day I noticed nips in the fins of one of them. My black snowflake clownfish is more aggressive / dominant (my guess is it will be female) than the other. I watched it chase and nip the fins of the other quite a few times during the first week or so. Perhaps I should have separated them to prevent further injury, but I let it go after researching behavior for juvenile clowns of the same size when they are establishing their hierarchy. It's been about three/four weeks and the nipping has stopped, they seemed to have paired up and the fins on my less dominant clown have fully healed. One is clearly the boss now. Sounds like it could be a similar situation., but if you do have two females you'll have a problem on your hands. Good luck!

It’s too early to tell as I just got them today. However, the one that is dominant is the one with nipped fins. The chase and nip only happens one way as far as I can see today. So maybe the nipped happened in the tank with other fish and I missed it? My fault anyway.

canadianeh · May 16, 2020

Day 2 - They look like they are getting along this morning. This morning I tried to feed them and gave them 3 granules of PE mysis and they didn’t eat them. Then I dropped 3 granules of Vitalis Premium marine and they didn’t eat them. The granules are 1 mm in size. The store said he gives them Vitalis food in the store.

I didn’t feed them yesterday as they just arrived in the new tank. This morning they are still not hungry. They look active in the tank.

My questions are:
- how long should I leave the food in the tank for I should siphon them out? I don’t want any uneaten food lingering around.
-why they are still not eating? Should I be worried?

Sebastiancrab · May 16, 2020

I think it is due to stress. I have had the same problem. Just hang in there.

canadianeh · May 16, 2020

Elaine123 said:
I think it is due to stress. I have had the same problem. Just hang in there.

I got so excited after I watched they ate just now LOL. I dropped two granules at a time. They ate two granules each and that’s it.Will give them more later in evening. How much should I feed juvenile clownfish? Three times a day?

Sebastiancrab · May 16, 2020

canadianeh said:
I got so excited after I watched they ate just now LOL. I dropped two granules at a time. They ate two granules each and that’s it.Will give them more later in evening. How much should I feed juvenile clownfish? Three times a day?