Oscellaris temperament

[Akida17th]

My female fancy oscellaris clownfish has been beating on the male. They have been mated for 3 years and recently are housing in my 10" purple gig. I raised my temperature up to 82 for the gigs (within a few days from 79) and all of sudden she is beating on the male not allowing him in the nem and chewing up his fins pretty bad. She never behaved like this before and I'm curious as to what can cause this 180 temperament and aggression?

 

[KJ]

Sounds pretty normal female is a bully to the male . Even after pairing she will bully him at times.

 

[Tahoe61]

Sounds pretty normal female is a bully to the male . Even after pairing she will bully him at times.

^ Yupppers.
They go through stages just like any other couple.

 

[Akida17th]

ya but the male is really getting chewed up and he's not allowed in the gig. On top of that, he'll go to the corner of the tank and she'll still chase him.

 

[Tahoe61]

Have the pair ever spawned before? A temperature increase can initiate a spawn.

 

[Akida17th]

yes I have never seen eggs but I've seen the male consistently "shaking" and cleaning the live rock where he believes eggs will be laid lol. He is actually doing his mating dance now and the female looks to be interested which is weird.

 

[Tahoe61]

Actually normal, he will conform and clean an area or she will be aggressive, he will eventually get the idea.

A pair is not really a pair until after a successful spawn. It's a very rare occurrence but sometimes a female will reject an established male, reasons unknown. Usually you just give them a couple days and they work it out.

 

[KJ]

ya but the male is really getting chewed up and he's not allowed in the gig. On top of that, he'll go to the corner of the tank and she'll still chase him.

Sound like my house

 

[Akida17th]

Ok so I got home tonight and saw my male shredded and gasping for air at the top corner of my reef. The female was going insane looking for him and every time she found him she chased him and bit at his fins. The one time he almost jumped out of the tank. Obviously he was dying and I had to remove him before she killed him so I placed him in my hospital tank which I'm treating a gig right now. Can someone please tell me what in the world happened? They were paired up for 3+ years and althought I have never seen eggs I've seen them shaking and cleaning rock areas many times. She was going to kill him by nights end. What can I do???? Will she allow him back in the tank? He did start hosting one of my smaller gigs but I don't see how that would matter. The only thing I can think of was the temp at 82 (dropped it down to 81-80) but even that they have been through before. Any thoughts on how this happened and what I can do about it? These clowns have been through alot with me so I'd like to keep them.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have had a female reject two different males, but never after so long. Not sure. Fish can just be weird. Maybe he was not mating correctly or effectively and she finally had enough. It happens. I would not reintroduce those two. However, over time you can try another small male for her to train to her needs.

 

[Akida17th]

If that is the case I'm not going to keep the female. I'd be really upset if they were not able to coexist with each other after 3 years.

 

[islandbreeze]

Well you might try live foods brine, pods esp and get temp back to 80 they will be less exhausted and happier, more O2 in water w temp lower. Sounds like they might even need a little more space, maybe more rock or PVC hiding. All these are good to try before using hang on breeder box

 

[islandbreeze]

It's even possible the male switched sex. They do it under a few circumstances we know of and maybe some we don't. If that's true. They divorced.