Possible to stop a bully clown from beating up it's mate?

gray808 · Aug 20, 2021

My tank has been up a bit over a year. The first fish batch in, included a bonded pair of Black Ice Snowflake clowns. The big one, Amphritite, has always been a little bit of a bully to the smaller one, Poseidon. After a few weeks, with Poseidon constantly doing the submissive head thing, they mostly got along. Once in a while she would chase him around the tank, but would usually stop once he would dash into a hole in the rocks, or some other place to hide.

Over the last week I've noticed her chasing him a bit more aggressively. Yesterday, I noticed it again, but it looked like he just dove into a hole. Well, last evening, I went to give the tank some flake food, and found Poseidon hiding in the top corner, protected by the acrylic feed tube-thing, looking kinda rough.

I managed to capture him, and now have him in a hanging acryllic specimen holder, and he seems to have calmed down a lot, and swimming nicely. He looks like she has nipped at his tail and fins, chewing them up a fair amount.

The female clown doesn't show any aggression at all to any other fish (3 blue-green black axil chromis and a lawnmower blenny, and a Bangaii cardinalfish before it went AWOL, suspected dead).

Can I get Amphritite to chill out? Will she eventually just kill Poseidon?

I'm in the middle of nowhere so I don't really have anywhere I could try to re-home him at, short of driving 5 hours to Portland.

--Gray

vetteguy53081 · Aug 20, 2021

Unfortunately it’s a hierarchy trait with the female being the aggressor.
You can separate or place in an acclimation box and hope for the best upon reintroduction

dank reefer · Aug 20, 2021

There sure is!!!!
Step 1 - Grab a fish net
Step 2 - Get a hold of said bully clown fish
Step 3 - Grab a beer
Step 4 - Drink the beer you got in step 3
Step 5 - Grab another beer
Step 6 - Have someone hold your beer
Step 7 - Flush bully Clownfish down the toilet
Step 8 - Grab your beer back
Step 9 - Happy Reefing