Very Aggressive Female

[BlueRidgeReefer]

Hey all,

I've had a pair of Onyx True Perc's for about 8 months now and they've been doing great. They seemed to have paired up and I thought they were doing well together. That was until my female started really bullying the smaller male. I figured this was the usual domination ritual and that it would pass, but it's been three days now and he's looking pretty rough. I'm going to try to get him into a breeders net but was wondering if there's anything else I should be doing?

Thanks in advance

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I don't think there is much that you can do. Sometimes the female will reject her mate.

 

[10galclowns]

Same this is happening to my pair. Been great now the female is beating on the male.

 

[Trex]

This will happen from time to time -- in fact this is how I lost my black and white ocellaris male, the female chased him out of the tank after a year of peace. If he is showing signs of being really beat up, remove him.

 

[temper76]

You can take out the female out of the tank were they at now,put her somewhere else ,another tank for about 4 days the re-introduce the female back into the tank she will for get about it then she wil feel like is someone's elses house she's not gonna feel as cocky but watch both to see their behavior try it ones or twice it worked for me ,if not maybe the smaller one could have turn to a female n just cuz one is smaller than the other, doestnt mean one is a female the smaller a male unless you got them both as juvis

 

[MGoers]

I agree with the above post and would try removing the female first. I think it will only make matters worse pulling the little guy out and trying to reintroduce him.

 

[BlueRidgeReefer]

Thanks for all the replies. He's in a breeder net for the time being and she'll come up to him and check him out but seems much more relaxed. I also found a small clutch of eggs in the far corner of the tank. Awesome! Definitely explains the switch in behavior.

I did get them pretty young, I assumed that they were both juvi but she may have already become female. "He" was way to small to have switched already.
I'm thinking that he still may be too small to fertilize the eggs and as such she sees him as a threat.

I'll try to transfer her to another tank for a few days and see if that helps. Also I'll shift the rockscape before reintroducing her to the tank.

Thanks again for all your help/advice

 

[BlueRidgeReefer]

Eggs? Any way to tell if they've been fertilized?

 

[Trex]

Those aren't eggs.

If they were eggs, it would take a couple of days to tell of they were fertilized -- they would start off orange, and go to a grayish color, would be able to see the eyes if you looked close enough.

Just laid eggs, (( orange ))

Can start to see the eyes

A video of my old pink skunk pair spawning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3E7J-3VcsU

 

[BlueRidgeReefer]

Those aren't eggs.

Bummer, so much for that theory. They're definitely eggs of some type, maybe snail? They seem pretty big though

 

[Jovreefer]

I agree with taking the female out and letting the male heal in his tank. If you have a sump with a fuge put her in the fuge.

 

[10galclowns]

I have a platinum and a Picasso and they both are fighting but I have no where to Separate one.

 

[Jovreefer]

If they are just chasing each other I would just leave them alone, if there is visible damage more than just a split fin here and there then I would start looking into other options.

If there is absolutly no way to separate them for a few days then you could try rearanging your rockwork. It should be a major difference so the clowns feel like they are in a new home and not have a teritory.

 

[fishtal9]

You can take out the female out of the tank were they at now,put her somewhere else ,another tank for about 4 days the re-introduce the female back into the tank she will for get about it then she wil feel like is someone's elses house she's not gonna feel as cocky but watch both to see their behavior try it ones or twice it worked for me ,if not maybe the smaller one could have turn to a female n just cuz one is smaller than the other, doestnt mean one is a female the smaller a male unless you got them both as juvis

I agree with moving out the female for a while so the male can heal up. This happened with my Occy pair... male was torn to shreds within a few hours. I moved the female out and treated the male to avoid any infection while healing. When I put the female back they spawned a few days later.

Moving the aggressor gives the other one a home court advantage, IMO. Good luck!

 

[10galclowns]

I moved my male ( platinum ) into my dads tank. To heal the platinum up then try to re introduce them back together. If they fight take the female out. Thanks for all the great advice guys! Reef2Reef for president!!

 

[10galclowns]

Hey I was wondering how long it take for fins to grow back on the clowns my platinums fins got pretty messed up from my female

 

[shred5]

This is normal and will end when the female finally needs the male when she gets ready to lay eggs or when they bond once she reaches maturity . This will actually go one their whole lives but will lessen once they bond. Sometimes the female can be overly rough but there isn’t a whole lot you can do. People seem to think the larger is female, but the larger becomes the female when she is at maturity, so until she reaches maturity and changes there will be a fight.

I have seen where it is worse in some cases mainly when the two are close to the same size. Sometimes the smaller clown is just stubborn and won’t submit. Another possibility is the female does not think the male is suited for the job but eventually she will accept because she has too if he is the only male around.

Also possible you have two females in which case they will fight to the death.

Separating the female to another tank and moving here back will not help. I had a pair and the female died so the male was alone for a few weeks and I introduced a new famale to his tank. The first hour she followed the male around, then after that she was all over him. The drive to be female in juviniles is too great.

 

[10galclowns]

Well idk what to do lol both fish costs so much! Lol how long does it take for the fins to go back to normal

 

[shred5]

The only thing I have ever heard that works is the breeders net. This way the female still sees the male and can take her aggressions out but not actually hurt the male. Sad life for the male till maturity comes. The problem with seperation in different tanks is when they are alone they both can become female and want too, so when put back it starts all over again.

 

[10galclowns]

That's a good idea but what about the fins