Will removing male clownfish change aggression?

[nautical_nathaniel]

Hey folks,

I have two ocellaris clownfish at the moment and I wanted to gather the general consensus on what may happen if I remove one and place it in a different system.

The two clowns I have now have recently gotten very mean in my tank and started acting aggressive towards me and anything else that gets close to their frogspawn coral. I was wondering if aggression levels would change any if I were to remove the smaller male and let him be the first fish in the new tank. My larger female has always been super mellow and I think recently has only been aggressive towards anything because the smaller male was doing it first, she still doesn't bite my hand despite the smaller male going full piranha mode on me all the time.

Any thoughts?

 

[DSC reef]

I'm not sure on this one. I've always noticed aggression once a female was established and even worse when she has a home to protect. Maroon being the most aggressive IME

 

[cmcoker]

I haven't tried it, so can't say for sure.. My feeling is you will end up with 2 tanks that have fish trying to bite you.

 

[jsker]

I you can trying to put him in prison link and he may change his turn

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have always had the females more aggressive, so interesting. I do not think it will change much if you remove the male. Maybe she will mellow a bit since no eggs, but females are very territorial.

 

[kinetic]

The alpha male always seems to be the enforcer in my experience. They feed off each other, so if one is aggressive, the other will follow. I think it's worth a try to remove for awhile and see if anything changes.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I you can trying to put him in prison link and he may change his turn

I do that enough already! ;Hilarious I have a breeder box I have to put him in anytime I introduce a new fish!

 

[jsker]

I do that enough already! ;Hilarious I have a breeder box I have to put him in anytime I introduce a new fish!

Then send him to reform school/new tank. That might settle the clown down. I have two maroons, the female killed two prospective mates. The last one I tried, that paired with in 10 minutes. She goes after my hand every time I siphon the tank with a vengeance. I had another set way back, and those two were serial killers. I would leave town and fish would go missing.

 

[aeras1131]

@nautical_nathaniel What are you trying to fix. I know you are experiencing aggression how big is your tank. I have two territorial clowns. They nip occasionally. It barely hurts. I find clown fish territory to be small enough to not really be an issue.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

@nautical_nathaniel What are you trying to fix. I know you are experiencing aggression how big is your tank. I have two territorial clowns. They nip occasionally. It barely hurts. I find clown fish territory to be small enough to not really be an issue.

I'm trying to fix any issues that my male clownfish is causing, he's the aggressive one in my pair and bites/attacks his fellow tank mates and any additions I add. My female is super laid back and only begs for food. Sometimes she will go after someone else but she never bites, only that take little charge they do where they rush up to something trying to run it off.

My hopes would be that by removing the little male, my clownfish aggression issues would pretty much be solved. I'm okay with a little aggression sometimes because that's just what I've come to expect with clownfish, but my little male is more on par with the Fiji blue devil damselfish I used to have haha

 

[aeras1131]

Just verifying you have a nano 20 that is in your sig? Honestly I have a 90 gal and my clowns do not stake out too large of a portion relative to the size of the tank. Lots of room for fish to respect their territory. Perhaps, your clowns shouldn't be kept in a nano. Once clowns assert dominance, they do not really compliment a nano tank anymore unless they are the only two residents in the tank.

 

[SaltLifer]

You could always try taking the frogspawn out. Clowns that host nems (or frogspawn in this case) are generally more aggressive than clowns that don't. Also, once they start spawning they will show increased aggression. Not sure how old yours are or if any of those things are possibilities but that's my 2 cents.

 

[aeras1131]

You could always try taking the frogspawn out. Clowns that host nems (or frogspawn in this case) are generally more aggressive than clowns that don't. Also, once they start spawning they will show increased aggression. Not sure how old yours are or if any of those things are possibilities but that's my 2 cents.

I would not remove the frogspawn, but it is making them territorial. Can't let the clownfish run the proverbial tank bus. Maybe try moving the clown to the sump until it chills the hell out.