A. clarkii pair trouble?

[zooman72]

Picked up a trio of larger clark's juveniles (1 @ 1", 1 @ 1.5", 1 @ 2") 6 weeks ago as they were quite cheap ($30 for the trio) for my 20L with a 20L sump housing nothing but pink encrusting gorgonian, green star polyps, anthelias, red mushrooms and a few hammer corals - no other fish. I wanted to see if I could keep the trio for a bit, and remove the "outcast" if/ when "it" occurred, but after 3 weeks of sleeping together and no issues, the largest killed the smallest while I was a work one day (wife witnessed).

Now the remaining two were sleeping together about 50% of the time, and were performing the "ritual" of acceptance it appeared (smaller one shimmying and twitching when confronted), and there were few issues, with no outright aggression (feeding together without problems for example). 3 days ago I added a 2.5" coral beauty - no issues from anyone. 2 nights ago I did a large water change and moved a hammer about 6" towards the sleeping area for the larger clown - in retrospect maybe not a good idea on either front.

Yesterday I noticed the smaller clown had fins that were very slightly "ragged". Tonight, working at the computer I noticed increasingly aggressive behavior from the larger clown, becoming non-stop "seek and destroy", reaching a point where I removed the smaller one and placed it in the sump (he was laboring at the surface), its fins slightly tattered, but appearing like it will survive. I contemplated turning out the lights early, but the room (home office) has other aquariums and lights, so I was not sure that would work to calm the larger one down.

They have grown about a half inch since I first brought them home, and have gotten "thick" due to feeding well. The female continues to ignore the coral beauty as I type this, and introducing feed (pellets) did little to stop "her" earlier attack.

My question is this - what are my chances of re-introducing the smaller clown after he "heals up" in a few days? I probably did "him" no favors by re-arranging the tank "decor" or even introducing the coral beauty, but he is noticeably smaller, so I was hoping that they would pair. Should I replace him with a much smaller clarkii clown, keeping in mind I have no intention of breeding them (I just wanted a pair for the display interest)?

I had intended my new 40B build to have several A. ocellaris (4-6) in with 2-3 GBTA's being held for me elsewhere, and the 20L is not ideal for a pair of A. clarkii, so I could move the 2 A. clarkii into the 40B and keep a few A. ocellaris in the 20L I suppose...

Any thoughts are appreciated, and thanks in advance...

 

[zooman72]

Well, today, the female seemed "pi**ed" (sorry for the anthropomorphism...) and did quite a bit of dashing about the tank, which she had not done previously during my presence. The male in the sump/ refugium seems to be fine (out swimming around), and even jumped into the return section (put him back in the center section, away from the return pump) - his fins are not as bad as I had feared, and he does not appear to have any open wounds.

I think I am going to try to re-introduce him via a plastic container, so that the female can see him without being able to physically contact him. Hopefully I can mitigate any initial aggression upon his return to the display tank, but I will wait another day or two so that he can recuperate more. If the female conitinues to attack him after the prolonged and guarded re-introduction, I will again place him in the refugium to recuperate, and then trade him in for a smaller one.

In retrospect, I fear the move of the hammer coral into her "sleeping quarters" may have triggered a response, and I am a little surprised no one offered up anything here, or even any admonishment...