Are smaller clownfish prone to being attacked/killed (by Chromis)?

[PacificCourt9]

I placed two Blue-Green Chromis into my tank 2 days ago which had so far only been being inhabited by my two ocellaris clowns and some hermit crabs. Initially it meant some nice interactions - the clowns usually stay lazily in the same spot and wait for food to drift for them but now were swimming all over the tank to get food and the four of them were seemingly swimming together peacefully occasionally.

Then one of the chromis died. I also noticed my larger clown had a tiny white chip on his dorsal fin which I didn't think much of until I later found that chromis on his side.

Now after observing I've seen the remaining chromis nipping in the generally vicinity of the clowns - they were swimming too close to his hiding spot, and I'm afraid of him killing one/both the clowns which me and my girlfriend are quite sentimental towards.


Do you think smaller clownfish are vulnerable in this way, or are they feisty tough nuts that can take care of themselves? Whenever I google the question it's the reverse - people worried their clowns will kill the chromis, but I figured these must be properly-grown clownfish. Mine have grown a bit since I bought them but are still small.

Here are pictures to give you an idea of relative size. The chromis is about 5% bigger than the larger clownfish and 10% bigger than the smaller clownfish.

The lower picture shows the chromis being a bit territorial and nipping close-by the clownfish which were utterly ignoring him, ha. But I'm still worried about violence in the night.


Have you ever had a smaller clownfish get killed by fish it would usually beat up when fully grown, or had chromis cause problems for young fish? Should I get a tank divider to keep them apart temporarily, or take the chromis back for maximum safety? Or do you think there's not chance the chromis is going to be able to kill a clownfish almost its same size?

Really appreciate it.

 

[m0nkie]

I personally think it should be fine. Chromis are aggressive toward each other. If both remained alive, the 2 chromis may end up killing each other once they establish territory. But I haven't seen much aggression toward other fish. every fish is different tho. I have seen some small killer fish that are just evil.

in your situation, if you continue seeing aggression, you can try separate the chromis for abit. get an acrylic box, drill some holes and put the chromis inside for a few days. You can also add more rocks for more hiding spaces. in the long run you can even add an anemone to protect the clowns..

are your clowns paired up? they could be fighting themselves..

 

[m0nkie]

I have 9 baby 1/4" clowns in my tank right now with some medium and large fish.. the clowns are tough and know how to hide to save themselves.

 

[PacificCourt9]

The clowns looked pretty paired, yes. The smaller male shadows the larger female pretty much everywhere, they sleep huddled together in the sandbed.

Yeah, from my research I believed Chromis were peaceful to other fish. I would not be concerned - even if one of the Chromis died - it it wasn't for the small white tear on the fin of the clownfish which has put me on alert. I considered getting a tank divider too.

The only caveat I'd point out is the tank is on the smaller side, 60 litres, and FOWLR atm. I didn't think this would be a problem because none of them are fully grown and I plan to upgrade to a larger tank in September. I don't know if this could be having a psychological effect on the Chromis somehow, or create a situation where the clowns couldn't escape so easily and lack corals to hide in? I might indeed try putting another rock in as the other side of the tank away from the clownfish's territory doesn't have many hiding places.

 

[m0nkie]

ah.. on a 60liter, that's definitely small. This would cause aggression. if aggression keeps up, probably best to sell the chromis.