bully clown

[SNAKEMANVET]

Just added a b/w clown in my 12 gallon nano.The problem is my other clown is being a bully. Will he settlle down in a couple of days, or will it not work out.The existing clown as been there for about 8 months.The new clown is alittle bigger so I thought maybe this would not be a issue.Any help/ would br helpful.

 

[gberry]

There will be a lot of posturing and bullying going on for a while until one fish establishes dominance and the other accepts a submissive role. It's generally harmless as long as fins aren't being shredded and both are eating. You have them in a small tank, so the only concern that I'd have is if the aggressive fish is constantly harassing the other and the less dominant fish doesn't have anywhere to go and get out of range of the other fish, the new fish may not be able to rest much and may stop feeding.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks Gberry The new one is trying to stand it's ground.It is eating, and the fins have very little bite marks.There is alot of body shaking going on.

 

[Aaarrrggg]

You may have a problem on your hands. If your existing clown has been in the tank alone for 8mths it's likely a female (if not definitely...I'm not sure how long it takes.)

You said the new clown is bigger than the old one, which means it might be a female too. Unfortunately once a clown is female is cannot change back to being male, so they will continue to fight until one claims the territory... which in a little tank = messy.

I'd recommend taking one of the clowns back and getting a little juvi one instead. There will still be some bullying as the fem asserts her dominance on the juvi...but he'll turn male soon enough and should settle in.

Just checking, but you didn't say what sort of clowns they are. Are they both occ?

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

They are both occ. I was thinking the same thing. The older one has settled down somewhat. May have to move the new one into a 6 gallon until I can sell it or carry it back. The fish store I bought it from is about 90 miles away. Thanks the help Aaarrrggg.

 

[badman]

Your smaller clown is most likely female if she has been alone for that length of time as Aaarrrggg pointed out. Your new clown may or may not be female.
I once had a tomato clown that was alone for a while, turned female. I added another tomato clown that was about an inch larger (not knowing at the time that the smaller clown was already female). Luckily for me they did pair up and i had a spawning pair for several years. It is rare when the female is smaller but it does happen. You may want to wait for a while and see what happens.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks Badman The first clown is approx 2'' and the new one is approx 2.5''.I hope this works out.