Clown killing it's mate??

aquadonkey

New member
My clown pair has been fighting a lot lately. I haven't been too worried about it because they both still looked healthy, but this morning I noticed the small one is looking really run down - and between the time I left for work this morning and got home for lunch break, he lost a rather large chunk off of one of his side fins. He looks really bad now and I'm pretty upset. I have to leave for work again in 30 minutes and won't get home until 10 tonight. Is there anything I can do??? I feel like he might be toast by the time I get home - pretty upset about this.....
 
Feed the best food you can. Soak in supplements. Feed several times a day.

Provide lots of hiding places. Add PVC tees if you don't have enough rock.

Check your water parameters and make sure everything is ideal.

If he gets beat up more, move him to your QT until he is back to good health.

If you don't have a QT, there's no time like the present to set one up.
 
Feed the best food you can. Soak in supplements. Feed several times a day.

Provide lots of hiding places. Add PVC tees if you don't have enough rock.

Check your water parameters and make sure everything is ideal.

If he gets beat up more, move him to your QT until he is back to good health.

If you don't have a QT, there's no time like the present to set one up.

This is great advice. How large is each fish? Are they close to the same size?
 
Feed the best food you can. Soak in supplements. Feed several times a day.

Provide lots of hiding places. Add PVC tees if you don't have enough rock.

Check your water parameters and make sure everything is ideal.

If he gets beat up more, move him to your QT until he is back to good health.

If you don't have a QT, there's no time like the present to set one up.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to have hubby give a large feeding and put in a few PVC pipes when he gets home at 5.
I feel it might be too little too late - I have all the equip. for my QT - but no time to set it up/catch fish until tomorrow morning.
I've been observing them closely because of the fighting and it was quite a sudden change! I'm sure I missed signs being a newbie.
The fish started off the same size - about an inch and were growing slowly - keeping pace with each other. In the last month, the larger one has taken off and is now about twice the size as the smaller.
 
turning off the lights might help. you're in a bad spot. a female clown will claim about 20 gallons . everything in your tank is fair game. higher temps and tight quarters are going to make things worse. feeding well might help. imo clowns / damsels are jerks by nature. lots of people get lucky,but imo if want clowns in a nano,your asking for a fight.
 
It may be tough to watch, but I would let nature take it's course. It won't take long for the female to see that the little guy is submissive.

It's rare for a female ocellaris to kill a male. If they were maroons, it'd be a different story.

Just keep feeding well and make sure your water quality is good. It'll be over before you know it!
 
It may be tough to watch, but I would let nature take it's course. It won't take long for the female to see that the little guy is submissive.

It's rare for a female ocellaris to kill a male. If they were maroons, it'd be a different story.

Just keep feeding well and make sure your water quality is good. It'll be over before you know it!
x2
 
10 PM Update

10 PM Update

Well.... my little guy is still alive - about the same as when I left at 12.30. My husband fed them a big meal and put in a few pvc sections (which the pistol is of course excited about) at 5. I guess I'll reassess the situation in the morning and decide whether to try to QT the little guy. I may just leave the lights off for the day. I feel like if I take him out for QT he'll just have to deal with a whole new series of beatings when he goes back in.

Thanks for your comments - I'll update again when there's news.

On the bright side - they're not hosting in the TT any more, so that's some consolation.
 
A new series of beatings upon reintroduction would be a concern of mine as well. Many people pair up and breed clownfish in tanks smaller than yours. I'd be highly inclined to trust the advice of Scott and Gary above. If one has grown much larger than the other, most likely that is your female. It may not be fun at all to watch but I think you can expect them to work it out. :)
 
It may be tough to watch, but I would let nature take it's course. It won't take long for the female to see that the little guy is submissive.

It's rare for a female ocellaris to kill a male. If they were maroons, it'd be a different story.

Just keep feeding well and make sure your water quality is good. It'll be over before you know it!

x3
 
Lizz-

I've got ocellaris pairs who have performed this ritual in 10 gallon tanks with only a flower pot for shelter. It's not pretty, but it lasts less than a week. Like Mel said, I think that removing the little guy and reintroducing him will only prolong the agony.
 
I'll join Scott ,Gary, Mike and Melanie. Sounds like one has sexed to female and the the other male. They should be fine in a little time. The pvc is a good idea. I have several clown pairs. One black ocellaris female was rough on the smaller male but they do fine now. They loved the pvc in qt so much that I moved it to their permanent home a 30 g breeder. They swim around it and settle in the now coraline encrusted pipes: sometimes separately and sometimes together.
 
my o's have been together for a few years now in a 28. my smaller male receives regular beatings. several other fish have been killed by my female. fish aggression can really upset some people. i agree that the chances of the female killing the male are slim. i wouldn't expect the aggression to go away. it will most likely get worse ,and be directed at other fish.
 
So hows things going with the fish liz??

Well, this morning they appear to have come to the end of the severe beatings. They had been fighting for a while, as I mentioned, so perhaps this fight that happen yesterday morning that left my poor little guy looking so shredded was the final battle.
I observed them interact a few times. She approaches him and sort of does some light, no contact bullying, he takes it with minimal resistance and then she goes back to her anemone.
That said, I've decided to leave him in the DT. I think he's as likely to heal there as in QT and I won't have to stress him and everyone else out with the netting. I'm also leaving the lights off for the day - might not help, but probably also can't hurt anything.
He's missing 1/3 to 1/2 of one of his side fins, but looking a Bit perkier this morning. I guess I'll just keep feeding and keep the water clean - just wait and see.

my o's have been together for a few years now in a 28. my smaller male receives regular beatings. several other fish have been killed by my female. fish aggression can really upset some people. i agree that the chances of the female killing the male are slim. i wouldn't expect the aggression to go away. it will most likely get worse ,and be directed at other fish.

I think the little male clown is the only one at risk in my tank. Besides the clown pair, I have a neon cleaner goby and a yellow watchman goby. The neon can hide (and also is at low risk of being attacked - I hope) and the YWG has several protections 1) she was the first fish in the tank 2) she's still the largest fish 3) she has her burrow.
I had considered adding another fish or two at one point but ended up deciding not to so that everyone would have enough space.
But Yes - fish aggression does bother me.........
 
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