I just recently setup up a 28 gallon and tied it into my existing 55 gallon system with the intention of using it for breeding onyx clownfish. I purchased 3 clowns (1 onyx, 1 black, and 1 orange ocellaris) about 3-4 months ago. They have been doing great, and shown absolutely no aggression toward each other. The other day I purchased a second onyx clown, put both onyx clowns into the 28g together, and closely observed for about 30 minutes. The 2 onyx clowns were constantly aggressive towards eachother for the full 30 minutes until I pulled the new one out and put it into my main tank. I have tried multiple strategies including putting all 4 clowns together in the 28g, but the 2 onyx clowns continue to be aggressive without showing any submissive signs (ie: body vibrations, etc.). The only idea I have left is to purchase another onyx and put the 3 onyx clowns together, but as they are rather pricey, I would prefer not to. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Clown Pairing Help
- Thread starter jombs
- Start date
woodnaquanut
Active member
They might both be female.
How big are they? Is the original Onyx the largest of all the clowns?
Could you trade the new fish in for a smaller one?
How big are they? Is the original Onyx the largest of all the clowns?
Could you trade the new fish in for a smaller one?
mikecc67548
New member
Wonder why odd numbered groups are more mellow than even numbered groups.
sea witch1
Member
I paired up 2 for a couple of weeks then switched 1 out. The second set were together for a couple of weeks when i re-introduced the one i removed initially. They are doing fine.
I am almost positive they are not both female, the new one is very small, only about 1.25 inches and was the smallest in the tank when I purchased it. I work part time at the LFS and was able to observe it for a few hours before I purchased it. It showed absolutely no signs of becoming a female, in fact quite the opposite. My most recent tactic has been to put the original onyx and black clowns together in the display tank, and the new onyx and orange clowns in the 28g, I left them that way for about a week with no signs of aggression. Today I put the orange clown back into the display tank and the original onyx immediately started beating him up even tho they previously got along great and were only separated for about a week. I took advantage of the situation and put the new onyx into the display as well, figuring the original onyx would be preoccupied with the orange clown. So far it seems to be working, the new onyx definitely has the attention of the original onyx, but he is not biting, just basically pushing the new onyx around the tank. I will be keeping a close eye for the rest of the night and will update as soon as anything happens.
DarienReefer
In Memoriam
it seems like the new one wants to be the dominate onyx in the tank so that could be it
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