clown pairing question

[emmitt21]

i have recently picked up another clownfish for the tank, but fighting has ensued. the first clown in the tank is MAYBE an inch and a half and the new one is a bit smaller, maybe an inch or so. the first fish has become established finally with a sebae anemone and is a ocellaris. the new clown i believed to also be a ocellaris but it is black (onyx?) with a misbar stripe i believe it is called.

since introducing the new clown into the tank they seemed to be getting along for almost a whole week, but lately, probably for about five days, the original clown has become quite aggressive towards the new arrival often chasing into the rockwork, nipping at fins and today i saw the orange one literally bite and hold onto the black clowns mouth and spun it around a couple of time before he let loose.

i have been surprised how well the new clown has taken the stress as he still comes out to feed and isnt showing VISIBLE signs of stress. is this a sort of situation where i should wait and see or do you guys think that he wont stop until the new clown is dead? my new clownfish goes nowhere near the anemone anymore, yet he gets chased and beat up.. i hope i didnt purchase the wrong kind of species here, gah...

 

[shifty51008]

it is possiable they are just figureing out who will become the female and who will become the male. however your makeing it sound worse than I have ever seen. give it a little longer and see if things calm down, if not be prepared to take the other clown out and replace it with a smaller one.

 

[emmitt21]

yea i mean i try and not be overly dramatic but the black ocellaris has tattered fins from getting bit and he just doesnt seem to have a safe place he can be without harassment from the other clown.. moonlights are on and the orange clown is still venturing out of his anemone, traveling four feet across just to mess with the smaller new guy. its kind of hard to watch.

 

[quicktater]

If you have another tank, separate them. There are lots of strategies that should work with my favorite being to remove the established orange clown for a week or so. This will allow the Black Clown to recover and establish himself in the tank. Two weeks would probably be even better. Fatten him up! When you re-introduce the Orange Ocellaris, "she" will be moving into "his" tank and be far less aggressive. Good Luck!

 

[zakstrong]

+1 above take existing clown out for cool down. let him work out his issues in time out.

 

[lil_man72]

i would try and take one back to your lfs and trade for a different one. i could be wrong but it sounds like the bigger fish has decided it wants nothing to do with the smaller one.
i think separating them will only prolong the end result. i'm going on the statement you made about getting along for a week and then things going south.