Clown Question

[omreardon]

Hello all,

I was the winner of the two black clowns at the coral swap. They were doing really well and everything seemed fine up until a couple of days ago. There was always a larger one and one that was visibly smaller so I assumed the larger one was the female and the smaller the male. Over the past couple of days the larger one has started to really pick on the smaller. The smaller is now hiding in the rock work and only comes out to eat. He's starting to look a little worn too, fins a little ragged, etc.

Is there anything I can do to make the larger one back off or is she destined to kill the smaller one?

Thanks,
Olivia

 

[tangboy]

Sounds like typical female behavior... pick on the male until he submits or he dies... oh clownfish... well same thing. I had to remove my male before he died from bullying and malnutrition but sometimes they learn their place and are fine being picked on every once in awhile.

 

[Runner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13038761#post13038761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangboy
Sounds like typical female behavior... pick on the male until he submits or he dies...

:fun4: :thumbsup:

 

[Fishboy42]

Unfortunately it's typical behavior for young pairs fighting for dominance. The black pairs seem to be a bit more aggressive, but they usually don't fight after they have gotten along for a few months as a pair in their own tank (as those had).

You could try to separate them for a bit and re-introduce the male later if it is really bad, but sometimes there is some "rough love" in pairing clowns, so a bit of fighting is normal.

Matt

 

[omreardon]

Thanks everyone!

The boy was out and about today and I didn't see any obvious aggression from the girl. They had seemed to be fine together until recently. Maybe they were just having a lovers spat?

I'll keep them together and keep an eye on them. If she gets worse I'll separate them.

Olivia