Clownfish fighting

[ohioreef71]

I've had this pair of black ocellaris clowns for many months and they have always been fine together. About a month ago they started getting aggressive with each other. I moved the more aggressive and larger one to my sump for about 2 wks. I reintroduced and they were back at it worse than ever. So pulled them apart and now I have a clown living in the sump again. I don't want to end up with a dead fish and hate to get rid of them and have no ideas on what to do now.

 

[davocean]

Hard to say for sure, they may have been just sorting out who would take over as female, and possibly the sump time out may have been a mistake, maybe, and could have allowed the weaker to also become female or at least begin the transition.
Hard to say for sure w/out seeing them.
Often the pairing up process seems more aggressive than it is, excessive fin tearing is when I pull one.

 

[ohioreef71]

Yeah when I put them back together it was non stop circling and fins were getting bit and damaged they were not even concerned with food which I've never seen, after an hour I had enough and separated. I hate get rid of I like them should I let them go at it longer together or maybe put both in sump change in scenery might help.

 

[deangelr]

Try to put one in a critter keep in your tank for a few days to let some aggression settle..

I prefer to put the less dominant in the cage and let the dominant work out some aggression first.. You can switch it up a few times until you get success..

 

[davocean]

Sometimes even having a male and female just doesn't work out for some reason, sometimes the female just doesn't want to accept the male intro'd.
The specimen container is the safest way to intro, but it sounds just from reading you may be beyond that point, maybe, could always try though.

 

[zeeter]

Yeah, taking one out may not have been the best approach, but now it's done. I would keep an eye on them and turn the lights off when they get particularly violent. That usually calms things down.

 

[z's_N_p's]

I know that it's hard to let go of one but if separating does not stop, you might have to find a smaller clown to get a pair. good luck!

 

[ohioreef71]

Well I introduced the more aggressive clown at night after my lights went out and they did go at it I watched for a while but had to go to bed this morning their both were showing a little damage but not to bad. Through out the day it seems to be getting better every now and then they are swimming together and doing their twitch dance I hope the worst is over. It's nothing like it was. I will keep an eye on them for a while. Little tip to anyone on catching fish, I had a heck of a time catching them until I turned out the lights and it was a piece of cake. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

 

[zeeter]

If one is doing the twitching to the other then you're on the right path.