Clownfish problem, please help!

[SquidHC]

So I have a pair of black saddleback clowns. I have had them for about a month and a half, and when I got them they were around one inch long. I purchased them together and put them in my tank at the same time. The problem is one of them is always picking on the other. It has nipped the others fins abit and always chases it around. Is this just part of them pairing up, or do I need to seperate them?

 

[Yeuoew]

The larger one is a female and you may be having trouble with two females, keep us on track.

 

[davocean]

There's usually a bit of aggressive behavior as they sort out who will be the dominant female and who stays male.
I'd give it time and keep an eye that one doesn't get beat to death.

 

[SquidHC]

I looked more closely at the one who has been getting picked on today when I got home from work. Although there is no apparent damage to its body and it looks ok as far as color and general health, its fins are pretty torn up. Do I need to do something to keep it safe while it heals up or just let there male/female thing work itself out?

 

[D-Rod]

Just let there male/female thing work itself out!
Mine keep picking at each other for 3 months before things settled down, neither wanted to give in.

 

[SquidHC]

The less dominant one is looking worse and worse by the day and now is hiding behind a powerhead and only comming out for food. Its hard not to want to do something to help. Id be pretty bummed if it died. Any other suggestions?

 

[Ovuel]

Could you fabricate a plexiglass divider and drills some holes in it and seperate them to their own sides of the tank for a while until they get used to each other? It is something I have tried in the past with Cichlids and I had pretty good success with it. The theory being that eventually they will get used to each other and while it may be more headache for you in the shortrun, at least you know that nobody is going to get killed from getting the crap beat out of them.

Another option is to put on of them into a breeding container and float the breeding container in the tank for a few days. Again though this will severly limit the amount of the tank that that one fish will have to roam and may not be the most humane option.

I have read different methods as to which fish should be put in "time out", but it seems like it really comes down to personal preference. If it was me and I decided to use that approach I would put the bully fish in the sin bin, but again I don't think it is going to matter much.

Good luck,

-Ov

 

[SquidHC]

The dominant one is still being a bastard, how long does it usualy take them to figure out the male/female thing?