The 2 eventually quit fighting. The slightly larger female established herself as dominant and she just makes sure every now and then that the other knows it.
Those two "females" are both becoming sub-males. What you are seeing is them trying to establish who the dominant one (and eventually terminal male) will be. It only stops if one submits to the other.
New problem. I added a terminal phase male to the tank.
*Cringe* Alright; no fault of your own based off what you've read, but this will not work. The result you're seeing is exactly what I'd expect.
Will I ever be able to remove the barrier or will I eventually have to get rid of either the male or the dominant female?
Remove the one recently added. You will soon have a terminal male from the other.
The "experts" say to add the male after the females for the females protection.
I too, once upon a time, also read this same published advice. However, after being a wrasse-addict and owning very many, I would never give nor follow this same advice. A female can (and often will) begin a transition to male in just a few
days if removed from a dominant male. This is how nature works.
Adding females (or better, juvi's) alongside an established male is do-able. Trying to add a male to the tank of established "females" is risky business.
Putting a few females in a tank, and then later adding a male, is not something I'd do.
He's about 1/4" smaller than the females.
Size has little weight in this, unless we're talking about one small enough to still be a juvi (and therefore still female).
