Female Sebae beating up male

[Bandsaw]

I have had a mated pair of Sebae clownfish now for the last 6 years. Up to a couple of days ago, these two got along fine. The female from time to time would play a game of "put the man in his place", but nothing really serious and only lasted a few minutes.

This week, my wife noticed that the male was missing and went searching for him. She found him in the overflow. How long he was there - we don't know. My work takes me away from home most weeks and my wife is fortunate to remember to feed the fish once a week.

Since putting the male back into the display, the female has been relentless at pounding the crap out of him and the stress is showing. He is also confined to the top corner of the tank where the female will not let him leave.

Is it possible that the couple of days that the male spent in the overflow have caused the pair to split and the female no longer recognizes the male?

I'm at a loss of what or how to handle this. I'm thinking if the situation does not improve for the poor guy, I am going to have to move him to my 20g refugium until I find a home.

I though too that maybe the female laid eggs, but I have not been able to find any eggs anywhere.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[elegance coral]

The male is probably turning female. I recently had to separate my long term maroon pair for the same reason. We only have anecdotal evidence, but it seems as though the relationship can only keep the male from maturing into a female for a period of time. Many old couples split up, and this is the only hypothesis that most people I know of feel is logical enough to explain it.

 

[Bandsaw]

Thanks elegance coral

I was going to keep him in the display tank another day, but my daughter talked me into removing him.

He is now in my 20g tank. Beat up, breathing heavy. His eye is sore too, likelyfrom slaming into the glass wall trying to get out of the way of the female.

He is eating good. Gave him a good healthy feed of Mysis in the fuge.

Oh well, he can't stay in the fuge. Between the rocks and the cheato, the fuge is not big enough for him. To the fish store for credit.

 

[elegance coral]

I think your daughter is very wise.

This really stinks though. If you have true A. sebae anemone fish you may have a hard time finding a mate for the fish you keep.

 

[Bandsaw]

The pair was sold to me 6 years ago as a Clarki. They are black with white stripes. Over the last six years, they have gotten very big, survived a tank crash, and a couple other mishaps. They have been kind of the hallmark of my tank. I am going to miss having the pair.

I can take a couple of pictures for identifications.

I don't have a clue on how even to try to mate another one.

 

[elegance coral]

After we get a pic, and a conclusive ID, you can choose the fish you want to keep, then get a much smaller/younger fish of the same species. If you get a young fish, they should pair up without much difficulty.

 

[MadReefist]

Since they were apart you should try re-acclimating them...

Feed the hostile beast nice and full. Then turn off the lights in the tank and dim the room lights. Transfer the male in. You'll want the female to know he's there, but then cover the tank with some form of drapes to keep it real dark in there. You might also move some rocks around first.

After a few days the mean one should 'get over' the other one being in there, within reason. Once the meek fish finally braves finding its own cave it should be fine, this being the most important thing to solve the conflict.

The problem is the meek fish assumes that the tank is the oppressors territory. So out of respect it stays off in the corner, not to offend. Problem is that makes him a sitting duck, who is also annoying being up there. If the meek fish would just go hide he'd be alright, but until he's been in the tank for a few days without getting trounced he will not.

I used to have a damselfish tank with some of the most wicked nasty little fish ever. This method worked every time. Fish can get bullied here and there and be ok, its called pecking order. Before I employed this method there would be free for alls where all the fish in the tank including a big bad clown would surround the new fish and take turns bashing into it full speed, and then dart off while the next one would have a go. Eventually I could add new fish without damage.

In your case you might get lucky and once they settle they'll pair again.

Depending on how many fish are in there you might add some other fish at the same time, to act as diversions.

And buy an automatic fish feeder!

 

[illcssd]

The male is probably turning female. I recently had to separate my long term maroon pair for the same reason. We only have anecdotal evidence, but it seems as though the relationship can only keep the male from maturing into a female for a period of time. Many old couples split up, and this is the only hypothesis that most people I know of feel is logical enough to explain it.

I have a maroon pair currently in a 240 cube. They've been a pair, in captivity, for 17 years now. The male is still small, and has shown no sign of turning to female. I'm not sure if this is the norm, if they are never split up, or a lucky situation.

 

[Bandsaw]

Here are pictures of the female. The quility is poor, I used my cheap camera and was in a bit of a hurry.

 

[phender]

Your clown looks to be a black saddleback clown (A. polymnus). Most sebae clowns (A. sebae) have a yellow tail and lack a tail stripe. The ones that have a black tail would at least have yellow tips on the black tail.
The good news is it will be easier to find a black saddleback than a true sebae. The bad news is black saddlebacks are not as easy to find as a clarki.

Here is a pic of the black tailed sebae that I used to have. (When I got her she had a yellow tail.)

 

[Jamie1210]

Hey, EC, does it only take a couple days of solitude for the male to begin turning female? To me, it seems a bit too quick, as, I've always thought it takes a couple months for this to happen. Hmm ... or is it just a saddleback trait?

My guess would've been that the female just got a bit overly territorial, and for the original poster to try to re-introduce them together again--perhaps take out the female, let the male re-identify w/his surroundings for a couple hours or even days, and then re-intro the female.

 

[flakey]

To re-acclimating them would it be easier to remove the female into the sump and the male back into the main tank? Give it a few weeks for the male to establish his territory and then introduce the female as the newbie?

 

[Bandsaw]

Thanks for the replies guys. The male is doing much better in the fuge.

I like the idea of isolating the female for a while (after all, she was the bully) and trying to pair them up again. I really would like to keep the pair.

Another idea that was floated to me was to use a breeder net and keep the male in the breeder net until the female accepted him again.

 

[Bandsaw]

Thought I would give all who helped me out here an update.

After a month in solitude in the fuge, I reintroduced the female back into the display tank this morning while the lights were still out, but enough natural sun in the room for everyone to see.

The two clowns went at each other for maybe a 2 or 3 seconds max. They broke up and are, more or less, doing there own thing in the tank.

The male, from time to time, will come up to the female on his side doing a bit of a fishy wiggle. It is almost like he is courting her.

Anyway, after almost two hours now, it would seem that peace treaty has been signed and everyone is being civil.

Just want to say thanks to all for their suggestions.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thought I would give all who helped me out here an update.

The male, from time to time, will come up to the female on his side doing a bit of a fishy wiggle. It is almost like he is courting her.

Anyway, after almost two hours now, it would seem that peace treaty has been signed and everyone is being civil.

Just want to say thanks to all for their suggestions.

Thanks for the update. The wiggle is a common male behavior... well, male clownfish anyway. :lmao: You might find Joyce Wilkerson's book called CLOWNFISHES to be helpful. I borrowed a copy from a fellow member of our local club and found it so useful that I bought my own copy!

 

[Bandsaw]

Thanks Ron. I have to look up that book.