Fighting Clownfish

[BigPerm1]

Hi,

My two clowns are constantly fighting. I've had them for 2 weeks and they spend all sorts of time together and over the last 2 days all they do is go at each other.

They don't seperate at all. I can't tell if they are just madly in love or if they hate each other.

Is this normal?

 

[dantodd]

need much more information. Take a look at the pairing FAQ above. There is a whole thread devoted to FAQs stickied up top.

To be able to help you'll need to post the history of the fish (what sort of tank were they in at the LFS if you got one or both recently.) How large are they, when you got them, what species, what size tank, what else is in the tank, reef tank/fowlr/fo etc...

 

[BigPerm1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8072181#post8072181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dantodd
need much more information. Take a look at the pairing FAQ above. There is a whole thread devoted to FAQs stickied up top.

To be able to help you'll need to post the history of the fish (what sort of tank were they in at the LFS if you got one or both recently.) How large are they, when you got them, what species, what size tank, what else is in the tank, reef tank/fowlr/fo etc...

Thanks for the link.

Looks like they are going through the submissive/agressive deal where one is supposed to back down.

I actually witnessed one of them (I call him Romeo) turn sidways and have a seizure deal. It was strange.

Then Juliet would go at him still, then do the same thing (being submissive to Romeo). What a typical female (hehe, just kidding ladies).

I guess they are working it out still.

At the fish store they were together in a small tank. I have them in a 24 gal. nano. 30 lbs of LR and various soft corals. They share the tank w/ a blood shrimp, firefish and a watchman goby (and various hermits and snails).

I don't know the species of the clowns. I think they are called black clowsn. They have black faces and white stripes.

 

[dantodd]

they are probably either A. polymnus or A. ocellaris black variety. If they are polymnus they are likely to outgrow your system in a year or so. Here is a recent thread about "black percula" http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=919795

The picture in the first post is A. polymnus and most likely what you have. If you actually have A. ocellaris your 24 will be more than adequate for their lifetime.

 

[BigPerm1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8072984#post8072984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dantodd
they are probably either A. polymnus or A. ocellaris black variety. If they are polymnus they are likely to outgrow your system in a year or so. Here is a recent thread about "black percula" http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=919795

The picture in the first post is A. polymnus and most likely what you have. If you actually have A. ocellaris your 24 will be more than adequate for their lifetime.

They are Black Percula's.

 

[latinbeachboy10]

unfortunately,there is no such thing as a black perc. The closest I have seen to one is and onyx perc. but even they have orange fins and faces. LFS sell either the black veriety of A. ocellaris as a black perc or the black variety of A. polymnus. Don't be fooled by creative marketing. I have both species at home

 

[BigPerm1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8073409#post8073409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by latinbeachboy10
unfortunately,there is no such thing as a black perc. The closest I have seen to one is and onyx perc. but even they have orange fins and faces. LFS sell either the black veriety of A. ocellaris as a black perc or the black variety of A. polymnus. Don't be fooled by creative marketing. I have both species at home

Ok, here's a pic. You tell me what it is:

 

[dantodd]

Those will be quite happy in your 24gallon cube. It sounds like you are building a very nice home for them. As you found out for yourself it does sound like completely normal sumissive behavior at this point. As long as you don't see major physical damage on the male and he isn't looking stressed I would not worry about them. I'm sure romeo will learn quickly.

 

[BigPerm1]

Here's some video of it.

I never realized how lousy my video recorder was on this camera.

 

[mbunaman]

Nice Black Occ. I had a pair of true percs fight for one month then they became a breeding pair laying eggs every month. Like dantodd said I would not be worried if you dont see chunks of fins torn apart.