fighting clowns :(

[mindytoy]

they are maybe a year old. i paired them up like 3 weeks ago they were always together. this morning the big one keeps pursuing the small one! he wont stop! and then he vibrates next to it. should i seperate them? its been over 3 hrs of non stop chasing i tried feeding and they stopped for like 3 seconds and went at it again. the tank is a 90 gallon..

 

[Serren]

Does not sound good. Maybe Dr. Phil could have a talk with them?

 

[BigJay]

Re: fighting clowns

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13470168#post13470168 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mindytoy
they are maybe a year old. i paired them up like 3 weeks ago they were always together. this morning the big one keeps pursuing the small one! he wont stop! and then he vibrates next to it. should i seperate them? its been over 3 hrs of non stop chasing i tried feeding and they stopped for like 3 seconds and went at it again. the tank is a 90 gallon..

The big aggressive one is most likely a "she". The smaller/male is usually the one to vibrate, it is a sign of submission.

My guess is that the big female wants to pair up and mate. When she chases the smaller fish, does she nip at him?

 

[mindytoy]

it nips at him every now and then, mostly just chasing...im looking at them as we speak...i was interveining by chasing him off everytime hed get close and the small one knew i was protecting it by staying next to my hand lol. they are a bit more calm but i dont want one stressing out and get ich

 

[mindytoy]

oops yeah the little one is the one vibrating

 

[Amazon4]

Ours went through that at about 18 months. They'd even lock lips while in a scuffle. The male was sent off for a day or two. But then they were back together. As a matter of fact they just laid their first clutch of eggs last week.

 

[mindytoy]

its weird...the big one only chases the small one if the small one runs for it. if not the big one just stares at it and goes swimming around and comes back again. the big one will only nip at the small one when they are chasing fast. but if the small one chills in a corner on the top the big one doesnt nibble or anything?

 

[mindytoy]

so this is regular? god if it is it makes me wonder whats with the world now a days..

even fish like kinky. hitting eachother and chasing and nipping. haha its the violence on tv. ima tell my sisters to stop paying grand theft auto in my tv next to them...

 

[mindytoy]

guys, they are still fighting its been over 2 weeks of this behavior. the small one is being chased around and twirls to face the big one. the small one now has one side fin a bit nipped so idk if this is normal or not?

 

[bawla47]

if you feel they are OVERLY agressive, then you prob have 2 females perhaps.

mine fight an are a pair, but not to the extent where id be worried of losing fins and bad damage.

im no clown expert but i think clowns if they are alone in a tank, they will change to a female in about a months time IIRC. so it tends to be harder to pair them up from there unless they are smaller.

 

[wachuko]

I have the same issues but with a pair I just added and the existing ones...

The bigger of the orange clowfish has decided to beat the crap of the bigger of the black ones.... the smaller black clownfish is hiding in the rocks...

I am about to give this bully a time out... but looks like it is normal???

 

[mindytoy]

well they are dif sizes though. the small one is about half the size of the big one. whats weird is the big one will sometimes also shake and then leave the small one alone. the small one does it too. i didnt think he was nipping at him but one of the side fins is a little messed up.....im buying an anemone this weekend and maybe that helps? at night they dont sleep together anymore as how they used to. they also used to always swim side by side exploring around.

its only the big one who chases the small one. the small one doesnt chase him..

 

[wachuko]

Mine don't even bother with the anemone... I even got a second anemone (a different kind) but no luck...

Also, the small one does not go after the big one, are you kidding!, he or she is scared...

So 4 clowns in total 2 black, two orange... orange are kings, one (the smaller of the two) black one hiding between the rocks, the other one (larger of the two black), is currently the victim here...

If this goes on for another week I will look into setting up the old 72gal tank to have a home for them...

 

[mindytoy]

yeah the small one doesnt fight back, it just runs, hides, and faces the bully clown to prevent getting beat up. i hear its normal behavior but dam.