Help with clown aggression

[MarineGirl411]

I have 2 clownfish that are being a complete pain in my 180 gallon tank. They are chasing everyone and upsetting the tank. They are even chasing my rabbitfish! I tried to add some new fish, and had to move 1 of them. I added 4 Lyretail anthias to the tank, and they bit the tails off of 2 of them. The poor anthias are hiding in the rocks now and will not come out. The clowns will make sure they are still in the rocks by harassing them. I was told these are both female clowns, so I don't think they laid eggs. Any suggestions? Help!

These are not percula clownfish. Just the plain ol' ocellaris. One is black the other is orange.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Clowns are aggressive, highly territorial fish. Anthias are much less aggressive, pelagic schooling fish. The only way to disrupt the territorial nature of a clown is to distract it (with a bigger, badder fish, or a mirror), or change the territory (by re-aquascaping your tank). Neither of these fixes are permanent. Once established in a community tank, clowns can be terrors - particularly to newly added stock.

If your environment can sustain it, you might consider adding an anemone to keep your clowns closer to home. It might help, but it might not.

 

[MarineGirl411]

They host in 2 trachyphyllia's right now. I moved the main one to the opposite side of the tank. Should I still try an anemone?

Last night I also moved some of the aquascape around because I was able to find online that re-aquascaping may help. So far nothing.

I don't want these poor anthias to starve. I thought clowns were supposed to be peaceful? LOL! Sheesh! I have had my black clown for 4 years. I added the orange one after a friend took her tank down. Ever since, they have been a terror. They both get along very well though. Would it help to temporarily move them to another tank???

 

[BonsaiNut]

Unfortunately clowns belong to the same family - Pomacentridae - as damselfish. Once established they are known for their aggressive territoriality. Forget attacking other fish - they attack people

If you start a large community tank with a lot of large roaming fish FIRST, then add clowns, they will typically not be as territorial - especially at the beginning. Your best bet to deal with territoriality is to break up sight lines, provide lots of hiding/escaping paths, make sure lights are off when you introduce new fish, and other "tricks". If you have a long and narrow tank with a reef "wall", where a fish can see clearly from one end to another, you will have problems if a clownfish sees a new "intruder".

Using an anemone helps, because it establishes a definite base of operations for the clowns. Get a small glass mirror (not metal) and put it in the tank by the anemone when you introduce new fish, and your clowns will be too upset by the mirror to bother your new fish. Hopefully they will get used to the new fish before they get used to the mirror

I am just posting based on my experience with aggressive clowns. Sometimes your clowns will be more aggressive, sometimes less so. However I place clownfish high on the list of "aggressive" species (once mature and established).

 

[MarineGirl411]

Thank you. That helps. I will try to find a glass mirror today. I don't have a rock wall, but the way I have the trachyphyllia's now, they can see if the anthias come out.

Oh yah, they will attack me when I stick my hands in the tank. I have heard they have drawn blood on people as well. I should have put them in with the lights off. Stupid me. If this doesn't help, I will look into getting a nem. Should I go for a LTA? I don't want it wandering around stinging my acans, sps, etc.

 

[BonsaiNut]

If this doesn't help, I will look into getting a nem. Should I go for a LTA?

So much depends on your tank. If you could post some tank info, I could try to suggest something. All anemones will move to greater or lesser extents. If they are happy in one location, they may stay there for a long time (years) and then for no reason at all decide they want to move However you can mitigate some of the risk by buying the right anemone so that it will prefer an environment away from your corals.

 

[MarineGirl411]

I have 3 250 watt mh, flow is provided by a vortech mp40, and the super reeflo dart. I have the SRD dialed down to about half of its power. I house SPS, LPS, and 1 clam. Does that help at all? LOL.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Any of the longish tentacle sand anemones (M. doreensis, H. crispa, H. malu, H. aurora) would work fine because they will want to stay in your sand (assuming you have sand). M. doreensis which most people call an LTA is probably your best bet. I should note that A. ocellaris and A. percula are not found in any of these anemones in the wild, but that isn't an issue for most clowns (like your guys who are being hosted in a torch coral).

Stay away from rock anemones that will be a greater risk to your corals (including E. quadricolor aka BTA's). I'd also stay away from carpet anemones for a number of reasons that aren't worth going into...

 

[MarineGirl411]

I just found this online. Is this possible? That one of the females changed back to a male?

Types of Fish Gender Change

Not all fish can change sex, but many can. In fact, the majority of reef fish will change gender at some point in their lives. These fish are considered hermaphroditic and such fish have a few options. Some fish are simultaneous hermaphrodites meaning they are both genders at the same time and could potentially mate with any other individual in their species. Other fish are sequential hermaphrodites and these fish change sex at some point in their lives. Protandry is when a male becomes a female and protogyny is when a female becomes a male. Some fish can change their gender more than once, going back and forth between genders.


Read more at Suite101: Hermaphroditic Fish Can be Two Sexes at One Time: Fish Can Change Gender to Increase Their Reproductive Potential http://www.suite101.com/content/many-fish-change-sex-a108291#ixzz13rYZlH1Y

 

[SwampyBill]

A nem may help, but if you truly have 2 females, it would be best to return one of the clowns to LFS. Get the smallest clown u can find to add to your tank in hopes of it pairing with larger female. If both are female, sooner or later one will more than likely kill the other. Clowns start as asexual juvies, then become male with dominant one becoming female.Or a male will change to female if left alone for awhile after losing it's mate. It's very rare than a female clown changes back to male.