Help with clownfish aggression....

MarineGirl411

MarineGirl411

New member
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.
 
Cant really help that much as Clown fish can be aggressive.
I had one that started to bully around my Mandarin fish. It would tail slap it and push it around . I got rid of the clown fish .. :( feel badd but I could not let him bully the Mandarin.
 
I feel the same. I wonder if I moved them temporarily, re-aquascaped a bit, and let the anthias become comfortable in the tank if that would help? I would have to put them in my sump. I feel bad, but I don't want them killing the other fish.
 
2 females should fight constantly and not hang out together. Ocellaris are the most gentle in nature IME. I'd move the clowns to a 20-30g tank w/ an Emperor 400 filter--they'll do fine. Anthias are elegant fish, my female tomato clown chases my Ignitus but does not nip. My Potters' angel actually harasses the larger tomato !!

I would definately move the clowns, and try to be sure if they are M/F or F/F--did you buy both of them large, like over 2" ? If so you could have 2 females, and in a 180g they would coexist and raise much hell.
 
I had my black one for 4 years and got the orange one from a friend that took down her tank. She said it is 8 years old. So I am assuming they are both female. I was also told they were both female by a reef friend of mine. After adding the orange one, they have become a huge pita! They are in my 180. I have a biocube that I just added 2 percula clown babies in. There are other smaller fish in there. Should I swap them out? Add the smaller fish to my 180? This is frustrating.
 
You can try and put a mirror against the tank. It will give them someone that fights back. Sometimes this will work and calm them down, but not always. Worth a try at least.
 
I'd move the two babies from the biocube and add the larger ones to it once the smaller ones are moved to the 180. Are they the same size? The larger clowns that is...?
 
sabalough said:
They are bolth females and will not coexist with each other. If you remove one of them the other may chill out.
Click to expand...

This.

Try moving one of the large females out of the display tank, and move one of the small ones in. You should end up with two happy mated pairs.:D
 
Not if one set is percs. The op said in the 180 was occ. and the biocube had percs. You should not true to make pairs out of those.
 
They have coexisted for about 6 months together. You think they will turn on one another? The one in my biocube are True Percs. The ones in my 180 are Occ. =( They are still being a pain. I rearranged the rockwork. It seemed to help a little. They are still being extremely aggressive, especially during food time.
 
I also would try swapping one small and one large female.
You can pair occs and percs.
I'd use a container/breeder box to intro.
Catch them at night while they are sleeping.
 
Wow. And they are fine? Where do I get a breeder box? Does it go in the tank? Or do you mean one of those acclimation kits? I don't want my black clown to end up killing one of the percula's. They are pretty tiny. The black clown killed a smaller orange clown a long time ago. =(
 
Last edited:
MarineGirl411 said:
Wow. And they are fine? Where do I get a breeder box? Does it go in the tank? Or do you mean one of those acclimation kits? I don't want my black clown to end up killing one of the percula's. They are pretty tiny. The black clown killed a smaller orange clown a long time ago. =(
Click to expand...

Breeder's boxes are the boxes that the LFS will use to hang on the side of the tank while they catch the fish with a net. Once they catch the fish they put it in the box to pour into the bag that you take home with you. My LFS has two different sizes that you can buy one is 9 bucks and the other is 14. I'm sure prices will vary due to location and different stores but I can't imagine them being any more than that.
 
"Breeder's boxes are the boxes that the LFS will use to hang on the side of the tank while they catch the fish with a net."
Scubasteve,That is incorrect the box you describe is a specimin box. A breeder's box has slots or holes for water circulation with the tank.
 
Petco or most LFS will have a breeder box/specimen container for like $5
I prefer the floating kind.
Many have paired occs and percs successfully long term.
Sanjays Photons are a mix of the two.
 
I'd do what davocean has suggested.
I would just swap a small for a large into each tank, that's it. I've paired 2 sets of clowns, and it is easy as long as the smaller one has not morphed into a female--you will know after 1 day.
 
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