Is this normal?

[lacosteboii007]

Okay. So I have my 2 occellaris clownfish for almost 7 months now. I got them both as a juvenile in hopes of pairing them. Now, I've been seeing my pair showing a passive-aggressive relationship to one another.

Although I read that this relationship is normal (the dominant one seems to start growing bigger than the other, so im assuming this theory is right), but the other clownfish is soo beat up that its been throwing itself in the third chamber of my BC 29 to avoid this aggressiveness. I have been putting him back and forth to the display tank, and still throws himself in the chamber.

Today, I found him again in the chamber and put him back in the display. However this time he was so weak and was getting bullied by more than one fish/invertebrate - the dominant one clownfish, sixline wrasse, and my infamous peppermint&cleaner shrimp-killer CBS Shrimp.

So What I did was this:

My questions now are:

Is this normal?
Is this ok that I separate him?
Would this affect their relationship per say?

Hope I get everyone's thoughts. I would really appreciate it.

 

[tahoe61]

Aggression

Aggression

Sounds like the female is having issues, at seven months things should have been established by now. A 29 gal tank asures that they are in close proximity to each others. Putting the injured clown in the container is a good idea to protect him, but now the female rules the tank. I would move the LR around alot before you let him out and see if that makes a difference. If they do not work it out soon you should probably remove her or him depending on which one you like best. If you only have one anemone in the tank maybe another would provide the male with some peace.

 

[Fishy_Clown]

+1 for moving the rock around. Also a tank divider may help - they will be able to see each other but the female wont be able to bully him - give him a chance to recover in a more normal tank environment. Some clowns just become VERY aggressive and end up killing the male.... Best of luck..
Cheers