Just Bought 2 Maroon Clown Fish... They Don't Stop Fighting...

sanchostattoos

sanchostattoos

Sancho
Ok i need help i just bought 2 maroon clown fish one a bit bigger than the other and they wont stop nipping at each other... What will happen if it continues? Will they get a long after a while?
 
They may never get along. Maroons are one of the harders clowns to pair up. With maroons, you should almost never buy them if they are even close to being the same size. Chances are they will fight to the death. Try to take one/both back until you can find maroons that are significantly different sizes.
 
Man i wish the LFS would have told me that. Ok so would you recommend a bigger one or a much smaller one than what i have? The two i have are about 1 to 1 1/2"s
 
If they are 1' and 1.5", normally that wouldn't be a bad call.
Hard to say w/out seeing them.
There is a normal amount of badgering in deciding who will be female, but sometimes it just doesn't go.
At excessive fin tearing to the point of possible death, I'd pull one.
 
One is 1" and the other 1 1/2" and the smaller one stays up top and the bigger one stays next to my Green Torch Coral but the big one every now and then will go after the little guy. At first there was a lot of nipping to each others mouth and they would lock and one got the fin but i separated them with my turkey baster but now there away from each other with some chasing but no contact anymore.
 
I would either see if you could return them and go with a big female and a small male. If you cant try to isolate the smaller one in a container of some sort and hope the female will accept it.
 
Thank you for all your guy's help. I actually had to take the aggressive one back because he nipped off a piece of the tail and a bit of the fin on the smaller one. The smaller one is now scared still in the top corner of the tank so hopefully he comes down within time and sees the other one is gone.
 
You may want to keep the two (or another one that you trade the larger one for) separate. The small one in a container where the two can see each other but not get to each other. After several weeks like this then you can release them together. Keep the smaller one in a breeder's net or something similar. He will capitulate sooner when the larger one is already in the tank.
 
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You may not have given them enough time together.................it takes more than a day. I know it's tough to watch, but if the loser has a place to retreat without being bullied he will eventually do the submission dance.

I've had Maroon juveniles twice that were the same size.........the loser got ripped up but never was relentlessly chased around the whole tank. One good beating is all it usually takes.
 
mine where very close in size when I got them, with in 1/4". For the first week or 2 they spent most of their time apart if they ran into eachother they would scrap a bit.

One morning I woke up and they where together. The smaller one had a ripped fin but thats it. Since then they have been together.
 
you'll probably have more issues now if you try a pairing again since you returned the larger one... im not sure what the best course of action would be if you were to get another fish. Option A: a very large maroon, or B: another small one.
 
Oh i see. Well i got a fox face and the maroon is actually buddy buddy's with him lol but when i do go and get another i'll probably go with a smaller one because of the fact that the one i have now is very chill and non aggressive so the process might be smoother.
 
Yeah, at this point I'd wait till the one you have gets some size & matures then try the small one in the box trick.
 
Ok sounds good. Thanks for the advice. He's actually swimming around now and he's been next to my green torch coral so i'm hoping the torch will host him :)
 
Sounds like you had too females; esp. if they were doing the mouth locking routine & neither was backing down or doing the submissive shaking. Good that you brought one back, as it probably wouldn't have ended well...As others have said, wait awhile & let survivor grow some, then get the smallest one you can find & introduce in a container. Good luck!
 
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