Killer true perc!! need help!

[BairdimusPrime]

Ok, Ive had a true perc pair for around a year now, it took them six months to host to my gigantea. well the male hosted got the nem all ready to go and once the female got involved she proceeded to violently kill the male, and now anytime i feed the gigantea she removes the silversides from its mouth and only allows it to eat what she gives it atfeeding time. shes not aggressive to ANY other fish in the tank. anyone have any advice? this behavior is out of nowhere and i kinda wanted to have a pair...

 

[smtank]

For some reason a female clown may out of blue become extremely aggressive towards the male even if they have been together for a long period of time. He may not have been submissive enough, or possibly not a acceptable mate for some reason only she knows. It is not uncommon at all.

If you try for another clownfish make sure it is significantly smaller than the female, not alone in a tank at the LFS. I would steer clear of any clownfish that is too small though, no babies.

As far as feeding the anemone, perfectly normal and should not be an issue.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

so her ripping the silverside out of its grip and tossing it is NBD? awesome.. i was worried she was going to starve it

 

[smtank]

If the lighting is sufficient an anemone does not need to feed often or even at all IME. With that said you should try another food, try target feeding mysis, small chopped raw pieces of scallop or shrimp.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

i mix up the anemone feeding, i've got the mysis, i chop up shrimp, and i chop up the silversides. i have a full t5 lighting system with 3 ati blue plus bulbs and an acryl blue bulb as well as leds for night. also with the chopped foods i add some vitamins and a dash of reef roids

 

[BonsaiNut]

Also try feeding your anemone at night, when your perc is "sleeping".

 

[Patrick12]

If the lighting is sufficient an anemone does not need to feed often or even at all IME. With that said you should try another food, try target feeding mysis, small chopped raw pieces of scallop or shrimp.

Not trying to be contrary, but please do not follow this advice. Giganteas definitely do need to eat. They require a fixed nitrogen source that they cannot get from photosynthesis. The symbiotic zooxanthellae only provide about 70-80% of nutritional requirements in the form of carbohydrates. In fact, you should not only feed some shrimp, marine fish, or clam, but I would also recommend an occasional small piece of nori as well. This will provide your nem in the best nutrition possible. I had 4 of them I collected in Okinawa and they all did fantastic with that feeding regimen. Acquaintances who basically did the previous advice had to return their nems to rescue them. Granted, there is more that goes into keeping nems than just what I have advocated, but that is the best way to put a solid checkmark in at least the nutrition category. You need not feed more than once or twice a week. I also recommend using tongs and placing and holding it as close to the oral disc as possible to prevent the clown from disturbing the feeding. While it is a symbiotic relationship......it ain't always perfect.

 

[smtank]

Gee I guess mine have suffered rather than thrived for years. :beer:

 

[BairdimusPrime]

well, im not tryin to start a war here just asking for some advice... as for the clown sleeping.. she sleeps wrapped up in the nem... so that night feeding wont work

 

[Conrad25]

I had this issue as well with my female percula. I would feed the tank and as you are doing that, give the nem a few squirts of food. Also smaller is always better for nems as they can digest it very quickly than.

 

[Trademark]

+1 with Conrad25, You said that you had a pair for about a year, did they ever host anything ( I'm guessing not) you might of had 2 females ( with clowns not hosting and nothing to defend there would prob be no terrible scwabbles going one, just minor ones here and there. Since the one that was smaller( the one you called male) found the nem first, I think that it could just be a matter of a bigger female staking her claim, I would try another male, just make sure its a male, or juvi. I would probkeep him in a breeder basket for a couple of days first as close as you can to the nem. WHat the female and male closely. If you see the new fish twitching and kind of being submissive then you are on the right track. Just take it slow with introduction. Good Luck

 

[BairdimusPrime]

thanks guys!!!

 

[Beamers]

I've seen females start biting fins off the males if they aren't behaving, just out of the blue.

fish behavior is just odd sometimes.