New Clowns

[bandbreef]

We are new to salt tanks and our first fish we got were clowns. I believe they are both a breed of ocellaris clowns. They have been in the tank together for a full week and the larger one has been aggressive towards the smaller one and has given some pretty good hits. No torn fins or any visible damage at this time, the male is trying to submit and she will continually chase him around the tank at times. Other times it is like he is in jail, he will stay in one location in the tank either right under the filter or in the corner at the bottom of some live rock. Is this normal behavior for the male clown, is this all part of the acceptance process. I figure because they are in okay shape and have not killed one another yet that we are doing okay but I am curious about this behavior. She swims all over the tank and plays on the currents, while he stays put.

 

[worm5406]

Yes this is normal. Is the the whole dominance part. Is he doing a good job? Or getting in trouble for being out and about sometimes?

 

[bandbreef]

Based on the number of "reminders" that he has some work to do. He tends to be a little aggressive back at times usually when he is in the rock corner. I'm wondering if this is the place they chose. They feed close together without fighting guess that's a good thing.