Ocellaris clownfish pair fighting

[SeaSlugTeam]

I got a pair of clownfish from the lfs about 3 weeks ago. At first they were shy but they have gotten around to exploring the 55 gallon tank. The issue is that one of the clownfish have gotten slightly larger then the other one. Lets call the larger one George and the smaller one Maria. George is also orange although I purchased it as an ocellaris (maybe it's a mixed). The issue is that George have taken up on bullying Maria at any chance that he/she has. This seems to occur more often when I'm watching. George also tries to prevent Maria from eating when I feed them pellets. This is to the point where Maria would spent her day hiding in the corner where the overflow is. They have also stop 'sleeping' in the same spot. Should I worry? Since George is slightly orange, could it be that they are not from the same litter? When I purchased them, they were about 1 inch in length. Currently they are closer to maybe 1.5 inches.
I've attached a photo of the fish but I can also create a video recording if that helps.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You have them confused with each other. Maria is the bigger one and George the little guy. Or you have in fact two females. This is more than likely the truth they were both turning female when you got them. I'm not doing well as I had surgery a week ago on my spine and about to go to be but wanted to mention this. Hopefully someone will pick this up and continue, if not I'll do so tomorrow.

 

[davocean]

Well, the larger would be the Maria, smaller is the George.
They are probably establishing dominance, larger becoming female.
As long as there is no excessive fin tearing I would wait it out.

 

[ca1ore]

I have had clowns go at it on many occasions. It usually works itself out; though if one shows significant damage or stops eating you may have to remove it.

 

[Amoo]

Oh, the top one almost looks like a B&W + Divinci cross. Really nice looking clown.

As others have said, Maria is the larger one, George the smaller one. They'll be fine, just keep an eye on them.

 

[hotelbravo]

as others have said the bigger one is the female and the smaller one is probably the male. if the smaller one is submitting or turning away and "twitching" than i would say its deffinetly a male but if the smaller one is attacking back then there is a chance its also a female and they will not be compatible.
as far as the coloration goes on your clowns and you doubting/questioning if they are ocellaris, clown colorations and patterns can change greatly it does not mean they are a different species. though the percula and ocellaris species look very similar.

 

[SeaSlugTeam]

Sorry for the confusion but my wife named them George and Maria before it was apparent as to which will become dominant/female.
The one named George is in fact the larger one at the bottom and Maria is the smaller one at the top. Lets call them Large and Small to make it easier.
Small is the one that is hiding and being picked on.

In the case where the situation gets worse, when I separate the two clown. Should I try to reintroduce the fish after a while or should I try to find another home for the separated clown?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

we all understand that, we are telling you she has them backwards the larger is female the smaller might be male but due to it's behavior it's likely also female. For the small one need to know if it does any body shaking which is a form of submission to the larger one and would mean it's more than likely male.

 

[hotelbravo]

yea we got the part about the names.
george=the female
maria= male/possibly female

we need more information about "maria's" behavior to further advise you on what to do as far as removing/seperating/waiting it out.

describe the behavior maria does when george is beating up maria

 

[davocean]

Unless they already come when you call them it may not be too late for a name change!

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Unless they already come when you call them it may not be too late for a name change!

That's funny right there I don't care who you are :beer::wave:

 

[SeaSlugTeam]

It's too late for the name change when your wife has settled on it. It's named Maria from the sound of music because of her coloring reminds my wife of dress in the movie. Who knows. / :

Anyway, Large chases Small most of the time and tries to nip Small on the side. Small runs away most of the time and once in a while does the submission dance. Rarely small turns out and fight back and Large does the submission dance in that case. I know when two female fight, it tends to be mouth to mouth. I was wondering these type of picking can get bad enough that I should worry.

 

[ThRoewer]

Sorry for the confusion but my wife named them George and Maria before it was apparent as to which will become dominant/female.
The one named George is in fact the larger one at the bottom and Maria is the smaller one at the top. Lets call them Large and Small to make it easier.
Small is the one that is hiding and being picked on.

In the case where the situation gets worse, when I separate the two clown. Should I try to reintroduce the fish after a while or should I try to find another home for the separated clown?

Or call them Georgina and Mario