Red mandarin chasing clownfish

[oldpaddy]

Hello hello, we got a red mandarin the other day and he's chasing our smaller clownfish around. It was pretty funny to watch until I found one clownfish in an over flow and another dead in the filter sock. I had 4 clowns, an adult and 3 small ones. The small ones are about the size of the mandarin. The clowns like to hang out near one of the returns. I don't think I've ever seen a mandarin care about any other species of fish other than their own.

 

[ThRoewer]

Mandarins are not necessarily peaceful fish, though they usually only attack other mandarins of the same sex or other species of dragonets.
A Mandarin attacking clownfish is rather rare.

Is this mandarin a male or a female and do you have only one or a pair?

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[oldpaddy]

Mandarins are not necessarily peaceful fish, though they usually only attack other mandarins of the same sex or other species of dragonets.
A Mandarin attacking clownfish is rather rare.

Is this mandarin a male or a female and do you have only one or a pair?

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It's a female and it's solo.
I've owned a couple of mandarins in the past and have seen them in other systems. I have never seen them bother anything other than other mandarins, but I'm not an expert by any means. This one isn't bothering my sixline, flame angel, coral beauty, or any other fish. Just the two smaller clowns. I guess he just doesn't like clownfish.

 

[ThRoewer]

You may have a crazy one. Sooner or later the sixline will take care of it.

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[oldpaddy]

You may have a crazy one. Sooner or later the sixline will take care of it.

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So far the sixline doesn't even notice it's there. Both are fun fish.

 

[davocean]

In time the sixline will probably outcompete your mandarin for pods unless you have a really big system.

 

[oldpaddy]

In time the sixline will probably outcompete your mandarin for pods unless you have a really big system.

I also have a flame angel and a coral beauty.
I'm not worried. There's enough pods for everyone! I have a 220gal with a 55gal refugium.

 

[Sk8r]

In terms of aggression toward other fish, I would suspect the 6-line possibly as the culprit.

 

[oldpaddy]

In terms of aggression toward other fish, I would suspect the 6-line possibly as the culprit.

How so?

 

[lokmar]

My clowns got harassed a bit by my 6-line, even doing the shake dance showing submission to the 6-line, until I got a RBTA for the clowns. Now the 6-line is the most submissive fish in the tank and nothing messes with the clowns. I wont say clowns have to have a nem to host in but I think it really increases your chances of success with them.

 

[ThRoewer]

So far the sixline doesn't even notice it's there. Both are fun fish.

Sixlines are known to kill mandarin fish once the pod population starts going down.

In terms of aggression toward other fish, I would suspect the 6-line possibly as the culprit.

Well, the mandarin has been observed to harass the clowns, so I wouldn't questioning who is responsible for this. It may be untypical for mandarins, but it is neither impossible nor unheard of.

 

[oldpaddy]

My clowns got harassed a bit by my 6-line, even doing the shake dance showing submission to the 6-line, until I got a RBTA for the clowns. Now the 6-line is the most submissive fish in the tank and nothing messes with the clowns. I wont say clowns have to have a nem to host in but I think it really increases your chances of success with them.

I love anemones! I have a lta, a rose bta, a baby rose bta, green carpet, a condy, and a Haitian. My current clowns haven't been hosted by any as of yet. My last clowns took a year to find a host.

 

[oldpaddy]

Sixlines are known to kill mandarin fish once the pod population starts going down.

Interesting, I had never heard that before. I think I'm a long ways from that happening. I have 150lbs+ of live rock and rubble, medium sized sand bed in the display, and a deep in the sump. Both sides of my tank are viewable and my overflows are teaming with large copepods. I also see them fliying through the water column. I'm not stingy with feedings. The only thing I have that would hinder the population is a filter sock on the overflows.

 

[davocean]

Filter socks or not you'll have pods, and that size tank w/ that size fuge should sustain pods a plenty, but often the sixlines just don't like seeing anything picking at their pods and the slower moving mandarin ends up paying the price on that.