So after months and months

[LaOtIn]

I have a pair of false perc clowns living in a BC14 for about 9 months, I have a RBTA in there. only other thing in the tank is a skunk cleaner shrimp, few corals and a cuc. Yesterday out of nowhere one clown starting attacking the other, my wife called me when she noticed. I separated the one on the losing end as fast as I could and placed him in a hampster ball in the tank. he hang on for about 20 mins then died. weird thing is he/she/it USED to be the aggressor of the pair and was always in the anemone, then the anemone moved when it moved the clowns seemed to reverse roles, the other going into the anemone and being more aggressive, a week later it killed the other one. :headwalls::headwalls::headwalls:

any ideas? now i just have the one clown and the big RBTA (about 6"). I hate aggression in my tanks, and this is the 3rd time this has happened to me in 2yrs or so. twice in my larger reef tank and now in my office nano :thumbdown my LFS owner always asks me what the heck kind of violence me and my wife are exposing these clowns to, cause we raise some of the most aggressive clowns she has ever seen. i may be giving up on clowns, i gave up on clowns in my larger reef, this may be the end for my BC too. aggression towards a $.20 ghost shrimp is one thing, a $25 fish killing its mate is where i draw the line :headwallblue:

 

[elegance coral]

How often, and what, are you feeding?

This happens. The goal of all clowns is to become female. If the dominant female is weakened for some reason, it may signal an opportunity for the male to move up. Nature can be cruel, but it insures that the strong reproduce and spread their genes.

 

[LaOtIn]

the only food the tank has ever seen is cyclops-eeze. a small pinch every other day, or sometimes daily. water changes are now done once a month, about 3 gallons at a time. full water testing is done prior to water changes with red sea liquid tests and a jungle test strip is done bi-weekly, the last one was done on 7/1/11

results:
CA:405
MG:1450
PH:8.2
ALK:3.5
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 15 (usually stays in the range of 10-20ppm)

Salt: SeaChem Salinity
LR= 12lbs
LS=2.5lbs
sandbed: 1"
filter= standard BC carbon/floss filter+bioballs (stock)

 

[sneeze]

i never rely on test strips. too generic and inaccurate. mixed diet would certainly help.
how large is the remaining fish? if it is still moderately small(less than 2"), you could introduce a fish of one size extreme or the other. a tiny one would submit right away (this is how most pair up maroons). a humongous one would make the current one submit(this would only work if the current fish is not female yet).

 

[LaOtIn]

the remaining one is bout 2.5" i can get a juvi baby to put in there, think mine would kill or the juvi grow into the male?

something else interesting, i just got home from work to discover my RBTA split lol, nature is a weird thing