Clowfish aggressive due to hunger?

[dinki]

I've got two clownfish and a royal gramma in my 55 gal tank. Both clowns have been in the tank for about 2-2.5 years. One clow has always been agressive towards me when I put my hand in the tank, but he seems to play well with his tank mates.
 
I've cut back on my feedings to once every two days. I feed them blended shrimp that I've frozen. I cut off a few small pieces (about the size of two pieces of Hershey's chocolate). Just today I noticed the smaller clown hiding near the bottom. When he came up to eat the larger clown started chasing him around. I took a closer look at the little clown and noticed his tail was a little frayed. Not bad but a bit ragged.
These guys used to play well with each other but now not so much. Could it be that the larger clown is being agressive because it's hungry or is she just going to get worse? Your advise is greatly appreciated.

 

[btldreef]

Very well could be hunger aggression. If you've had them for this long, and were feeding them the same way, they fell into a pattern/habit. Now that pattern has been disrupted. I would suggest feeding daily, just a smaller amount. If you're feeding two Hershey size pieces every two days, why not feed one every day?

 

[dinki]

I think I'll give that a try. Any idea on how long it might take to correct this behavior?

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinki http:///forum/thread/380566/clowfish-aggressive-due-to-hunger#post_3312395
I think I'll give that a try. Any idea on how long it might take to correct this behavior?
Not really sure. If the change in feeding doesn't work, you may have to rearrange rock work or remove the more aggressive fish for a little while. If they were a pair, it is odd that they would just separate like that..

 

[dinki]

Actually they aren't a pair. I had the smaller one first and then added the now agressive one about three or four months later.
 
Not sure what you mean about rearranging the rocks. Are you saying to do this to make him less territorial?
 
Thanks for the advice, btw.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinki http:///forum/thread/380566/clowfish-aggressive-due-to-hunger#post_3312519
Actually they aren't a pair. I had the smaller one first and then added the now agressive one about three or four months later.
 
Not sure what you mean about rearranging the rocks. Are you saying to do this to make him less territorial?
 
Thanks for the advice, btw.
They never paired up? Are they the same type of clowns?
It is possible that the more aggressive clown (which is the female, by the way) is doing this to be territorial. She may also be trying to get the male to submit and then they may mate. My female beat on my male relentlessly right before they started spawning. If it is in fact territorial, you may have to change the aquascape of the rock to cut down on the territorial aggression. I would try the food thing first and see how it goes.

 

[dinki]

I bought the little guy from the LFS and the female came from SWF.com . They were both listed as ocellaris clownfish although they do differ in color a bit. The LFS clow is a lighter shade of orange than the SWF.com but their markings are identical.
 
I'm afraid I don't really know what paring up means. Does that mean do they hang out with each other a lot; then yes. They are generally in the same area all the time up until now.
 
I was hoping that it was a mating issue. I'm just hoping that she just doesn't beat the poor guy up too bad. He's not in bad shape by any stretch but he's hiding out all the time and when he does come out it doesn't take too long for her to chase him all over the tank and then he disappears again.
 
I'll give the food a try and see if that helps. I guess I should hold off on moving the rocks around if they do decide to mate. Any way to tell what's aggression due to mating preparation? She's not aggressive towards the gramma at all by the way.

 

[btldreef]

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dinki http:///forum/thread/380566/clowfish-aggressive-due-to-hunger#post_3312588
I bought the little guy from the LFS and the female came from SWF.com . They were both listed as ocellaris clownfish although they do differ in color a bit. The LFS clow is a lighter shade of orange than the SWF.com but their markings are identical. There can be slight variations in color, especially if one was tank bred and the other was a wild catch. My female is slightly darker than my male, but I have seen it the other way around as well.
 
I'm afraid I don't really know what paring up means. Does that mean do they hang out with each other a lot; then yes. They are generally in the same area all the time up until now. Once they are a pair, they usually don't stray from one anothers side.
 
I was hoping that it was a mating issue. I'm just hoping that she just doesn't beat the poor guy up too bad. He's not in bad shape by any stretch but he's hiding out all the time and when he does come out it doesn't take too long for her to chase him all over the tank and then he disappears again. Honestly, it probably is a mating issue.
I'll give the food a try and see if that helps. I guess I should hold off on moving the rocks around if they do decide to mate. Any way to tell what's aggression due to mating preparation? She's not aggressive towards the gramma at all by the way. If she's not aggressive towards other fish, it's either a mating issue or she's rejected this mate. See if the male ever shivers when she's near, it will look like he's having a seizure. If he does, he's submitting and it is in fact a mating ritual.

 

[dinki]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/380566/clowfish-aggressive-due-to-hunger#post_3312599
If she's not aggressive towards other fish, it's either a mating issue or she's rejected this mate. See if the male ever shivers when she's near, it will look like he's having a seizure. If he does, he's submitting and it is in fact a mating ritual.
 
Yes, he is doing this. I have seen this behavior with him before in the past as well. I thought it was to show a sign of dominance not submission. This is at least encouraging.
 
Do you recall how long the abuse took before she eased up? She is searching the tank for him at times (going in places where I've seen him hiding out).

 

[dinki]

Just as suddenly as it started, the harrasment has stopped. I did notice that the female was also doing the shake/wiggle when the male did it too. The male is now swimming around freely again. I took a better look at him and looks like he got nipped a good many times. I guess this will heal over time.