Clownfish Mating Dance or Threat Behavior?

saltyduck

New Member
Hi folks. I got two clowns today to replace the 1 clown I lost during Hurricane Sandy. I always wanted 2 clowns but when I went to buy one they just had 1 maroon and I didn't want one to kill/hurt the other - so pre-Sandy I just had 1 maroon and 1 starry blenny. Anyway I got 2 clowns and when I first put them in there the one went after the other one. This lasted very shortly - about a couple minutes. Now though the one keeps kind of shivering and sort of "herding" the other but no contact is being made. I wish I could take a video, but I still have no internet. They seem to take turns 'shivering' in front of each other. These weren't a mated pair - they had them in separate tanks. But was hoping since they're the same size and being put into the tank at the same time that they wouldn't go crazy on each other.
 

al&burke

Active Member
The tail dance thing is normal behavior for clowns, the only thing that concerns me is the clowns are the same size. They both want to be the dominant sex, which is female with clowns, keep an eye on them since they are both new to the tank they might figure things out.
 
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