Fighting clown fish

[slomo]

Hi, I have two clowns in a 36g tank, the bigger one I had for a couple of months. I originally ordered two from this site, one died on arrival. I added another one it's smaller than the one in the tank. They are not getting along very well. The big one will chase it away or nip at it if it gets to close, the little one follows it around only to be chased away. Will they ever become friends? Will the bigger one hurt or kill it?

 

[dawman]

They are having a dominance role play and once the smaller one [male] givesthey should be fine . in

 

[earlybird]

If the smaller clown doesn't submit, it's possible the larger can kill him. It's tough to match clowns unless they were in the same tank and or were introduced together. Something you can do is rearrange your rocks slightly to confuse the original clown. Might be enough to calm the clown down. It's really tough to tell.

 

[slomo]

Thanks, i will move some rock around, that gives me a reason to do it. I won't stir up anything bad? The pipe going up to the carbon pad is very dirty also should i leave it alone or clean it?

 

[earlybird]

You should clean all your equipment on a rotating basis so as not to disturb anything. If you clean it all at the same time it can be a problem.
You can move your rock around just don't have it out of the tank for very long and try not to disturb the sand bed too much.

 

[dogstar]

Just a few thoughts about your question...
Are you sure both fish are the same species ? if they are not, then most likely they will never be friends.
If they are, was the new one alone or the largest in a tank at the LFS ? ( if thats where you got it )...if yes, then its possible that it could also be female, although smaller than your established one and again, never become friends...

 

[slomo]

I got them both from this site. I ordered the ones on sale, false percula clowns aquacultured. I hope they are the same species. so far they don't like each other when feeding. i try to feed at both ends of the tank to give them space. I have not rearranged the rock yet. i'm scared i will mess it up.

 

[stephen33]

they probably just need time. watch the smaller one for signs of submissive behavior. if he starts to twitch or shake or swim on his side then you should be all set if you give them time. if this doesnt happen then you may have a pair of females but from have you are saying it seems like the smaller one is trying to be submissive by swimming over to the larger one. this makes me think he is probably a male.

 

[rasguedo]

Just keep an eye on them. My two False Perculas did the same thing off an on for aout 10 months. One day I turned on the lights one of them was wedged hard behind the powerhead. Somehow overnight literally one became so aggresive. For about two days he basically chased and beat the other one to death. I woke up determined to buy another small tank and take him out that day and it was too late. Dont want to scare you basically I told you this story so you can have something ready, ( ie: a small tank) incase the relationship goes bad. I think my case is extreme though. Good Luck

 

[dawman]

Originally Posted by rasguedo
Just keep an eye on them. My two False Perculas did the same thing off an on for aout 10 months. One day I turned on the lights one of them was wedged hard behind the powerhead. Somehow overnight literally one became so aggresive. For about two days he basically chased and beat the other one to death. I woke up determined to buy another small tank and take him out that day and it was too late. Dont want to scare you basically I told you this story so you can have something ready, ( ie: a small tank) incase the relationship goes bad. I think my case is extreme though. Good Luck

For ten months ? You most likely either had a Percula and an Ocellaris or two females for them to fight that long .

 

[rasguedo]

Originally Posted by Dawman
For ten months ? You most likely either had a Percula and an Ocellaris or two females for them to fight that long .
They never really fought that long. Most often they existed calmly with only sporatic little chases. Then one would shimmy next to the other, I thought it was part of the whole submission thing. They seemed to get along actually. After 10 months together the serious chases lasting until one found a good hidding place began. For three days the serious chasing nipping continued until the one being chased died. It was like someone flipped a switch and one went bad all of a sudden....I got them both very small and young..You know what though..i just did some research. I found out one had a yellow ring around their pupil I think Ocerallis and the one I have now doesnt (Percula?). Maybe this is what did him in.. Of course the LFS sold them as a pair.... figures...

 

[dawman]

Unfotunetly you can`t always go by what a LFS has then labeled as . There are so many LFS that either don`t care and all they want is your money or they don`t know any better .