What should I do about clownfish fighting?

[robdog696]

I added a mated pair of black and white clowns to my 150 Fri. They were hosting a rose bta, which I also added Fri. In the system, I already had a True Perc male hosting a magnificent anemone. Until last night, they all left each other alone. Last night, however, the male black and white clown decided he likes the magnificent anemone better. The female has stayed in the rose bta. So my true perc is going back and forth between the two anemones, and the black and white clowns are taking turns beating him up. Is there anything I can do short of removing the true perc?

 

[namas05]

That is par for the course, too many of the same fish in the tank will cause agressive behavior. They will do one of two things.
They will learn to live together and share the nems, or they will fight until one has died.
Your choice is simple, either leave it in there and hope for the best, or remove the perc. and put him in a different tank.
Unfortunately there is no way to know for sure what is going to happen, but you now have a mated pair agains a single fish, which will likely turn out bad for the third wheel.
My suggestion is to remove him, but that is JMO.
Sorry for the bad news, but that is nature.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by namas05
http:///forum/post/2668615
That is par for the course, too many of the same fish in the tank will cause agressive behavior. They will do one of two things.
They will learn to live together and share the nems, or they will fight until one has died.
Your choice is simple, either leave it in there and hope for the best, or remove the perc. and put him in a different tank.
Unfortunately there is no way to know for sure what is going to happen, but you now have a mated pair agains a single fish, which will likely turn out bad for the third wheel.
My suggestion is to remove him, but that is JMO.
Sorry for the bad news, but that is nature.

Well put. A mated pair of clowns will usually not tolerate any other clowns, even in the same tank. And, clowns of different species are alomost always impossible to keep together. This is true of many, many fish. The species of SW fish that can be kept in pairs or groups is a very small list.

 

[sepulatian]

I also agree here. The single male (which is likely a female by now or will be soon) is likely to be harassed to death by the pair.

 

[srfisher17]

I think many people are mis-led on this issue because juvi, aquacultured clownfish are commonly kept together in large groups at the lfs...but the "brotherly" love thing doesnt last. I've seen the same thing with yellow tangs. A large tank at the lfs looks great with 5-7 of them; but just 2 in a home DT is a disaster. (Never mind the DT, they won't make it past QT.)

 

[robdog696]

Thanks for the replies! I had planned on moving the true perc when I got the mated pair. But I thought I'd wait and see if they would co-habitate first. I was surprised to see that they did. But, like you said, it didn't last. I've been trying to catch the true perc all day, but he is too fast. Thanks again for the replies.