Steve Bory February 14, 2011 Share February 14, 2011 I have two Clownfish that I bought as juveniles maybe 5 months ago. A couple months after purchasing, one obviously started becoming more dominant than the other. They began to do what I believe is normal sexing behavior. The dominant female would nip at the male and then the male would do a little seizure twitch thing to show his submission. However, for the past couple weeks, I have noticed the male seems to be hiding in the rockwork almost full time. When I feed or clean the glass or anything, he comes out and the female chases him back into the rocks. I've been making sure that he is getting food, but I'm starting to get concerned that this is abnormal. Is this a normal part of the sexing process, or has she rejected the other fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 So the male definitely has some nips taken out of his back fin and his color is not nearly as nice as hers. Is this just part of the sexing process or do I need to get rid of him or her or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheTerps February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Don't know how to help. I would at least make sure the male is eating. Have you thought about swapping the male out with another male or a juvenile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheTerps February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Also what type of clown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 (edited) I am making sure he is eating better now that I realize there is a problem. She's pretty adamant about making sure he stays in his hole even when she's getting fed. I've been overfeeding a bit this week and that seems to be distracting her pretty well. I really just want to make sure this isn't a normal part of their behavior before I get rid of one/both of them and I can't imagine that someone would want the pair. I can't imagine that someone would want a little raggedy looking male. I can't imagine that someone would want a @$%#&y little female alone either. They are occelaris I believe (I have trouble telling the difference between them and percula, but I'm 99% sure that's what I bought). Edited February 23, 2011 by Steve Bory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 I'd say its normal based on what ive seen... What species? Are they hosting anything? She probably just likes it rough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 I don't believe they are hosted by anything. The male spends 99% of his day in a little cave, but I attribute that to her and not hosting. I added a frogspawn a couple weeks ago and I'm kind of hoping that the female takes to it. I imagine that would give the male a little bit more room to breathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheTerps February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 (edited) If they were maroon's, pairing them can be difficult as the dominate fish can be very aggressive. But with you saying they are Ocellaris, or even if they were Perculas, I wonder they the female is being so agressive. One thing you could try is getting a breeders net, place the male in there by himself and give him some time to relax and heal back up. Edited February 23, 2011 by FearTheTerps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheTerps February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Do they sleep together when the lights are out? (serious tho) At night they will less prone to fight, if a fight gets really out of hand you can turn the lights off and that should make them stop for a bit. Even shortening your light cycle will give them less time to fight with one another. Usually it only takes a few weeks for the sexes to settle in, especially with the male already showing his submissiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Now, now, Sam.... Alternatively, if she's being too aggressive, you can remove her for a week or 10 days and reintroduce her after the male has settled in. This may disorient her enough to even things up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 This is kind of the last stage of pairing off. I went through it with my allardi's- the male looked horrible and his fins were very ripped up. After a week or two the extreme aggression let up but there were still little bickerings... Which is normal in a healthy relationship . Alternatively, i have a pair of tomato's and the female constantly hounds the male. If you really think it's out of hand, I agree with Tom and would take the female out for a week which would allow the male to get more established. If you take the male out, I worry that the female would just become more territorial and the male would become even more beat up when you put him back in. The reason I ask if they're hosting anything is that I've never seen this behavior unless the clowns were hosting. What size tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 They don't sleep together, but he does sleep out in the open (not in his cave) somewhat near her. They're definitely not fighting at night. The tank is a 12 gallon Aquapod cube. I hope it's not too small for them as they're not big swimmers like wrasses, etc. I have read many places that this setup was appropriate, but I guess he definitely doesn't have the option to leave her territory like he would in the wild and their small space probably exacerbates the situation. I guess I'll give them a few more weeks, making sure he gets well fed, and see if the situation changes. If not, I'll try to sell one or both of them in the For Sale forums I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Ok, yeah that's your problem... A 12 is pretty small for them, especially if she's rough like that. Usually the male would be able to go somewhere else to hide from her, but not in a 12. I'd watch how it goes and if need be take the female out for a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 Thanks. That's what I'll do then. If I end up taking her out though, she's not going back in there. I don't have another tank to keep her in and might as well sell her if it's not working out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 You can buy a net breeder to put her in for about 5 bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory February 23, 2011 Author Share February 23, 2011 Ah. I missed that before. Should I put her in it or him? Either way I guess I could see that helping. Thanks for the suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 23, 2011 Share February 23, 2011 Definitely her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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