need help with clowns....please

[bigford84]

So i have two clowns . One is a orange and white occilaris and the other is a black and white occ. The black one is new and has taken over both nems and wont let the orange one even come out of the rock work.. they did get along for a day or two,but now the black one is being very mean to the orande one... Its one thing to just keep him away from the nems,but the black one will chase the orange one untill he is behind the rocks. What do i do???? I like them both but the black one was 40bucks.

 

[EriksFish315]

I would say take the black aggressive one out and out him in your qt for mayb a few days move some rock work around and then re introduce him and see ow that goes.

 

[joy13]

How big is your tank?

It sounds like if they are the same size the black one is being the female and the other one will be the male. The dominate one will become female and get larger. Clownfish are All Born Male, a Dominant Male Will Turn Female When the Current Female of the Group Dies

 

[EriksFish315]

Could also be that as well.

 

[Sergie]

Unless ofcourse they were both already female. Being the same size that might indicate as such. Once a female they can't turn back to male.

 

[bigford84]

the orange one was the female before i got the black one. the black one is a little bigger then the orange. so if they are both female there is no changing back to male?? if thats true.... should i try to trade one in for a smaller one?

 

[redbird]

I read somewhere that clowns need to each have at least two hiding places and at least 40 gallons per 6" of fish, lots of room. So the black is acting dominant but it's the newbie, so it must be male unless it's larger. Many fish appear aggressive but are actually courting. And since that's rare w/clowns, they're just trying to est. pecking order. I'd do a 60% water & perimeter changes, give both good hiding spots and feed blacky first so there's not any fighting over food anyway.

 

[joy13]

How big are your clowns? It could be they are both female and you will need to decide which one you are going to keep. Remember if you put a small clown it it will be beat up as well.

 

[Sharklover]

Yah you need to get a smaller b+w one if ur orange is a girl just ask ur lfs for a younger one or use ur eye when picking but be sure its either smaller or there will be problems

 

[Ewatson249]

Your on to a loser with this one. Two different types of clownfish will not pair or even get on with one another. If you have a big tank you may (possibly) get away with it. You need to get rid of one and replace it with the same type as the reaming one and make sure it's considerably smaller than the other. Trust me you will mess around for ages trying to get it to work the way you are going and it will only end in fishy death! Good luck.

 

[Richy35]

Your on to a loser with this one. Two different types of clownfish will not pair or even get on with one another. If you have a big tank you may (possibly) get away with it. You need to get rid of one and replace it with the same type as the reaming one and make sure it's considerably smaller than the other. Trust me you will mess around for ages trying to get it to work the way you are going and it will only end in fishy death! Good luck.

+1 you shouldn't really mix clowns.

 

[redbird]

$40 is alot unless they're big. I'd trade for smaller and a less aggressive fishies! Clowns are suppose to BE clowns (mine two play& dive in circles all over the tank) very fun to watch! Also suppose to be kept in groups of at least 2-3 so they're feeling territorial or they'd play. Ask the petstore if you can trade or get a refund - what's the point of having fish you can't enjoy? Besides Ewatson is right that the stress can ultimately kill them too.

 

[joy13]

Your on to a loser with this one. Two different types of clownfish will not pair or even get on with one another. If you have a big tank you may (possibly) get away with it. You need to get rid of one and replace it with the same type as the reaming one and make sure it's considerably smaller than the other. Trust me you will mess around for ages trying to get it to work the way you are going and it will only end in fishy death! Good luck.

He said they were both occilaris the color shouldn't make a difference now if one was occilaris and the other one a percula it would make a difference.

 

[Tomchong22]

As long as they are of the same type you can add multiple clownfish( at the same time). Currently I have 5 clownfish in my tank. Dominant female, black and white dominant male, and then 3 male. They were all added at the same time and have been in the tank for around a year now. They all get along great! And they have even started to recently breed.

 

[Sergie]

As long as they are of the same type you can add multiple clownfish( at the same time). Currently I have 5 clownfish in my tank. Dominant female, black and white dominant male, and then 3 male. They were all added at the same time and have been in the tank for around a year now. They all get along great! And they have even started to recently breed.

That usually isn't the case for ever. It is in their DNA to try and reproduce and become the dominant male and eventually the female. Fighting usually breaks out sooner or later. You can't stop nature. As Ian Malcom said in Jurassic Park, "Nature always finds away."

 

[circus clowns]

I have a true perc, and a false perc living together for five years.

 

[circus clowns]

Some times clown s haven't matured and are considered juvenile ,and may not have determined there sex yet, depends on how old they are.

 

[redbird]

re. Sergie; that's weird I watched Jurassic this weekend and I AGREE! I've read that breeding clowns is very rare - mine are just babes yet so I'm not prepared to do that but would love to in the future. They're adorable!