Reintroducing clownfish to eachother

[Allisonzim28]

So I had a pair of davinci clownfish that got along great and then after a month of getting along, the female was getting more aggressive and one day the male was hiding in the rocks and the female wouldn't let him out to eat and she was forcing him down. I realized enough's enough (meanwhile I had a larger tank cycling all along) and I separated the male into the bigger tank with live rock and soft coral. They've been separated a week and the female actually seems depressed! Do you think when I reintroduce the female into the larger tank, will there be a chance she will get along with him or will she carry along and continue hating him? They went from a 8 gal with fake decor (yes I know risky for clowns but they are my only 2) to a 12 gal with live rocks/plants.

Help I don't want to send her back to the store but I will if I need to.

 

[Grizz]

There gonna fight all you can do is watch that she dont kill him you can place divider in the tank until things calm down I use a piece of eggcrate

 

[Allisonzim28]

You think even in the new/larger tank she still will? It's just her. He just hides. I know they act different in different territory and since he was in this one first maybe she will back off. I completely respect your reply I'm just curious.

 

[Andy Sager]

You think even in the new/larger tank she still will? It's just her. He just hides. I know they act different in different territory and since he was in this one first maybe she will back off. I completely respect your reply I'm just curious.

There is a better chance that they will get along now that she is going into his tank opposed to her being the dominant fish in the other tank. What you need to remember with clownfish is that the females are the more dominant of the pairs. That's by design. Sometimes you need to let them work things out. Sometimes one dies from the conflict. There are no guarantees especially with clownfish and damsels.
Unfortunately, this is one of the downsides of Nano tanks. They are too small for most pairs of fish. As long as your new tank has enough decor in it that the male can be away from the female and not "under her thumb" you've got a fighting chance.
Hope this helps

 

[Allisonzim28]

Thank you for that. That was really helpful. I was hoping the having more room would give me a better chance and I know that live rock and plants are known to reduce stress levels due vs the fake stuff.. He also has found a nice hiding spot. Hey... How I see it is that he's made it through a lot of her bullying just fine with normal eating habits so I have hope. I know there's no guarantee but I haven't given up yet... I just needed to know it was possible.

Thanks again.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for that. That was really helpful. I was hoping the having more room would give me a better chance and I know that live rock and plants are known to reduce stress levels due vs the fake stuff.. He also has found a nice hiding spot. Hey... How I see it is that he's made it through a lot of her bullying just fine with normal eating habits so I have hope. I know there's no guarantee but I haven't given up yet... I just needed to know it was possible.

Thanks again.

No Problem It's all about understanding your fish and their habits. Hope it all works out

 

[Animal-Chin]

I would suggest a little wine, some candle light and perhaps a low cut number on the female.

 

[Andy Sager]

I would suggest a little wine, some candle light and perhaps a low cut number on the female.

And maybe some Frank Sinatra music in the background

 

[Grizz]

lol o'l blue eyes just may do it Hope it works out for you. Are the fish close in size? that can cause them to fight it helps if one is 2x the size of the other

 

[Andy Sager]

lol o'l blue eyes just may do it Hope it works out for you. Are the fish close in size? that can cause them to fight it helps if one is 2x the size of the other

For what it's worth, Davinci clowns are a color morph of Ocellaris clowns so by nature, breeding males and females are similar in size so the size difference shouldn't matter. In clown species like Tomatos, Maroons, Melanopus, etc., there is a huge size difference between the sexes so then it would matter.

Hope this helps

 

[Allisonzim28]

The dominant one is 2x the size of the little guy (who doesn't fight back at all) she is pretty gorgeous though hahah. They are getting along we'll and its been over 24hrs and she didn't kill him. Fingers crossed they remain happy!

 

[Andy Sager]

The dominant one is 2x the size of the little guy (who doesn't fight back at all) she is pretty gorgeous though hahah. They are getting along we'll and its been over 24hrs and she didn't kill him. Fingers crossed they remain happy!

Just curious, were they close in size when you got them?

 

[Allisonzim28]

Close but the female was definitely a little bigger, now she's grown to be 2x his size and he has gotten only a smidge bigger (I believe if at all)