I mail-ordered 4 maroon clownfish for my 46 bow. When they came one was twice as big as the other 3. Since day one, the big one has been continually on a hunt and kill mission and goes throughout the whole tank destroying his buddies. He's killed off two and was working on the 3rd when I finally isolated the bully in a guppy breeder box which was the only thing I had on hand for an in-tank refugium. Now the bullied clownfish has taken over the bubble anemone and the big one is sulking in the breeder and hasn't eaten for two days; an unstable situation for sure. Any thoughts on how to proceed?
Aggression Problem
- Thread starter itafx
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
usmcmarc
Aquarium Advice FINatic
GSM's are extremely aggressive toward their own kind. It was inevitable the large one was going to kill off the others. Sorry for your losses. The large one MAY allow the one remaining to live if it decides to mate with it, but there are no guarantees.
I have an established large GSM and introduced a much smaller GSM to my tank in hopes they would become a mated pair. The large one terrorized the small one for a week. I was sure it was going to kill it. But, after about a month she finally allowed the male in the same area and now they are a mated pair. As I understand it, they all start out as males and the largest of the group becomes female. When the female dies off, the next largest male changes to female.
This is in my experience only, others may have had different results.
I have an established large GSM and introduced a much smaller GSM to my tank in hopes they would become a mated pair. The large one terrorized the small one for a week. I was sure it was going to kill it. But, after about a month she finally allowed the male in the same area and now they are a mated pair. As I understand it, they all start out as males and the largest of the group becomes female. When the female dies off, the next largest male changes to female.
This is in my experience only, others may have had different results.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
He means your clownfish. I think GSM is an acronym for Gold Striped Maroon Clownfish.
I think usmcmarc summed it up well. Joining up "unmated" pairs of maroon clownfish is like rolling the dice, and from what I've heard the odds aren't good. Sorry for the losses, but in the end, four maroons in a 46g was not going to be a happy place.
I think usmcmarc summed it up well. Joining up "unmated" pairs of maroon clownfish is like rolling the dice, and from what I've heard the odds aren't good. Sorry for the losses, but in the end, four maroons in a 46g was not going to be a happy place.
usmcmarc
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Sorry
....GSM = Gold Stripe Maroon. Now that I look at it, I dont even know if you have the Gold Stripe variety..but none the less...as I understand maroons in general are still VERY agressive.
Thanks for the clarification Kurt.
....GSM = Gold Stripe Maroon. Now that I look at it, I dont even know if you have the Gold Stripe variety..but none the less...as I understand maroons in general are still VERY agressive.Thanks for the clarification Kurt.
