Weird thing is happening in my tank!!!

[weekf]

Ok get ready for this. I have an o.clown he has been alone for at least 6 or 7 months since his mate died. Two weeks ago I am seeing 1 of 5 of my chromis keep swimming with him together while the other 4 still keep a distance from my clown.

This morning I woke up look at the tank the chromis is sharing a spot with my clown. My clown use to host that area all the time. I see them rubbing their bottom body parts!!! What are they mating??? The clown is not biting or attacking it but ocassionally swim upside down/inverted rubbing its under belly with the chromis. The chromis will just stay there quietly and let him do that. I thought clowns are territorial? When I set up this 6 foot tank 3 months back this clown will chase away all other fishes including all the chromis but now he is accepting this chromis???

This will only happen when the lights are off in the morning. If I turn on the lights the chromis will run away hiding back into the rocks. 5 minutes I turn off the lights this chromis will swim out to the clown again. I tried slap on the glass several times to chase it away but after a while it keeps coming back to the clown. Funnily the other chromis will stare at them in disbelief and may be asking that chromis: what the heck are you doing? You are a chromis for christ's sake.

I thought I would just post a few pics for you to see if you can explain what is going on. Will they mate and give birth to alien species fish?


Touchings is going on...

and more touching...

and other chromis are looking on...

I just want to make sure nothing is wrong before I move them apart because I don't want anything bad to happen to my tank. Could this be a symptom either the clown or the chromis is sick and need to be removed? But they seem perfectly healthy. Just done the feeding everyone's healthy and happy but don't know what will happen tonight though... more intimate moments for them may be?

 

[austinsdad]

Greenish, orangey, white striped offspring fish? Wow!


OK, so the dead mate was the larger one right? So you got the male clown.

Come to think of it, it's probably just the female chromis playing one of those games. Making the guys jealous. She probably means nothing by it, just playing on a male clown's emotions at this unfortunate time in his life and using him to keep the guy chromis(s) on their toes. She'll drop the clown like a hot potato once she gets what she wants. You jyst watch.

So, I really don't know what I'm talking about - just had a flashback of this girl I dated about 30 years ago.

 

[weekf]

Lol thanks for sharing your personal experience austindsad. No the dead mate was actually the smaller one which normally got chased around by this current one. Whenever the small clown came out during feeding time my current clown would chase it back to hiding and would really bite the smaller one when it got out. That's why the smaller one just kept on getting bullied and eat less and less and perished.

So this one has got to be a female clown then. Could a male chromis trying to keep other female chromis jealous instead???

 

[austinsdad]

Normally the female is the larger of the two when they're paired.

Could a male chromis trying to keep other female chromis jealous instead???

Nah, he'd get his butt kicked. Besides, you probably only have one female chromis in the bunch IMO. Look for the largest of them. How long has the bunch of'm been together?

Just thinking out loud here.... If the clowns had been together for some time and OK, then suddenly the larger turned on the other, the male may have been sick. Watch the remaining clown closely for any illness signs just in case maybe.

Good luck.

 

[weekf]

I added 10 chromis in one shot 3 months back. I since return 5 of them to the LFS. No problem among all 10 of them since day 1.

No I have got NO MORE clown in the tank except this one. The other passed away 7 months ago. It has been alone until 3 months ago I added these chromis.

 

[melosu58]

I`m enjoying these personal stories Ray LOL. But none of these actions surprise me Weekf. I`ve had a SW tank for over 9 yrs and fish do all kind of weird stuff. I could spend all day talking about my two clowns(tomato and gold stripe maroon) even though they have not done what you are talking about. I have 5 chromis also. I quit figuring out my clowns when I bought them an anenome and they completely ignored it and host a bubble coral and a pagoda cup. :?

 

[roka64]

Clowns will be clowns! Those are great pictures and funny stories!

 

[weekf]

Yeah clown will be clown I can figure that. But this chromis really make me go nuts. I understand the behaviour or clown, they do strange things all the time. But this chromis is acting very strange, letting the clown touching, rubbing its belly. It is a weird chromis I suppose.