Clown fish fight

[Craigj247]

My Nemos are fighting pretty badly... Worried that one is going to kill the other... Kinda thought of taking the nemo that is been picked on and put him in a spacious bottle and place him near the bully nemo and hopefully they will get used to eachother? Any ideas?

[redsea]

They may just be fighting over who gets to be the female fish (they could be creating a pair). Are they twitching? If so, that is probably what they are doing. The larger Clownfish will normally become the female.

The Clownfish you have are from the same species, right?

[Craigj247]

Hi redsea thanks for the reply... Yes they are of the same species but the smaller fish is in pretty bad shape with torn fins and the bigger one doesn't even let him eat... When he isn't biting him he swims up to the guy and kinda chatters his lips at him... Do you think I should try the bottle idea I mentioned?

[water_man11]

That chatting is the behavior of determining female/dominate on the pair. I had the same thing happen, but the male was only a 3rd of the size of the female, so it worked out quick.

[Craigj247]

Thanks for the info... So I will just let it play out then

[Craigj247]

Ad to temporarily separate my clown fish since they were ripping each-other apart

[mysticeel]

the problem with all fish is that they will either like each other or not...my clowns fought a lot at first before they got along...i had to rearrange my rocks so my fish had to find new territories, giving the new clown a place of his own...i won't suggest keeping him in that jar, because of lack of water flow...

[cmor1701d]

How long have you had them?
Did you get them together?
They appear to be about the same size, correct?
How long has the squabbling been going on?
Fighting for dominance is common and could go on for days. I never experienced that problem. One of my clowns just suddenly grew faster than the other and became the female.

[Craigj247]

I have had them for about 3 days now and the dude in the jar is smaller that the guy in the anemone... Just thought I would keep him in the jar for a day till the other guy gets sick of trying to get at him... Just trying Simon different... What do you think?

[Gti_Leo]

mostliekly they are fighting for dominance to decide who will be the male and female. i would leave them to their business it will be over in a few days and they will become a mated pair, maybe eventually spawn little clowns

[Craigj247]

Ok I shall take your advise and release him back with the other clown... Thanks for everything guys

[cmor1701d]

Good idea. Just keep an eye on them, but the squabbling should be over in a few days.

[Craigj247]

Thanks clot will keep you posted

[Craigj247]

*cmor... Darned spell check on my iPhone

[water_man11]

Now that I see the size, they are both about the same, a big diff from mine, the new one was a 3rd the size of the original.

[Craigj247]

Looks pretty much the same size in the photo but the dude in the jar is about 20 or 25% smaller that the guy outside.... I introduced him back in the tank and they are back to the chasing... Gonna see how it plays out.

[water_man11]

What has happened? Looking for an update

[Craigj247]

Well things are pretty much the same the fighting has reduced a lot compared to what it was... Tank is doing good no complaints other than the squabbling between the clowns... All in all my nano tank consists of two clowns two damsels a goby and two anemone and they seem to all be doing good...

[cmor1701d]

If there's a break in the squabbling that's a good thing. Just make sure it doesn't escalate to an all out thrashing (hard to tell the difference most times). Once they have settled into their roles everything will be fine.

[Craigj247]

That's good news will keep you updated on anything new that happens and will post a pic if they start to couple up