Clownfish twitching

[Brough5754]

They both keep twitching when they stop swimming but only when they are right next to eachother

 

[Swimzebras]

What do you mean by twitching?

 

[Brough5754]

Like they look at eachother and start twitching

 

[Swimzebras]

Like convulsions? Fast up and down?

 

[Gti_Leo]

do they turn whitish?

 

[Swimzebras]

Not that I know of, I'm not sure of the problem at this point, sorry

 

[Gti_Leo]

they chould be scared of eachother, have you tried google?

 

[Epuerto]

could you make a quick video?

 

[Spartachris]

One of mine does the same thing. I've had them for a week, and it seems that it is the smaller who twitches when the larger one nips at it. At first I thought it was a seizure, but now I'm thinking its a behavior. Don't know though. Watching this thread!

 

[davidmaguirre]

Ik exactly what your seeing my clowns do that also and I've had them for 3 years.. clowns r weird like that but they are known for it.. its nothing bad.. ur clowns r ok at a point I was concerned too but advice and time showed me that they do that and its completely normal lol

 

[the_fish_man]

oh wow lol my mated pair do that and i thought they were getting ready to breed when ever they did that

 

[Brough5754]

My friend said something about a mating dance

 

[BallinCrew10]

What you're seeing is the clowns "fighting" for dominance. The clowns have a very weird social/mating habit. They are all born male and the fighting is actually determining which one becomes female (the female will become slightly larger than the male, hence the small one "twiching" and the bigger one nipping at it). In a group they have one female and the rest are all male, should the female die, get eaten, leave ect. The whole process starts over again. Soon after the "fighting" stops you will notice they spend a lot of time close together. You now have a mating pair of clowns and will see spawing as soon as they find a suitable place to lay their eggs. Then dad hangs around the eggs to protect them (he won't kill anything just chases fish or even your hand away). It is a slightly difficult and time consuming job to raise the fry though. Some do it, I don't. Its your call. Congrats!!

 

[Epuerto]

You just finished this post! =P good job

 

[BallinCrew10]

Thanks epuerto, I like to research the things I put in my tank.
And actually I missed some things haha. Before they lay the eggs you will see them working together to clean the rock or w.e it is they choose to lay their eggs on, this is a good indication that spawning is coming soon. They will move sand with their mouthes or by turning sideways and swimming hard clearing any sand in the way. When the eggs are laid dad will continue to keep the area clean and "blow" water over the eggs to keep them oxygenated. I think that's everything I know about it lol

 

[Epuerto]

Wow lol overkill =P

 

[BallinCrew10]

Wow lol overkill =P

I told you..CDO lol. I'd rather know too much about it than nothing at all.

 

[Epuerto]

Thats so true lol i dont have "CDO" but im that way 2

 

[Spartachris]

Great amount of info! Thanks!

 

[BallinCrew10]

No problem. Good luck and be patient, it took my clowns a little over a year to become a mated pair.