clownfish behavior

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Fluff

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Apr 30, 2004
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West Virginia
Hey all you clownfish experts. I have two false percs that are acting odd. I'm not sure if they are pairing up or if it's aggression. I bought them at the same time at the same size and one is just a tad smaller now. From what I've read that, seems right. I've noticed the bigger one bullying the smaller one though, biting at it in the belly area. The smaller one will then do that sideways shake. I've seen them both doing the sideways dance but only one is being bitey. Is this normal for a pairing or is one just being ornery? They've always been inseparable and even share an anemone. TIA
 
Hi, fluff I have two false percs also acting that way, one is bullying the other. I have them QT right now. I bought them three weeks ago. However, don't worry because that's normal. That means a pecking order is established. They'll pair up in time when they get bigger. The larger fish, which will be the female of the pair will continue to bully the smaller fish, which will be the male. However, she shouldn't become overly aggressive and kill him, at least in most cases. As I learned, I wouldn't add any more percs to the tank because then you'll have aggression problems. As a rule, it's best to either keep a single clownfish or a pair of clowns of the same species per tank. Good luck!
 
That is absolutely normal. The dominance is being established. It should settle in time with bigger more aggressive one becoming the dominant female.
How long have they been together?
 
Cool. Thanks for your responses.
quarryshark- I've had them for about two months I guess.
It's kinda what I figured but it's nice to have you all confirm it for me. They aren't hurting each other so, I'll let them have at it. (y)
 
I've had mine for almost a year and they still do that little shake dance sometimes . Its pretty funny. :)
 
I had a pretty weird thing happen with my clowns. I bought a pair and added them to my tank together. They established their pecking order and one became slightly larger and was the boss. After a little while, the female became ill and lost some of her size. I still don't know what heppened to her....she seemed to recover after a little while though. Well, since she was sick and got smaller, the other one got larger and started bullying the female around. (I am assuming they switched when the original female got sick)

Well, it was almost like the new female was getting the other one back for always being aggressive to it because she eventually killed it. She would bully it all the time. Now im worried about adding another clown to the mix.....If I decide to replace it, im not sure if I should get a bigger one or a smaller one. Any suggestions?
 
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