Clowns

[ReefScrub]

So I have a 1 year old percula clown fish. She had a mate, he perished. I decided to order another true perc, after acclimation, qt, and acclimation again I decided it was time to introduce him to the DT. Big mistake. He's 1/3 the size of the established clown and she tore into him. Had his fin in her mouth as she spun him around the tank. I removed him and placed him in a breeder so his fin can repair. Any suggestions on how to get her to not kill him if I release him from the breeder?


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[Sniperhank]

There are no guarantees to make a fish calm down like that. They can be aggressive and yours doesn't want to have anything to do with another clown.


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[Beej1254]

This is the very reason I joined this forum. When you have these outright acts of aggression it will almost never end well. Even when I thought my past clowns were doing well together I'd wake up finding one clinging to life while the other had already died.

I've never seen these situations get better and after my experiences if a new addition was being attacked like that I'd remove it and take it back to the store. I've literally had fish in my tank for minutes before removing them and taking them back.

Things you could try when adding a new fish especially a second fish of the same type are feeding your tank well before hand. Release the new fish in the opposite end of the tank from your established fish's territory. Release the fish at night after lights out. And I like to use a netted breeder box in my tank where after I acclimate I let the fish stay in there for a few days. This gives me a chance to feed it and expose it to the other fish while it's protected and if needed easy to remove.


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[ReefScrub]

This was my solution for now. Little guy in breeder box.


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[Chrisc0930]

How long was it in the tank before your other fish showed it's aggression? I've had that happen with my clowns in the past and it's just the other clown showing it's dominance. A good rule of thumb is to introduce clowns in pairs, especially if you have one in there who is already established. This helps the picking on only one clown. You an keep it separated for now but I'm afraid that the aggression won't stop until one of two things happen. A. The other clown will submit to your original and become a mated pair, or B. Your clown will kill the new one. My best suggestion is to keep that new clown well fed or even introduce another to take off some of the stress.

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