mpatterson42
Well-Known Member
I currently have one of my two clownfish in the refugium sump for bullying my other clownfish, I'm looking for advice on how (and if) I should put him back in the display tank.
I got a percula (Cheeto) and darwin (Pepper) clownfish last December. They were both very small when I got them. They were the first two fish in my 40 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump. Since the moment I put them in they were always together. There was always a little aggression between the two, but after a little fight they'd always go back to swimming together. I was expecting Cheeto to turn into a female, they were always the one who seemed to be the aggressor and was getting a little bigger than Pepper.
I've added several other fishes to the tank (firefish, royal gramma, starry blenny, blue spotted puffer, mandarin dragonet) since then and the clownfish don't care about any of them at all.
Starting about a month ago things changed, Pepper seemed to be the one who was being aggressive to Cheeto and was starting to get bigger than Pepper. A few weeks ago I saw Pepper chasing Cheeto around the tank non stop. It got to the point where Cheeto began hiding in the bottom of the rocks, but Pepper would seek him out and start chasing him again. Cheeto was still eating when I put food in so I just figured they were working things out between them. Last weekend I was watching both after feeding and I saw Pepper bite Cheeto's abdomen and start dragging him around the tank. I turned off all the pumps, took the lid off and spent a good hour trying to catch Pepper but they kept getting away in the rock work. Cheeto came out during this time and started swimming with Pepper so I was hoping maybe things would calm down.
Yesterday I noticed Cheeto didn't come out at all during feeding time and I was really worried and not sure what I would do. Then after all the food was gone Cheeto came out and he looked terrible. He was shedding his slime coat like crazy, he looked like a ghost, I knew if I didn't get him out he was going to die. I ended up removing about 80% of the aquascape from the tank (upsetting all the fish in the process) but I was finally able to capture Pepper and I put him in the refugium section of my sump.
I'm not sure what to do now, I've seen people mentioning separating the fish for about a week and then adding them back in and that will reset their aggression, but I'm terrified Pepper will go after Cheeto again and kill him. I do have an acclimation box as well, I could do a week in the sump and a week in the tank and see what things are like, but what if everything is fine until I release Pepper and they go after Cheeto ago? I'll probably have to take my whole tank apart again if I want to catch him.
An advise is appreciated!
I got a percula (Cheeto) and darwin (Pepper) clownfish last December. They were both very small when I got them. They were the first two fish in my 40 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump. Since the moment I put them in they were always together. There was always a little aggression between the two, but after a little fight they'd always go back to swimming together. I was expecting Cheeto to turn into a female, they were always the one who seemed to be the aggressor and was getting a little bigger than Pepper.
I've added several other fishes to the tank (firefish, royal gramma, starry blenny, blue spotted puffer, mandarin dragonet) since then and the clownfish don't care about any of them at all.
Starting about a month ago things changed, Pepper seemed to be the one who was being aggressive to Cheeto and was starting to get bigger than Pepper. A few weeks ago I saw Pepper chasing Cheeto around the tank non stop. It got to the point where Cheeto began hiding in the bottom of the rocks, but Pepper would seek him out and start chasing him again. Cheeto was still eating when I put food in so I just figured they were working things out between them. Last weekend I was watching both after feeding and I saw Pepper bite Cheeto's abdomen and start dragging him around the tank. I turned off all the pumps, took the lid off and spent a good hour trying to catch Pepper but they kept getting away in the rock work. Cheeto came out during this time and started swimming with Pepper so I was hoping maybe things would calm down.
Yesterday I noticed Cheeto didn't come out at all during feeding time and I was really worried and not sure what I would do. Then after all the food was gone Cheeto came out and he looked terrible. He was shedding his slime coat like crazy, he looked like a ghost, I knew if I didn't get him out he was going to die. I ended up removing about 80% of the aquascape from the tank (upsetting all the fish in the process) but I was finally able to capture Pepper and I put him in the refugium section of my sump.
I'm not sure what to do now, I've seen people mentioning separating the fish for about a week and then adding them back in and that will reset their aggression, but I'm terrified Pepper will go after Cheeto again and kill him. I do have an acclimation box as well, I could do a week in the sump and a week in the tank and see what things are like, but what if everything is fine until I release Pepper and they go after Cheeto ago? I'll probably have to take my whole tank apart again if I want to catch him.
An advise is appreciated!
