Big clown beating up little clown

[BrightReefer]

I’ve have the same two clowns since October /November of last year. My smaller clown isn’t looking so good and the bigger clown is beating up on the little one. Starting to looked stressed. Any tips? On letting the little one recover.

The bigger one has always been a knob. But this is different the little one is looking beat.

 

[kitti-fish]

Best bet would try to put the smaller one in an acclimation box and let the female get used to him. Were they introduced around the same time?

 

[Largeangels]

Put the bigger one in an acclimation box for a week or so and see the interaction and test it again. Make sure the little one has lots of places it can hide from the big one. If there is torn don’s again it may not work. It’s not uncommon for this to happen as they get bigger.

 

[Privateye]

I have a trick for this that has worked several times for me and my friends. Hopefully it works for you too.

Just net them out and put them in a bucket with maybe 2-3 gallons of tank water in it. Leave them in there for 10 minutes, but you can feel free to be around them. Then just put them and the water back in the tank.

The idea is that in this stressful state, they bond. I haven't seen it fail yet but I've only tried it 3-4 times (all with ocellaris clowns). My buddy reached out and tried it about 5 years ago (the most-recent instance) and his pair is still bonded.

I wish you luck!

 

[BrightReefer]

I have a trick for this that has worked several times for me and my friends. Hopefully it works for you too.

Just net them out and put them in a bucket with maybe 2-3 gallons of tank water in it. Leave them in there for 10 minutes, but you can feel free to be around them. Then just put them and the water back in the tank.

The idea is that in this stressful state, they bond. I haven't seen it fail yet but I've only tried it 3-4 times (all with ocellaris clowns). My buddy reached out and tried it about 5 years ago (the most-recent instance) and his pair is still bonded.

I wish you luck!

That stopped it last night. I’m at work now so I will have to see how it goes. Thanks for the tips guys! Heck netting them was probably stressful enough.

 

[BrightReefer]

Best bet would try to put the smaller one in an acclimation box and let the female get used to him. Were they introduced around the same time?

About 1-2 month span.

 

[kitti-fish]

Best bet would try to put the smaller one in an acclimation box and let the female get used to him. Were they introduced around the same time?

About 1-2 month span.

That’s still pretty early I’ve had clowns fight for months and settle down afterward. They still “correct” the male. I think you’ll have to give it a bit more time and just watch them.

 

[Blue-eyed Clowns]

Sorry the little one is taking a beating. Adding them a month or two apart is a classic setup for this; the first fish often decides the whole tank is theirs, and the second never quite gets equal footing.

A few of the tips already posted are solid (acclimation box, extra hides, the bucket reset). Since the bucket trick calmed things overnight, keep watching for a few days. If the chasing comes back hard, I'd park the bigger one in an acclimation box for a week so the little one can claim some space, then try them together again with lights low.

For recovery on the beaten fish:
- Make sure it's still eating. Soft frozen or a small pellet it already knows helps it bounce back.
- Watch for cloudy eyes, fuzzy patches, or clamped fins that get worse; scrapes can pick up a secondary infection.
- Give it real cover: rock caves, not just open sand. If it has nowhere to duck, the bullying doesn't stop.

If after a solid try (box, hides, and time) the big one still tears it up every day, they may not be a pair. At that point a permanent split is kinder than forcing it. Some clowns just don't settle once that hierarchy goes sideways.

Mike / Blue-Eyed Clowns