Can't force love..

[FloridaMan007]

I've had both of these Gladiator Mocha Clownfish in my new 20g cube for just over a month now.

I'm scrambling because I was not prepared for what has been happening the last few days.. Came home from work on Friday to my clownfish not getting along.

Over the last few days, the dominant clown had started chasing the smaller a bit more than usual. Friday, when I came home, it was chasing the other while trying to nip at it. It got to the point where I felt I had to intervene.

Was only able to capture the stressed clown at first because he was hiding next to the nozzle of the return pump nozzle at the surface trying to catch his breath.

Even after catching and isolating the weaker/smaller twice, once for 2 hours and another time for half an hour, he still gets bullied into hiding almost immediately.

This morning once they woke up and started getting active again, the chase continued. Little clown seems to have started loosing some of his color. Almost like its fading away. Im assuming this is stress related.

My wife and I wanted to catch the aggressive clownfish from the get go, but could never catch him, as he wasn't tired like the smaller clown. Well I got my chance this morning when the big one chased the other into the top corner of the tank and I got both of then in my net. Let the smaller one out and put the aggressor in the breeder net.

Now Im trying to figure out what the right move is. If there's anything you'd like to know before making recommendations, please ask.



What do I do?

 

[VintageReefer]

Clowns are territorial and aggressive. I have one in my 15g and he won’t tolerate other fish or even my hand. Bites me every single time I have to put my hand in for any reason. He’s honestly a jerk and I wish I got a few smaller peaceful fish instead

 

[FloridaMan007]

Clowns are territorial and aggressive. I have one in my 15g and he won’t tolerate other fish or even my hand. Bites me every single time I have to put my hand in for any reason. He’s honestly a jerk and I wish I got a few smaller peaceful fish instead

Should I not rule out the possibility that my best plan of action is returning the aggressor to my LFS? If that ends up being the case, can I keep the other in the tank, solo, without worry?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Nice cube. Sorry to hear about the extreme aggression. :(

You certainly could keep just the one Clown, if you wanted. One thing that may or may not work is to get a small third fish (to act as a "dither" fish), so your mean Clown is not as focused on harassing his fellow Clown. Something like a Yellow Tail Damsel, or a Fang Blenny. Let us know how it all works out for you.

 

[FloridaMan007]

Nice cube. Sorry to hear about the extreme aggression. :(

You certainly could keep just the one Clown, if you wanted. One thing that may or may not work is to get a small third fish (to act as a "dither" fish), so your mean Clown is not as focused on harassing his fellow Clown. Something like a Yellow Tail Damsel, or a Fang Blenny. Let us know how it all works out for you.

Ive got a Purple Firefish in the tank with them. I guess hes not distracting enough?

On the bright side. I can tell by the behavior of the smaller clown that he's already enjoying the peace and quiet of his bully being secluded. He's swimming freely around the tank, eating again, and his color is already coming back...