Clownfish Aggression

[kobe6710]

My current situation in my Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon.

Female storm clown (pictured) is a huge bully. I have a pair of ocellaris clowns. Didn’t think my they would ever pair due to the aggression but they have been paired for about a month now. Recently added a fire shrimp and the female relentlessly attacked the shrimp as soon as it was placed in the tank. I rigged this setup for now. My plan after researching is to isolate the newcomer, then isolate the female clownfish afterwards.

The clownfish lived happily with a blenny in the 13 gallon for a couple months until I lost it unfortunately when the blenny jumped through a crevice in my lid. They also coincide peacefully with a peppermint shrimp and have been with a pistol shrimp in a 15 gallon as well with no problems.

Unfortunately the clownfish is beyond difficult to catch and my DIY trap efforts have been futile as of yet. Any suggestions or similar experiences? Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It should be rather easy to catch a fish in that size tank, just empty the water down to a few inches. They somewhat lose ability to swim when the water is too shallow.

 

[BryanM]

Agreed on the draining.

I bought one of these that you can bait with food. Walk away, let them eat from in there a few times, boom.

Assembled Acrylic Fish Trap

Bubble Magus Fish Traps are a safe and effective solution for removing fish from your display without requiring a complete teardown of your aquascape. Whether relocating an aggressive fish, or removing them for temporary quarantine and treatment, using a fish trap can make the process much...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[exnisstech]

May be best to just resign yourself to keeping a pair of clowns. Its not a lot of room for much more unless the clowns allow it.

 

[kobe6710]

It should be rather easy to catch a fish in that size tank, just empty the water down to a few inches. They somewhat lose ability to swim when the water is too shallow.

Thank you, I will try this.

 

[kobe6710]

May be best to just resign yourself to keeping a pair of clowns. Its not a lot of room for much more unless the clowns allow it.

I added the larger clownfish last, which is now female. Realizing now that after my blenny passed I don’t think I can put in any other fish unfortunately. They got along because the blenny was there first imo. The other clown is half her size so I’m probably going to rehome the larger one if I can

 

[exnisstech]

The smaller one will turn female if you remove the current female. I'm pretty sure they all transition to female if kept solo but i could be wrong.