Clownfish pairing

snyderman99 · Jul 2, 2025

Hey everyone!

I have a pair of clownfish I’m trying to pair up. The bigger clownfish is sometimes going after the smaller one. The smaller one is twitching so I think they are being is missing to the female. Any tips to help them not fight? I have a breeder box I could put the female into or should I just let it run its course. I can send a video of the smaller to see if he is getting beat up a little to much. It’s hard for me to tell because I’m new to this.

Thank you!

bluemon · Jul 2, 2025

the twitching is a good sign. It's showing that it is submissive to the other dominant fish.

While pairing up, a bit of aggression is not unusual as they try to show dominance. I would just let them be and not intervene unless the aggression becomes really serious.

snyderman99 · Jul 2, 2025

bluemon said:
the twitching is a good sign. It's showing that it is submissive to the other dominant fish.

While pairing up, a bit of aggression is not unusual as they try to show dominance. I would just let them be and not intervene unless the aggression becomes really serious.

How will I know if it’s getting to serious? It’s hard to see injuries on them

snyderman99 · Jul 2, 2025

bluemon said:
the twitching is a good sign. It's showing that it is submissive to the other dominant fish.

While pairing up, a bit of aggression is not unusual as they try to show dominance. I would just let them be and not intervene unless the aggression becomes really serious.

Here’s a video. It’s the longest interaction I’ve seen so far. The bigger one keep going back but the smaller one still seems submissive. Do you see any injuries on him? Or does this all look normal

bluemon · Jul 2, 2025

snyderman99 said:
Here’s a video. It’s the longest interaction I’ve seen so far. The bigger one keep going back but the smaller one still seems submissive. Do you see any injuries on him? Or does this all look normal

still seems innocuous to me. I wouldn't say it's serious unless I see one with an open sore, or on the ground breathing hard, etc. Clownfish can take a beating and recover well so I wouldn't be too worried for now.