Clownfish reintroduction

[jmc64]

Hi All,

I’m after some advice on reintroducing two clownfish,

I had one clownfish to start with and then a few weeks later I added a second, turns out the second one became a bit of a bully and caused the first one so much stress it stopped eating. When I noticed he wasn’t eating, I put the bully in a breeder net and then because I needed to monitor the one that wasn’t eating, he also went into a breeder net (at this point my tank basically looked like a prison!)

A week later they are both still in the nets and the stressed one has started eating again. I’d like to give it another week or so to build him up again before I release him. So my question is, what order should I release them? I was thinking the stressed one first and then maybe after a few days/a week release the bully? Then watch them obviously to see if the bullying starts again.

I’d appreciate any thoughts/advice, this clownfish pairing is a complicated business

 

[Channas]

Can they see eachother? And i would release the stressed one first and i would also rearrange the rock work once its time to release the other one

 

[jmc64]

Thank you, Yes they will be able to see each other.
Unfortunately I’m not able to rearrange the rocks it’s not a big tank and the angle of everything means I can’t really move stuff around

 

[Channas]

I see, do you have a anemone in the tank for them?

 

[exnisstech]

Are you sure both are male or one male and one female. I don't think changing the tank around will help. 2 clownfish are going to pair or one will most likely end up dead. Its just the way of clown fish. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone keeping two females. Two males and one is going transition to female and the other will submit and remain male or one will die IME

 

[Channas]

Yes i seccond this, but if they are young its most likley still just 2 males fighting over WHO becomes a female

 

[jmc64]

I don’t know about the original one (this is all still very new to me) but when I got the second one, the shop told me it was definitely a male (the bully)

 

[Largeangels]

What kind of clowns and what size is the old vs new? The beat up one should be the one released in the tank and the bully be the one in clear acclimation box. Then observe how they react to each other. If it seems ok then let the bully be in there (assuming it is big enough) for a week. Release and keep a close eye out.

Having the new clown attack the old clown is never a good sign in terms of pairing. It may not work.

Females are usually the bullies.

 

[jmc64]

They are both ocellaris, very difficult to tell which is bigger, maybe the new one slightly