Clownfishes fighting

[St3fan]

I've had this guys for more than 4 months, the one on the left is about 1 cm bigger than the one on the right (they were both super young when i got them) this morning for the first time since i got them i saw the fighting, but they wer super agressive and the agression came from both of them not only the bigger one i suspect being the female. The bigger one just started hosting an anemone ( which also i could use sone of your help with, the nem closed uo in the evening after the first day of hosting, i think ne clown was overly aggressive, can the clown kill my anemone? What should i do in this case, today the nem seems to be already better than yesterday night.) thanks in advance if you have any suggestions let me know.

 

[Baldyreef]

I've had this guys for more than 4 months, the one on the left is about 1 cm bigger than the one on the right (they were both super young when i got them) this morning for the first time since i got them i saw the fighting, but they wer super agressive and the agression came from both of them not only the bigger one i suspect being the female. The bigger one just started hosting an anemone ( which also i could use sone of your help with, the nem closed uo in the evening after the first day of hosting, i think ne clown was overly aggressive, can the clown kill my anemone? What should i do in this case, today the nem seems to be already better than yesterday night.) thanks in advance if you have any suggestions let me know.

the clowns could have broken up as a pair and begun fighting for dominance, the clownfish can kill the anenome do you have any way to separate the clowns and/or the nem

 

[Subsea]

I see this is your first post to r2r and I gather this is your first marine tank. How big is tank? Also post a full tank shot under white light.

Would you post a close up of anemone with white light and no blues.?

I don’t see any damage and I would let fish work it out. I suspect you have two males deciding who will be alpha male.

Consider starting a tank journal in members tank forum.

 

[Baldyreef]

I agree with the point subsea made, they are fighting for dominance and deciding who will become the dominant female, sometimes it can get rough so I would still keep observation for any major injuries that could be inflicted

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

I'm in agreement with the other two posters above, but I'll add a couple thoughts that I hope will help:

I've had this guys for more than 4 months, the one on the left is about 1 cm bigger than the one on the right (they were both super young when i got them)

It's easier for them to establish dominance if one if quite a bit bigger than the other. If one is just a CM larger, they may both still be fighting to be the dominant fish.

this morning for the first time since i got them i saw the fighting

Often, you don't see the aggression, but it's happening when you're not there to see it. When you're in the room, the Clowns are focused on begging you for more food. Try setting up your phone camera to video the fish, and walk out of the room, I think you'll see them going at it on the video.

but they wer super agressive and the agression came from both of them not only the bigger one i suspect being the female.

Again, I think this is because they are similar in size.

As mentioned, post some clear pics under white light of the anemone in distress, and I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

I hope this helps!

 

[exnisstech]

If you haven't had this behavior before then they have not paired and are trying to decide who will become female. Its what happens when two small clowns are added at the same time. Usually they figure it out but it can end in the death of one. Most LFS and many hobbiest say to add two at once and let them figure it out so that's what most people do and then they wonder why their fish are fighting all of a sudden.

 

[St3fan]

I see this is your first post to r2r and I gather this is your first marine tank. How big is tank? Also post a full tank shot under white light.

Would you post a close up of anemone with white light and no blues.?

I don’t see any damage and I would let fish work it out. I suspect you have two males deciding who will be alpha male.

Consider starting a tank journal in members tank forum.

I see this is your first post to r2r and I gather this is your first marine tank. How big is tank? Also post a full tank shot under white light.

Would you post a close up of anemone with white light and no blues.?

I don’t see any damage and I would let fish work it out. I suspect you have two males deciding who will be alpha male.

Consider starting a tank journal in members tank forum.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, today the nems opened up as usual, the bigger clown is still hosting them and they are not closing as yesterday, while for the clowns i have no idea why this morning they went at it that hard, during the whole day today they havent bothered each other and stayed pretty close together. Ill keep you updated. Ill look into doing the tank journal for sure. The tank is 10 months old and it is my first reef acquarium, ive had plenty more and still do have plenty more fresh water ones, so about rhe basiscs ive had. It's a 25g tank. If i see to mich agression i can separate them without problems i have another 10g acquarium well established that i can use temporerly. I dont have close ups pf the acquarium with white light, the sand is crisp since i have about 5 nassarius and a sand sifting starfish, ive had some dynos which i tried many ways to fight but only the uv sterilizer worked, and since then the sand has been crisp ahaha

 

[St3fan]

I agree with the point subsea made, they are fighting for dominance and deciding who will become the dominant female, sometimes it can get rough so I would still keep observation for any major injuries that could be inflicted

As far as injuries i dont see chipped fins or anything like that yet, they seemed more of headbutts than biting

 

[St3fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

I'm in agreement with the other two posters above, but I'll add a couple thoughts that I hope will help:

It's easier for them to establish dominance if one if quite a bit bigger than the other. If one is just a CM larger, they may both still be fighting to be the dominant fish.


Often, you don't see the aggression, but it's happening when you're not there to see it. When you're in the room, the Clowns are focused on begging you for more food. Try setting up your phone camera to video the fish, and walk out of the room, I think you'll see them going at it on the video.


Again, I think this is because they are similar in size.

As mentioned, post some clear pics under white light of the anemone in distress, and I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

I hope this helps!

Other than the picture i posted of the nem i dont have others, because it was evening when lights went out that i noticed them being different, when i woke up they were back to normal, what im getting is that they are getting used to getting hosted.

 

[St3fan]

If you haven't had this behavior before then they have not paired and are trying to decide who will become female. Its what happens when two small clowns are added at the same time. Usually they figure it out but it can end in the death of one. Most LFS and many hobbiest say to add two at once and let them figure it out so that's what most people do and then they wonder why their fish are fighting all of a sudden.

Ye, im keeping a close eye on them, since im home from work i have so much free time and the acquarium is in my studio where i spend most of my time. Ive had this behaviour when i first introduced them in the tank, but it's been more than 4 months now and i was caught off guard yesterday when i saw them going at eachother even harder than the first time, with the bigger one seemingly winning at the end