crazy female clownfish

Purplelobst92 · Oct 13, 2019

I have a female clownfish that has been paired with a male for over a year, shes always been a bit mean to say the least but recently she has been very aggressive, she has ripped his fins up a bit, its weird though because she will go back to hanging out with him after brutalizing him, the agression gets the worse when im looking into the tank presumably due to her wanting to compete with him for food, im not sure what to do i dont want to have to remove the male but if i have to, in order to keep him alive i will... maybe i just got unlucky with a mean female clown that will never truly accept her mate?

The Aquatic Arsenal · Oct 13, 2019

I wouldn't say that. How old is she do you think? Clowns are funny fish though.

Purplelobst92 · Oct 13, 2019

The Aquatic Arsenal said:
I wouldn't say that. How old is she do you think? Clowns are funny fish though.

she is probably about 2 years old, she is displaying her ovipositor and has been displaying breeding behavior with the male but there has been some instances where she has injured him pretty bad, one time she actually made a gash in his side that luckily healed but ive witnessed her grab him with her jaws and shake him and let him go, then go back to acting like nothing happened.... im thinking she is just insane poor male has to put up with being beaten to a pulp every once in a while, shes a Wyoming white clown.

MERKEY · Oct 13, 2019

I am no fish counselor but I would say she doesnt like him and doesnt want him as a mate.

Perhaps he just isn't for her. You cant make every dog have puppies....not sure how that analogy works here but I hope you get it

The Aquatic Arsenal · Oct 13, 2019

Do you have a sump you could put her in for a day or two? Even a breeding net would work. Put her in a time out if you can and see if that changes her behavior when you put her back in with the male.

MERKEY · Oct 13, 2019

The Aquatic Arsenal said:
Do you have a sump you could put her in for a day or two? Even a breeding net would work. Put her in a time out if you can and see if that changes her behavior when you put her back in with the male.

Even a Tupperware container floating in your tank would give her a time out.

champyeti · Oct 13, 2019

Purplelobst92 said:
ive witnessed her grab him with her jaws and shake him and let him go, then go back to acting like nothing happened....

Both of my females have done this to their mate at least once. Looked like WWE smackdown the first time, and neither of my females is particularly aggressive. That said, they both only did this during the early stages of pairing up. If they were still flinging the poor guy around a year in, I'd be concerned.

Is the male pale/hiding? If he himself doesn't seem overly bothered by her aggression that may just be within the bounds of 'just clown things' as concerning to us as it is.

Peace River · Oct 13, 2019

Clowns are wired for hierarchy to the core and use aggression at varying levels to establish and maintain it. If the male isn't doing what she wants or isn't appropriately submission then she will let him know. You can rearrange the aquascaping for a distraction or add more places for him to hide, but I would be hesitant to remove the female for any length of time because it could restart the hierarchy process and actually increase later aggression. If he needs time to heal from a body wound, infections (including in the fins), or his life is threatened then alternate steps can be taken. Good luck - I know that it can sometime be tough for you and for them as the process unfolds.

Purplelobst92 · Oct 13, 2019

champyeti said:
Both of my females have done this to their mate at least once. Looked like WWE smackdown the first time, and neither of my females is particularly aggressive. That said, they both only did this during the early stages of pairing up. If they were still flinging the poor guy around a year in, I'd be concerned.

Is the male pale/hiding? If he himself doesn't seem overly bothered by her aggression that may just be within the bounds of 'just clown things' as concerning to us as it is.

the male is healthy follows her around, shows submissive behavior, eats well, isnt pale he shows me all the signs that he has paired with her minus getting his butt kicked....

Purplelobst92 · Oct 13, 2019

MERKEY said:
I am no fish counselor but I would say she doesnt like him and doesnt want him as a mate.

Perhaps he just isn't for her. You cant make every dog have puppies....not sure how that analogy works here but I hope you get it

yeah im worried i just a crazy female shes always been super aggressive even to me, she jumped out of my tank like free willy trying to bite my arm once shes that mean... i dont even need to have my hand in the tank, if i put my face directly above the water she tries to jump out and bite me im not even kidding, ive had alot of clownfish over the years and this one is the meanest of the bunch, i love her though so im def not getting rid of the little shark

Peace River · Oct 13, 2019

Purplelobst92 said:
the male is healthy follows her around, shows submissive behavior, eats well, isnt pale he shows me all the signs that he has paired with her minus getting his butt kicked....

Unfortunately that isn't abnormal clown behavior.

Jesterrace · Oct 13, 2019

Purplelobst92 said:
yeah im worried i just a crazy female shes always been super aggressive even to me, she jumped out of my tank like free willy trying to bite my arm once shes that mean... i dont even need to have my hand in the tank, if i put my face directly above the water she tries to jump out and bite me im not even kidding, ive had alot of clownfish over the years and this one is the meanest of the bunch, i love her though so im def not getting rid of the little shark

What kind of clownfish is it?

Purplelobst92 · Oct 13, 2019

Jesterrace said:
What kind of clownfish is it?

wyoming white oscellaris

Silverfish · Oct 13, 2019

Just a side note but could that super-aggression be caused by over breeding and much smaller genetic variability. There seems to be normal aggression and then crazy %#@$& aggression. No offense intended.
Hope it gets better for you all!