Fire Goby with aggressive Clowns

[LaserKiwi]

Hi all,

At the beginning of the year I brought home two juvenile Ocellaris Clownfish, and a few months later introduced a Fire Goby.

Things were going well, they've all been growing and hanging out, but in the last day my Fire Goby has disappeared, the larger Clown has a notch in on of her fins, and she's being very aggressive with the male. I'm hoping that the Goby is just hiding out while the female Clown throws her weight around, but should I be more concerned or intervene in some way?

 

[fishywishy]

There a good chance it’s just hiding. They are very good at hiding it tight spaces when they’re scared.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

how big is the tank..... IMO anything less than 20 gallons presents a risk of aggression from clowns. Clowns can be aggressive even in a bigger tank, but the smaller the tank the worse it is.

 

[LaserKiwi]

how big is the tank..... IMO anything less than 20 gallons presents a risk of aggression from clowns. Clowns can be aggressive even in a bigger tank, but the smaller the tank the worse it is.

The tank is a 20 gallon; the clowns tend to stick around a pipe on the far end of the tank, and the goby usually hangs out on the opposite side, where he likes to dart into the rockwork "island" I made whenever he gets spooked.

I've never seen the clowns be aggressive towards the goby, but in the last two days - the same amount of time since I last saw the goby - the larger clown has had a tear in her front dorsal fin and has been really aggressive towards the smaller clown.