I need clownfish help!

[ZachariahBeanzz]

Hi, I’ve recently gotten a new clownfish for my 20g AIO. I already had one clownfish and an orchid Dottyback. I researched a little bit to see if adding another clownfish of the same type would be fine (same type meaning also occ) My old clownfish was a Darwin, and my new one is a Wyoming white. From what I saw, since they’re both occ, they would be fine together. When getting the fish, I also asked the person who was bagging my fish the same question, and they said it would be okay. For the first couple days they actually seemed to do very well together, no fighting or anything that even might’ve been playful, they were almost always together. However, in the last couple of days, I’ve noticed that the Wyoming white has been bullying the Darwin, hes is now hiding in different places. Is this just the clowns deciding who’s the dominate one, or something different?
PS. The Wyoming white is also smaller, if that makes a difference

 

[Sharkbait19]

How close in size are the two? How long has either one been alone? This sounds like fighting for dominance (though it is weird that it’s the smaller one doing the bullying). Ideally, they will figure it out, but have a backup plan ready if it gets worse.

 

[ZachariahBeanzz]

How close in size are the two? How long has either one been alone? This sounds like fighting for dominance (though it is weird that it’s the smaller one doing the bullying). Ideally, they will figure it out, but have a backup plan ready if it gets worse.

The clowns are fairly similar, the Wyoming white is like 3/4 the size of the Darwin. And what should I do for a backup plan? I don’t have another tank to put it in, would I have to sell it?

 

[Shnetts]

You could put one in a breeder box for a few days so they get a little more comfortable with each other

 

[kevgib67]

^ This and before you return it change up the aquascape a bit.

 

[commod0re]

I’ve read that it can be better to introduce a smaller one so they don’t have to fight over who gets to become the female.

If worse comes to worst, the LFS might let you trade out for a different one

 

[ZachariahBeanzz]

^ This and before you return it change up the aquascape a bit.

I unfortunately can’t really change the aqua scape all that much, it’s all glued down together

 

[Sharkbait19]

Moving larger structures around (or adding more rock) can help. I agree about the breeder box. I’ve seen both outcomes in my tanks where the two either figure it out or one kills the other. If you start seeing relentless chasing or excessive fin damage, I would bring the aggressor back to the LFS in favor of a smaller, more peaceful one.

 

[littlefoxx]

They seem really close in size. Whats probably happening is they are fighting for who will become female. Normal clown stuff