Ocellaris pair - should I separate them?

Quandale applesauce

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2026
Messages
21
Reaction score
8
What state or country do you live in
North Carolina
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I bought a pair of long fin ocellaris from my LFS 4 weeks ago. They are aquacultured and had been the only fish in their tank at the store for over a month. I have them in a 100gallon 4 foot tank with a canary blenny, a royal gramma, two fire fish and a hector's goby.

One is a little larger than the other. They were initially well behaved but in the last 1-2 weeks the larger one has become more aggressive. They shutter in front of each other and display and sometimes the smaller goes after the bigger one. I have attached a video. The larger one is darker in coloration. I think this is typical pairing behavior but I am concerned about the frayed fins on the smaller. Sometimes I see them on opposite ends of the tank. Then the larger one decides she wants to be aggressive and darts over.

My question is- at what point do I separate them and how do I reintroduce them? I don't want the smaller one injured or stressed to cause illness.

Thank you
QA

 
Lip locking, fin grabbing ,damage to smaller one that you are not seeing happen. til then let them work it out IMO
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHAT KIND OF HAPPY ACCIDENT(S) HAVE YOU HAD IN YOUR REEF?

  • Stable parameters over time

    Votes: 31 56.4%
  • Consistent coral growth

    Votes: 17 30.9%
  • Fish and inverts are settled

    Votes: 10 18.2%
  • The tank has moved past its ugly stages

    Votes: 15 27.3%
  • It has survived a major setback

    Votes: 3 5.5%
  • At least six months old

    Votes: 5 9.1%
  • At least one year old

    Votes: 10 18.2%
  • Stop worrying about age—it’s about stability

    Votes: 14 25.5%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 2 3.6%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new