Submissive Ocellaris - sick or injured?

[sm0ggers]

Looking for help IDing the body damage/discoloration in my young clown. He has been the obvious submissive to his counterpart, a black and white ocellaris that was slightly larger (added simultaneously 4 months ago). "She" mostly chases "him" around and sometimes gets a nip in, but never locking mouths. The orange guy never really fights back, but the bullying never seems to be out of the realm of normal for clowns.

I don't think this is coral sting damage as the only corals in the tank are a small zoa, Xenia, and GSP. This clown sometimes hides in the GSP for a few seconds but doesn't seem to be hosting it.

He has fin loss plus some dark and pale discoloration. The large black spot on both sides of his lower tail is also new. Is this fin damage from his tankmate, or a disease/parasite/fungus?

Thanks guys



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When I got him 4 months ago

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looking for help IDing the body damage/discoloration in my young clown. He has been the obvious submissive to his counterpart, a black and white ocellaris that was slightly larger (added simultaneously 4 months ago). "She" mostly chases "him" around and sometimes gets a nip in, but never locking mouths. The orange guy never really fights back, but the bullying never seems to be out of the realm of normal for clowns.

I don't think this is coral sting damage as the only corals in the tank are a small zoa, Xenia, and GSP. This clown sometimes hides in the GSP for a few seconds but doesn't seem to be hosting it.

He has fin loss plus some dark and pale discoloration. The large black spot on both sides of his lower tail is also new. Is this fin damage from his tankmate, or a disease/parasite/fungus?

Thanks guys



Today - lights off


Tonight - lights on



When I got him 4 months ago

Unfortunately, this is often a norm and known as clownfish hierarchy whereas female clownfish are much more dominant than the males. They become greedy and try to eat most of the food that enters the tank and often become aggressive to protect their home which may be an anemone, a nesting area, or the entire tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its areas, you likely have a female clown. Often if you separate the female for a week or two into an acclimation box or sump, there may be a change in her behavior, and you will quickly see the male come out in the open
The mouth will heal on its own but take some time and isolation was the best thing you could do.

 

[sm0ggers]

Looking for help IDing the body damage/discoloration in my young clown. He has been the obvious submissive to his counterpart, a black and white ocellaris that was slightly larger (added simultaneously 4 months ago). "She" mostly chases "him" around and sometimes gets a nip in, but never locking mouths. The orange guy never really fights back, but the bullying never seems to be out of the realm of normal for clowns.

I don't think this is coral sting damage as the only corals in the tank are a small zoa, Xenia, and GSP. This clown sometimes hides in the GSP for a few seconds but doesn't seem to be hosting it.

He has fin loss plus some dark and pale discoloration. The large black spot on both sides of his lower tail is also new. Is this fin damage from his tankmate, or a disease/parasite/fungus?

Thanks guys



Today - lights off


Tonight - lights on



When I got him 4 months ago

Thank you for the reply but I was trying to convey that the bullying doesn't seem that bad. The "female" doesn't bite my hands and hasn't been nipping him much lately. The male gets plenty of food and is almost always out in the open alongside her.

I didn't notice anything around his mouth. I was referring to the damage/discoloration around his anal fin. Your thoughts?

 

[vetteguy53081]

yes, looks like bite marks opposed to infection

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I agree - looks like clownfish aggression. They can be pretty sly about not fighting when you are in the room. Also, lip locking only happens when the clowns are evenly matched. In this case, the one seems too submissive.

 

[sm0ggers]

I agree - looks like clownfish aggression. They can be pretty sly about not fighting when you are in the room. Also, lip locking only happens when the clowns are evenly matched. In this case, the one seems too submissive.

Thank you. I only have this one tank. Would you recommend separating one of them into a floating hatchery box? If so, which one - the bully or the victim - and for how long?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you. I only have this one tank. Would you recommend separating one of them into a floating hatchery box? If so, which one - the bully or the victim - and for how long?

I really prefer a whole tank divider, isolation boxes are pretty small. If you do use one, put the stronger fish in the box.