Weird clownfish behavior

[GHOSTLY]

So about a week ago I got a smaller clown for me older established female. They do the normal fighting but I notice that the old female chases the newer one when he tries to enter the water column. Sometimes they swim together and they both just host the same duncan but the white clown hides and doesnt move from here often. When should I know to pull the new clown? The female clown shimmies and does the pairing behavior but is a lot more agro

 

[GHOSTLY]

Weird behavior Ive never seen:
Female/larger one flicking tail at either the sand or at the fish
Smaller fish gets chased around when coming into the water column
Sometimes swim next to eachother/in a pair but sometimes they fight for a second or get chased around

 

[Tahoe61]

Is there obvious physical injury?
Is the smaller clown eating?

There doesn't appear to be unusual behavior for an established clown. I would be reluctant to pull the new clown.

Have you considered a breeding box?

Perhaps include a clear image under white lighting of the new smaller clown.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Is there obvious physical injury?
Is the smaller clown eating?

There doesn't appear to be unusual behavior for an established clown. I would be reluctant to pull the new clown.

Have you considered a breeding box?

Perhaps include a clear image under white lighting of the new smaller clown.

No physical injury and he does eat. Its just weird cause with the other clowns ive had in the past the aggression has never been this long and the younger and smaller one never fights back

 

[Tahoe61]

Varying degrees of dominance and submission are always being tested.
If there is no physical injury I would continue to wait and watch.

 

[resortez]

It’s normal pairing behavior from my personal experience. The female will always remain more aggressive towards the male, the male then submits to her making sure he doesn’t switch to female.
I’ve also been able to observe that the males stay closer & around their nesting grounds, the female tends to venture out more, away from the nest. Im assuming its a survival behavior, if she perishes, the male can switch & go out to select another male. Females tend to like having a couple or orbiting males. Males she doesn’t like, she tends to push them out to the far edges of the tank but will still check on them to make sure those orbiters dont switch. She will keep them at a distance just in case.
Hope that makes sense but it’s pretty normal from my experience

 

[GHOSTLY]

The update is that the newer clown has gone away from the open waters and is chased every time he attempts to go up. While the females out and abouts he is chased into a corner at any chance

 

[GHOSTLY]

The update is that the newer clown has gone away from the open waters and is chased every time he attempts to go up. While the females out and abouts he is chased into a corner at any chance

And a lot more chasing ive noticed

 

[Kaimana]

No physical injury and he does eat. Its just weird cause with the other clowns ive had in the past the aggression has never been this long and the younger and smaller one never fights back

The pairing process can be quick and can sometimes take a while. If there looks to be no physical damage to the male and he is eating, just give it time. I hade a pairing that took about a month because the female was aggressive and the male did not seem to want to submit. When he would come out into the water column, she would corner him and twitch to show dominance. I have also used an acclimation box to introduce a potential companion. If the male stops eating or looks to have nipped fins, you might need to rehome...

 

[GHOSTLY]

Chasing has gotten a little worse but I notice he rests on the floor for a while and breathes super heavy. Still eating

 

[resortez]

Chasing has gotten a little worse but I notice he rests on the floor for a while and breathes super heavy. Still eating

Clown looks good. If the female still allows him to feed, thats a good sign. Start getting concerned if the male stops feeding. The aggression from the female will continue, even after pairing but more subtle. The female once in a while will smack him around , it’s something I’ve been able to observe of these clownfish. If she really didn’t want him, she would have killed the male within 2-3 days of introducing, unfortunately I’ve witnessed that happening & it’s very ugly.