Are my clownfish bonding? Clownfish pairing

[gigi13]

Hello reefers,

I’ve had a mocha clownish for about three months by itself in my tank. I just added a new smaller clownish three days ago. Assuming the one I have is a female, I put it in a box right away to allow the new fish to get used to the tank.. Today, I got my female clown out of fish jail and she immediately started twitching and asserting dominance towards the smaller male clown. The smaller clown seemed to ignore her for the most part but it did twitch back once. I linked a video for reference for both. They seemed to be getting along (no biting or bullying from female side, but a lot of twitching) and I thought they were bonding. However at nighttime the male was at the bottom of the tank barely moving and the female clownfish seemed to be more aggressive towards it. She was pushing him more often, charging at him and swimming around him a lot. I thought it would stress him out so I separated them again just in case and put the female back in the box. As soon as i did, the male clown kept on swimming as usual all over the tank and no longer just at the bottom of it. Should i keep them together through the night? Are they actually bonding? Ive read the male is the one that twitches but in my case, the female has done most of it. The male twitch back only once from what I could see. Thank you for the help
Male clownfish
Female clownfish

 

[LandLockedJones]

So, I would say they are pretty well paired. Maybe just not comfortable with the newcomer yet.

When I added a male to my females tank. They stayed apart for a few days. And the female and male would both do the twitchy dance. From time to time.

When the females decide they have had enough, they will swim hard at fast at the male. Who will start twitching a lot. It looks like a miniature seizure not just a couple shakes.

But the fact they are swimming together and acting like a pair. Nipping and chasing one another. Normally instigated by the female. I’d guess they already established dominance and they are paired. Do they sleep in the same are of the tank?

I notice that my female tends to act strange when I’m up close. Or, if I look at the male for too long, she will beat him up. If you sit back about 10 feet with the room lights off they will usually act more naturally. And you may see the female twitch a bit less often.

Also, beautiful clowns. I love the black storms, I just bought 2 myself!