Clown Fish Fighting

[Adam_1992]

I’ve had my Clowns for almost two months now (one was always slightly bigger than the other) and this week I’ve noticed they have been fighting.
The smaller one is really trying to start fights with the bigger one, causing the bigger one to have twitches orshivers when it swims.
I’ve also noticed that whenever the smaller clown swims up to the bigger one, the bigger one starts to swim on its side or upwards..
Any help?

When I purchased my Clowns I got one bigger than the other to help the female/male along however it doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

[radsdad]

The odds are the fighting will continue. They're both fighting for dominance. A more apparent size difference will help. Can you return one in exchange for a smaller one?

 

[fishguy242]

hi,monitor closely,dancing,shivering,chasing is normal pairing dominace..watch for fin grabbing,lip locking,heavy aggresion,can try to put larger in acclimation box for a while,see what happens,watch for damage, stress,jmo,good luck

 

[Paul B]

Don't worry about it. Mine are 29 years old and still do that. That is a mating dance and they do it constantly and probably means they are "happy". It's what they do. Eventually one will become a male or vise versa and they will spawn, something clowns do constantly.

 

[Adam_1992]

Can I ask how they spawn? Will it happen auto on the tank or is there something special I gotta do?

 

[Twoddler]

Hope your clowns are ok I'm just starting out, 2 weeks into fishless cycle, clowns are on my list of first fish

 

[Krully]

Can I ask how they spawn? Will it happen auto on the tank or is there something special I gotta do?

They will (might, probably) spawn in your aquarium but the babies won't live more than a few hours/days by themselves. Raising them isn't that hard but it takes preparation and some specific foods including live and phyto. Plenty of tutorials for doing it, can be a fun side project.

 

[radsdad]

Let us know how this turns out.

 

[Paul B]

Can I ask how they spawn? Will it happen auto on the tank or is there something special I gotta do?

Yes, keep them healthy. They spawn Like this

 

[IKD]

I agree with what most people have said here already, but from my experience the larger clown (female) is usually the one that initiates the aggression. If they are not that different in size then you may have a while to wait if the smaller one becomes the dominant female and grows larger.

 

[|Frank|]

They’ll be okay. The ”shivering“ is the bigger one establishing its dominance In the tank. Also happens when they’re transitioning to female if they already didn’t. Mine were doing the same thing as yours, the female even started to peck at the males tail. So I set up a another tank and put the male in there with some melafix to help heal his tail. After a few days I put the male back into display then took the female out for a couple days into the other tank then I moved the rock work around in my DT so the territory was different. This worked great, I noticed an instant change in the behavior of the female. Now they’re best of friends. Hope this helps a little!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I recently removed my male who was rejected by the female after 4 months. She wouldn’t let him eat and kinda forced him into a corner. Trying another clown but she dragged him around the tank and tore his fins to shreads. I hate this and thinking about rehoming the female.

 

[IKD]

They’ll be okay. The ”shivering“ is the bigger one establishing its dominance In the tank. Also happens when they’re transitioning to female if they already didn’t. Mine were doing the same thing as yours, the female even started to peck at the males tail. So I set up a another tank and put the male in there with some melafix to help heal his tail. After a few days I put the male back into display then took the female out for a couple days into the other tank then I moved the rock work around in my DT so the territory was different. This worked great, I noticed an instant change in the behavior of the female. Now they’re best of friends. Hope this helps a little!

Maybe I have this backwards, but the submissive fish is the one that typically shivers and turns it’s side. The OP is saying the larger fish is quivering, which is why I commented about the smaller one may end up the female/dominant one.

Found this snippet as well doing a quick google search

Amphiprion and Premnas species submissive behavior goes something like this. First the dominate fish will rush or otherwise attack the submissive fish. The submissive fish will turn sideways to the dominate fish and tilt its belly towards the dominate fish and quiver like an epileptic seizure. The female should recognize this behavior and stop the attack short of actual damage. Sometimes in new pairings and old well established pair bonds the dominate fish will move to a parallel position to the submissive and quiver back to the submissive fish.

 

[Paul B]

They constantly clean a nesting area.

 

[Adam_1992]

Maybe I have this backwards, but the submissive fish is the one that typically shivers and turns it’s side. The OP is saying the larger fish is quivering, which is why I commented about the smaller one may end up the female/dominant one.

Found this snippet as well doing a quick google search

Amphiprion and Premnas species submissive behavior goes something like this. First the dominate fish will rush or otherwise attack the submissive fish. The submissive fish will turn sideways to the dominate fish and tilt its belly towards the dominate fish and quiver like an epileptic seizure. The female should recognize this behavior and stop the attack short of actual damage. Sometimes in new pairings and old well established pair bonds the dominate fish will move to a parallel position to the submissive and quiver back to the submissive fish.

That’s what I thought. That somehow my smaller one is the dominant one and is the female while the bigger one is the male. Will keep you all posted on how this turns out ASAP!

 

[Adam_1992]

I recently removed my male who was rejected by the female after 4 months. She wouldn’t let him eat and kinda forced him into a corner. Trying another clown but she dragged him around the tank and tore his fins to shreads. I hate this and thinking about rehoming the female.

I can’t pick my two. One minute they at each other and the next they bffs sleeping on top of each other..

 

[IKD]

I can’t pick my two. One minute they at each other and the next they bffs sleeping on top of each other..

Do you see damage from the bickering? If not, I would let them be and keep watching.

 

[|Frank|]

Maybe I have this backwards, but the submissive fish is the one that typically shivers and turns it’s side. The OP is saying the larger fish is quivering, which is why I commented about the smaller one may end up the female/dominant one.

Found this snippet as well doing a quick google search

Amphiprion and Premnas species submissive behavior goes something like this. First the dominate fish will rush or otherwise attack the submissive fish. The submissive fish will turn sideways to the dominate fish and tilt its belly towards the dominate fish and quiver like an epileptic seizure. The female should recognize this behavior and stop the attack short of actual damage. Sometimes in new pairings and old well established pair bonds the dominate fish will move to a parallel position to the submissive and quiver back to the submissive fish.

I thought this as well. Both of mine were shivering at first then it was mostly the smaller one after I brought the female back into the tank

 

[vetteguy53081]

Like my 3 percula pairs, sounds more like a mating ritual and pairing off. When they lock mouths is when theyre fighting

 

[Adam_1992]

Like my 3 percula pairs, sounds more like a mating ritual and pairing off. When they lock mouths is when theyre fighting

Nope. Thankfully my guys haven’t locked mouths and had those big fights as yet.