I recently consolidated my two nano tanks which meant introducing my two Ocellaris clownfish to each other. The bigger of the two I'm pretty sure is a female, she was a dominant fish at the lfs when I bought her and she's now about 2.75-3 inches big and beefy. The other clown (a good deal smaller) I've had from juvenile for about 2 years - it used to have a tank mate that sadly jumped a while ago so it's been living on it's own - I don't believe those two ever paired though the remaining was the more dominant fish. Bearing this in mind I knew there was a chance both clowns are female, but I thought there may be a chance the smaller clown never fully matured while it had a tank mate.
They have now been in the same tank for almost two weeks. The first two days the bigger clown did some chasing, which I fully expected, but it subsided fairly quickly. The bigger clown does the classic challenge and wiggle, waiting the the smaller to do the submit and wiggle, which it does though not every time. During the day the clowns are largely peaceful apart from these occasional instances of challenge/wiggle. I was thinking I may have lucked out and can keep them together.
The problem comes once the tank lights go out - then the bigger clown really starts harassing the smaller to the point the smaller retaliates, and I have seen them do some lip locking. This doesn't go on long, and once I turn all the room lights out they find their spots and sleep. No serious damage is done, fins aren't frayed, but the pre-sleep aggression is worrying me.
Would a male clown ever fight back/defend itself? The smaller clown submits/wiggles during the day but when really confronted at night fights back. How long should I leave them together before calling it quits?
They have now been in the same tank for almost two weeks. The first two days the bigger clown did some chasing, which I fully expected, but it subsided fairly quickly. The bigger clown does the classic challenge and wiggle, waiting the the smaller to do the submit and wiggle, which it does though not every time. During the day the clowns are largely peaceful apart from these occasional instances of challenge/wiggle. I was thinking I may have lucked out and can keep them together.
The problem comes once the tank lights go out - then the bigger clown really starts harassing the smaller to the point the smaller retaliates, and I have seen them do some lip locking. This doesn't go on long, and once I turn all the room lights out they find their spots and sleep. No serious damage is done, fins aren't frayed, but the pre-sleep aggression is worrying me.
Would a male clown ever fight back/defend itself? The smaller clown submits/wiggles during the day but when really confronted at night fights back. How long should I leave them together before calling it quits?