New Clown added to pair with solo Clown - advice?

[King George]

Good afternoon,

Today I ran to my LFS to pick up a Black Ocellaris Clownfish to hopefully pair up with my Clown that has been solo in my nano (Red Sea Peninsula 26g) tank.

Currently stocked with:

• 1 Azure/Kupang Damsel
• 1 Cleaner Shrimp
• 1 Fire Shrimp
• 5 Emerald Crabs
• 1 Juvenile Snowflake Clownfish (previously solo)
• 1 Medium Black Ocellaris Clownfish (NEW)

Originally, I got 2 juvenile Snowflake Clowns together - but one of them didn't make it overnight. I then waited to replace him, as I didn't want to deal with losing another Clown during the pairing process. Today I decided to suck it up, because I want a pair - and I knew I would have to deal with it at some point.

Anyways, the 2 Clowns are actually getting a long so far (after an hour or so), and really aren't paying each other any mind. What I forgot to consider is that the Damsel can be confrontational, and he has been chasing off my new Black Ocellaris quite often. You hate to see it, but I know it's just part of the hobby. Here are my questions:

1. Could this just be a temporary assertion of dominance, or can I expect this to be long-term? I know all damsels are territorial, and that Clownfish themselves are part of the Damsel family. Best case scenario for me would be that this is a temporary measure, and they will eventually warm up to eachother.
2. The Black Ocellaris is *almost* twice the size of my Snowflake and is considerably larger than my Kupang Damsel. If anything, I was hoping that size would prevail vs. duration of residence, but clearly that's not the case? I guess this kind of intertwines with my question above, but please LMK your thoughts.

I guess that's it for my questions - I'm sure more will come up haha. Grateful for any input you reefers can provide! (Tagging @DanyL as you helped me with this previously).

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

In my opinion the damsel will never let up.

If possible I would suggest to try dividing the tank for a while, you can get tank dividers from amazon. I've had luck with this in the past.

Or return the damsel. It will never let you add anything else, and I'm sure you want more than just 2 fish in your tank. Good luck any way!

 

[SudzFD]

Good afternoon,

Today I ran to my LFS to pick up a Black Ocellaris Clownfish to hopefully pair up with my Clown that has been solo in my nano (Red Sea Peninsula 26g) tank.

Currently stocked with:

• 1 Azure/Kupang Damsel
• 1 Cleaner Shrimp
• 1 Fire Shrimp
• 5 Emerald Crabs
• 1 Juvenile Snowflake Clownfish (previously solo)
• 1 Medium Black Ocellaris Clownfish (NEW)

Originally, I got 2 juvenile Snowflake Clowns together - but one of them didn't make it overnight. I then waited to replace him, as I didn't want to deal with losing another Clown during the pairing process. Today I decided to suck it up, because I want a pair - and I knew I would have to deal with it at some point.

Anyways, the 2 Clowns are actually getting a long so far (after an hour or so), and really aren't paying each other any mind. What I forgot to consider is that the Damsel can be confrontational, and he has been chasing off my new Black Ocellaris quite often. You hate to see it, but I know it's just part of the hobby. Here are my questions:

1. Could this just be a temporary assertion of dominance, or can I expect this to be long-term? I know all damsels are territorial, and that Clownfish themselves are part of the Damsel family. Best case scenario for me would be that this is a temporary measure, and they will eventually warm up to eachother.
2. The Black Ocellaris is *almost* twice the size of my Snowflake and is considerably larger than my Kupang Damsel. If anything, I was hoping that size would prevail vs. duration of residence, but clearly that's not the case? I guess this kind of intertwines with my question above, but please LMK your thoughts.

I guess that's it for my questions - I'm sure more will come up haha. Grateful for any input you reefers can provide! (Tagging @DanyL as you helped me with this previously).

1. It could be temporary. You have better odds it’s temporary with a single damsel. When I have grown concerned over aggression to a new addition, I have rearranged my aquascape, particularly the area with the aggressive fish. Remove the aggressive fish for a few hours if possible and then reintroduce. They will then be the “new addition” and not nearly as aggressive.

2. The size should help your clowns pair, but they can be strange creatures and no guarantees. I had two tank raised ocelaris that wouldn’t host in my bubble tip. I tried many techniques I’ve used with success before without luck. After several months I decided to add a third wild caught ocelaris clown that was already hosting in a bubble tip at the LFS. He began hosting my bubble tip within 24 hours. It’s been two years now and the tank raised pair still have not learned to host a Nem and live by my skimmer intake pipe.

All that to say, they are their own creatures and do what they want, but hopefully you can help them at least live peacefully!

 

[King George]

In my opinion the damsel will never let up.

If possible I would suggest to try dividing the tank for a while, you can get tank dividers from amazon. I've had luck with this in the past.

Or return the damsel. It will never let you add anything else, and I'm sure you want more than just 2 fish in your tank. Good luck any way!

It has been a total of 3 hours now! I don't want to get ahead of myself.. but things are looking up. Funnily enough, I haven't seen the Damsel chase the new clown since I posted this thread.

BUT fish are weird, I get it. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts going after him/her again right after I post this response lol.

 

[King George]

1. It could be temporary. You have better odds it’s temporary with a single damsel. When I have grown concerned over aggression to a new addition, I have rearranged my aquascape, particularly the area with the aggressive fish. Remove the aggressive fish for a few hours if possible and then reintroduce. They will then be the “new addition” and not nearly as aggressive.

Thank you for the insight! It does look that way so far (see my response above); the Damsel has stepped on the brakes, and I haven't seen him give the clown a hard time since I posted this thread lol. Also, the black occy is now way more out and about, seems like she is warming up to the tank!

2. The size should help your clowns pair, but they can be strange creatures and no guarantees. I had two tank raised ocelaris that wouldn’t host in my bubble tip. I tried many techniques I’ve used with success before without luck. After several months I decided to add a third wild caught ocelaris clown that was already hosting in a bubble tip at the LFS. He began hosting my bubble tip within 24 hours. It’s been two years now and the tank raised pair still have not learned to host a Nem and live by my skimmer intake pipe.

I bet it must be pretty cool owning a wild caught clown! My dad used to have a huge tank in college, and he is the one who got me into the hobby. He had a pair of wild ocellaris that loved their nem.

Thanks so much for your help - I will keep you updated!

 

[King George]

In my opinion the damsel will never let up.

If possible I would suggest to try dividing the tank for a while, you can get tank dividers from amazon. I've had luck with this in the past.

Or return the damsel. It will never let you add anything else, and I'm sure you want more than just 2 fish in your tank. Good luck any way!

At this point I’m planning on heading to my LFS to get rid of this Damsel lol. For the first time ever, I’ve witnessed him attacking my original Snowflake clown (who had been in the tank even before him). Not worth the trouble for me, I personally prioritize these 2 Clowns over this Kupang Damsel.

I noticed what looked like some rips on the dorsal fins of my juvenile snowflake, but wasn’t sure since he is quite young/small - thought they were growing in weirdly. I now see that the damsel is most likely picking on him when I’m not watching lol. Thanks for the help!

EDIT: now the hard part is catching him lol. Going to give it a go tomorrow when I feed them!

 

[SudzFD]

You can build a fish trap, it’s worked for me. Cut a water bottle about the area where it begins to taper up. Turn the top around and push it into the body of the bottle so the opening of the water bottle is now inside the water bottle. Don’t feed your fish. Put some rocks inside to weight it down, add some great frozen food inside the bottle submerge it and wait. An aggressive eater like your damsel will most likely go in and not find its way out.

 

[DanyL]

Hey @King George

I think your questions have already been answered here, but I’ll give my 2 cents.

Damsels will be mean to any new introduction, especially in smaller tanks, hence why I originally suggested getting a female clown - as they are bigger and have better chances going against the damsel.

It does seem like it triggered the damsel to attack the male though, and it may or may not accept them eventually - it’s hard to tell and you’ll need to wait it out to see what happens.

Before returning the damsel to your LFS, I’d try to put him in an acclimation box for a day or two, changing the rock work like someone suggested can work as well - this may or may not help, but often it does and would reduce the aggression.

Hope this helps, keep us updated.

 

[exnisstech]

Clown pair and damsel in a 26g is a bad idea to start with IMO but that's hindsight. Good luck catching the damsel. I tore down a 6ft 150g to get a nasty domino damsel out. Tried traps, little bitty fish hooks and even got mad enough to straiten a fish hook out and made a spear. Still couldn't get the little bugger.

 

[King George]

Hey @King George

I think your questions have already been answered here, but I’ll give my 2 cents.

Damsels will be mean to any new introduction, especially in smaller tanks, hence why I originally suggested getting a female clown - as they are bigger and have better chances going against the damsel.

It does seem like it triggered the damsel to attack the male though, and it may or may not accept them eventually - it’s hard to tell and you’ll need to wait it out to see what happens.

Before returning the damsel to your LFS, I’d try to put him in an acclimation box for a day or two, changing the rock work like someone suggested can work as well - this may or may not help, but often it does and would reduce the aggression.

Hope this helps, keep us updated.

Thank you!

I believe this Clown is a female, she is almost 2x the size of my original clown. Not 100% sure, but he/she definitely was the largest at my LFS.

Perhaps I will try the acclimation box, but frankly I am almost set on just getting rid of the damsel and making room for a more peaceful fish. I will definitely think about it though.

I'll keep you updated - I appreciate your help as always!

 

[King George]

You can build a fish trap, it’s worked for me. Cut a water bottle about the area where it begins to taper up. Turn the top around and push it into the body of the bottle so the opening of the water bottle is now inside the water bottle. Don’t feed your fish. Put some rocks inside to weight it down, add some great frozen food inside the bottle submerge it and wait. An aggressive eater like your damsel will most likely go in and not find its way out.

Think I will give this a try - thanks for all your help with this!

 

[King George]

Clown pair and damsel in a 26g is a bad idea to start with IMO but that's hindsight. Good luck catching the damsel. I tore down a 6ft 150g to get a nasty domino damsel out. Tried traps, little bitty fish hooks and even got mad enough to straiten a fish hook out and made a spear. Still couldn't get the little bugger.

Hindsight indeed - definitely would go back if I could and AT LEAST add the damsel after establishing a clown pair so they could give the damsel a run for its money.

That sounds like a huge pain lol. Hopefully I have the upper hand considering my tank is 5x smaller - but they are quick!!!