mandarin dragonet aggression

[lefty99]

I bought a pair of mandarin from my lfs a few weeks ago. At the time my male was showing dominance but no aggression towards the female but now the female is be aggressive to the male. The female is constantly chasing the male. Now my male's fins is all ripped up and afraid of the female. Also I've notice that the male is starting to look skinny compare to when I bought them. Female on the other has actually looked a little plump now. One last thing I actually saw them fighting last night. It started with them flaring at eachother and then the male striking but missing his bite was loud enough that I could actually hear it clamping down. Then they were actually biting each other holding on for a couple of minutes. Is this a normal thing or Should I separate them at this point? I should had recorded the fight because it was terrifying to see. I'm use to aggression like this from my freshwater fish but they atleast have scales for protection.

Sorry for the long post

Also for sure they are both male and female.

[WibblyPig]

What size tank do you have and how old is it? Are they eating pellets or flakes or pods?

[lefty99]

Tank is a 40 breeder. About 6-7 month. They are only on pods right but I am stock on pods for the time being. I have two 5 gal tank set up for pods and 6 water bottles with pods in it and I'm about to bottle up a few more bottles. Also I have a shipment of pods coming in

[lefty99]

The only other fish in there is a clown fish

[ndrobey]

I would return them to the store. Try getting a different pair. Fish do have different personalities and it is the luck of the draw how a particular pair are going to get along. Next time get a pair that is already pair bonded.

[lefty99]

I actually like the female cause she seems smart. She's nice and plump and is testing frozen food