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Are my clownfish fighting or pairing? Help!!


Madison989

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This is my first saltwater tank and I just got 2 Ocellaris Clownfish about a week ago. They were doing great for the first few days and were getting along. A few days ago they started twitching near each other which I realized meant they were starting to pair (right?). But yesterday they started chasing each other and I assumed that they were just working out who is the dominant one. But now I can see that their fins are ripped and it seems like they might actually be fighting. They chase and circle each other but sometimes they still twitch.

 

Also, they are both pretty small and around the same size so I don’t think they would have decided their genders yet. But they did lock mouths at point point which I read is a sign they could both be female.

 

Any advice on what might be going on or what to do? If they are just figuring out who is the dominant one, then how long will it take? Or are they going to fight to the death?

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT: One of them is constantly chasing the other now, and the one being chased is breathing heavily and doesn’t look too good... is this normal or is the other one going to eventually kill it?

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Mine bickered a lot and lip locked when little trying to figure out who was boss. Sometimes clowns can cause so much stress one dies though so keep an eye on them. 

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3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Mine bickered a lot and lip locked when little trying to figure out who was boss. Sometimes clowns can cause so much stress one dies though so keep an eye on them. 

Ok, thanks. What are some warning signs that one is under too much stress, and what could I do to help it?

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3 hours ago, Menidia said:

If they're close to each other on size there'll be some nasty looking fighting before they work it out, but it's pretty normal at first. 

That’s good to hear that it’s normal. Do you know how long it could take for them to work it out?

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UPDATE: The one being bullied was missing for a few hours so I assumed that the other fished had killed it... but I just found him in hiding in a small hole in the rock. He is resting on the sand while moving his fins a little bit. How long will he be able to survive like this? I ordered a breeder net that’s coming in 2 days so that I can separate them for now. The bully fish keeps trying to attack the fish in it’s hiding spot. Will the fish be able to survive in it’s hiding spot for 2 days while the bully attacks it? Is there anything I can do right now or should I just wait for the breeder?

 

EDIT: The bully fish is now twitching right outside the hiding spot where my other fish is hiding- is this a good sign?

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my clowns fought on and off for a month, but neither actually got hurt. if theyre very similar in size, they could fight for longer and get hurt. i would put one of them in the breeding net if its really bad

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I was very sad to see that this morning the fish was dead, wedged into a hole in the rocks 😞

 

It seems like it would be impossible to get the body out without taking all the rocks out. Should I just wait for my CUC to get to it? 

 

Is it ok to get another clownfish or will they just end up fighting again? Or would it be best to return the other one and get 2 new ones?

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If you get another clown make sure it's considerably smaller than the first. That way it'll submit faster and almost definitely not be female if you get the smallest in the dealer's tank. 

 

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Floundering_Around

When I first got them, they were around the same size and didn't fight too much but as one grew it started to establish some dominance. My clowns fought like this to the point that the smaller one was ripped up and laying on the sand constantly. What I did was ran melafix through my DT (don't have a QT tank) and increased my feedings to make sure the little one had enough energy and the bigger one would leave it alone at feeding time. The melafix helped his fins regrow and combat any possible secondary infections. 

Definitely take the body out or you'll cause yourself a massive headache in the long run. I would throw in a water change on top of it to make sure your water parameters are in check still

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