Weird aggression chain

[Xj reefing]

So lately my female black clown has Been harassing my purple fire fish. It’s fins are all tatterd and ripped and it has been kicked out of its hole by a few large bristle worms (at least 4 inches). Will the fire fishes fins heal it is left alone and would a bigger tank like a rsr 250 be any help with the aggression. The current tank is a 20 gallon cube. The weird part is that I have witnessed my blenny attack the bully clown right after she attacks the fire fish. What the hell is going on in my tank?

[Clown79]

Clowns can get aggressive as they grow and firefish are passive fish.

 

Blennies can also be semi aggressive so its not surprising its going after the clown.

 

My clowns were great but after 5 yrs they started going after tank mates and were moved to their own tank where they were happy together. 

[MainelyReefer]

Is the clownfish part of a pair? My pair is usually tame but when they have a clutch of eggs all hell can break loose.  They chill with my yellow tang daily, but when the yellow has a nip on his tail I know to look for a clutch

[Xj reefing]

Yes the clowns are a pair and I have had them for around 7 or 8 months so must be getting close to breeding. Would getting a larger tank like a rsr 250 help?

[Jungle_vip]

It would probably work. Moving to bigger territory and a new home has the possibility of restructuring the pecking order. It does sound like they are fighting over space to me. Something that gets forgotten is that clowns are in the same family as damselfish so it’s no surprise that they can be aggressive.