HELP! Clownfish fighting aggressively over BTA

[FWTXReefnerd]

Hello,

 

A few months ago I got 2 clownfish (DaVinci & Phantom) & initially they got along great. There is the the occasional nipping but I figured that was part of the power struggle to see which becomes female. I don’t think they’re paired yet so they still have days where they fight but it’s never too “aggressive” imo. 

 

After having the clowns for a bit I got a green bubble tip anemone & finally got the Davinci to start hosting it after about a month of it being in the tank. The next day (today) the Phantom decided to host it while the DaVinci was away & then all hell broke loose. They started fighting like I’ve never seen before & if I had to guess it looks like they’re out for blood. They’re going for each others gils & it got so scary that I had to catch the Phantom & put him in the sump while I figure this out. The DaVinci is usually the slightly more dominant one but not this time; he was shaking & opening /closing his mouth really fast after taking a beating. Should I be worried? He hasn’t gone back to the BTA since I put the other in the sump. What should I do? Should I get another bra & try to give them their own territory? Let them fight it out & hope one doesn’t die? Please help I don’t want to lose either fish but I’m kinda at a loss. If you have experienced this or a similar situation I’d like to know what you did and what happened. Thanks in advance for any feedback. 

 

 

[Tamberav]

How big are they?

 

Were they lip locking?

 

Is there any twitching/shaking/shivering?

[seabass]

Yeah, that's too aggressive.  I believe you were right to separate them.  I wonder if you put the other in the sump too, if they'd get along again.  However, that wouldn't necessarily solve your problem, unless they happened to bond in there.

 

Did you buy the clownfish locally?  Would they be willing to trade one for a smaller fish?  If the difference in size is very pronounced, there is usually less aggression.