Help! My Black and White clownfish started harassing my true percula. WHY?

[MarineGirl411]

This may sound dumb, but ever since I've had my fish, they have gotten along great. Never fought or anything. They are the ones in my avatar. All of a sudden this past week my black and white clownfish started harassing my true percula very bad. =( Chases him around, then starts shaking as if to show off or show dominance. Will he stop? They got along so perfectly before. He's in my refugium right now because he will not leave him alone. LFS said it would be perfectly fine to mix these 2 species together in the long run. I don't know why all of a sudden this happened. I've had them for 6 months. =*( Help. Thank you all.

[waterfaller1]

Well the LFS was trying to sell fish, just keep that in mind.;) They are two different types of clowns which ultimately may become a problem, but the shaking you describe is submission..not dominance.

[jmaneyapanda]

clownfish can be aggressive- it is their nature. even breeding pairs can get nasty with one another.

[Bmgrocks]

its normal clown behavior, so stop freakin out...dont mean to sound rude..

it is, like u said, a display of dominance, the black clown is likely going to be female.

Ocellaris, and Perculas, can be pairs, so there is no need to worry, check the clown forum, and they will tell u the same answer.

if it looks like the ture perc is on its way out, torn fins, bruises, ect, ure ur best judgement and take him out;

[Bmgrocks]

btw, the 6 months, they were most likely juvies, now that they are more mature, their displaying, aggression, ect, becomes prevalant, but yes it will stop, give it a few weeks, and u will see it taper off.

[MarineGirl411]

waterfaller, the black clown was the one doing the shaking. He was showing the dominance. I figured that it might be the female since it is so much larger. I just love these 2. They got along so well. I love them both. I hate to get rid of one of them. They are my buds. I will ask on there. I didn't know there was a clownfish forum. I will try there. TY

[waterfaller1]

The shaking is submission of the male to the female.

[DriftRtist]

I have a pair of B&W clowns and the larger female does the same thing. It chases the male around and then after some harassment she starts shaking in front of the male. Yes, the female shakes not the smaller male. Some times the male shakes for the female likes it's supposed to.

[MarineGirl411]

I hope it doesn't end up killing the smaller guy then. I thought the b&w was the female. Why do they do this? Are they trying to mate? I know.....I feel very novice....please let me know. TY. =)

[LukFox]

Sounds like they're just forming a pair. No mating as of yet. Females will do the submissive dance to the male as well, just usually not as often as the male submits to the female. Maybe you're just missing it when he is doing it. Regardless, you shouldn't be too worried. They're doing this to establish who is going to become the male and who will be the female of the pair. The more dominant clown will become the female. They're just sorting things out.

[MarineGirl411]

Whew! Okay good! Thank you. I was worried. I love them both. Aren't they cute?

[LukFox]

They're adorable :). I've always loved how those clowns look together. Good luck and hopefully things get smoother soon with them.