Maroon clowns

[26y]

I have two large fem. Maroons in a 55 they are use to the tank and know which side is theirs. I got a new juvie male today, and I figured they would both go for him or who ever got to him first would be his mate, or pair. Well, when I let him go in the tank, I let him on the right, and carla, the fem clown on the right, ignored him, and so he met coral first, she is on the right. The fems are way bigger than him. Well carla made herself know and he gave in to her, but stayed on the side with Carla, and a few minutes go by and then carla starts going after him but meaner than coral did and went to town on his butt fin, andhe got stressed, so I scooped him into a large net until they all cooled down. Now coral is going into carlas side of the tank and they dont lip lock anymore so they just swim next to eachother. Will having two fems in the tank be a problem?

[snorvich]

Yes.

[26y]

So get rid of one of the fems

[snorvich]

So get rid of one of the fems

Yes, of course, they will take care of that problem on their own without your intervention.

[26y]

Dang, so he is compatible to coral. And the only reason this is happening is because there are two fems

[snorvich]

Well, the way it works is that two clownfish of the same species both want to be boss, er, female. If they are juveniles, they work it out, sometimes with a bit of strife. if both juveniles are have already sexually differentiated and are on the path to "becoming" female, the stronger one will kill the other one, especially in a smallish tank where they will certainly run into each other frequently.

[26y]

So get rid of both of the big ones

[snorvich]

So get rid of both of the big ones

No. One can stay. However any mate introduced to that female must be a small juvenile.

[26y]

Thanks, now what to do with carla