Clowns fighting all of the sudden, dont know why

[djk1]

I have a 55 gallon reef tank with 2 Ocellaris Clownfish(tank raised) and a sunk clown along with 2 tangs 4 chromis. The clowns were one of the first fish in the tank thats 5 months old now. All of the sudden last week the bigger of the two clowns started getting very aggresive with the smaller clown. Is this normal or is there a problem? What could i do about it

[djk1]

anyone?

[bllfish]

I had the same problem. I had 2 true percula clowns for five years. They were breeding every two weeks. Then one day the larger one just kept attacking the smaller one and finally killed it. I have no idea what happened.

[bertoni]

If they were both juveniles, they might just be fighting over which one is going to be the female. That's fairly normal, I think. I would suggest checking in the clownfish forum, though, since I'm no expert.

Responding to your own post takes you off the unanswered list, BTW.

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7689276#post7689276 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by djk1
I have a 55 gallon reef tank with 2 Ocellaris Clownfish(tank raised) and a sunk clown along with 2 tangs 4 chromis. The clowns were one of the first fish in the tank thats 5 months old now. All of the sudden last week the bigger of the two clowns started getting very aggresive with the smaller clown. Is this normal or is there a problem? What could i do about it

Just like bertoni said, its pretty common but these are not juvis. You have one large female and a smaller male. Part of the deal of having two clownfish paired up is the female every now and then will be aggressive towards the male. This is a way for her to keep the smaller male in check. To reassure her dominance.

Check this out.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215098

[RFC]

The smaller male clown probably told the larger female clown she was getting FAT :D

[djk1]

so leave them alone and let nature take its course is what you guys are saying

[55semireef]

Well keep an eye on the situation of course. This aggressive behavior from the female shouldn't last any longer than a few days. Yes it is nature and it will take its course.

I had the same problem. I had 2 true percula clowns for five years. They were breeding every two weeks. Then one day the larger one just kept attacking the smaller one and finally killed it. I have no idea what happened.

Male was probably week. The female was probably showing her dominance and took it to far thus the male got to stressed out. Nothing unheard of.

[Amy83820]

If you have 9 fish in a 55 gallon and 2 of them are tangs, my guess would be that they are fighting because they have no room. There are no tangs that will fit in a 55 gallon by themselves. Take the tangs out, and i'll bet that the clowns will be fine.

[55semireef]

9 fish in a 55 is overcrowding especially with two tangs. I actually have two tangs myself in a 55 but both are quite small and I am putting them in a big reef system once they reach a certain size. I have a purple and a Blue but like I said they are small and non aggressive. In fact my Blue Tang follows my purple tang. Kind of funny.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i263/cichlidfort/aracampandpianopicsandkidsyardwo-3.jpg



Just keep an eye on the big female clown.

[djk1]

nice picture, the two tangs are a tomini and a yellow but which are small. about twice as big as the clowns. Its a penta shaped tank so there is some room for them to move around in. The tangs send most of there time behind live rock so the front of the tank is free for the chromis and clowns. Its just odd because everything has been fine for months until last week.

[collins]

What the others have said is correct. The female is just pushing her weight around. It will happen from time to time - nothing to worry about.

The male keeps coming back for more doesn't he?

[55semireef]

Thanks for the compliment. I just got a camera thats 10x better so my pictures from now on should be sweet. Other than that your good to go. Nothing to worry about here with your clowns.