Dealing with clown aggression

[todd_nano]

Hi,

My tanks been set up for a while now, and has been home to a pair of percula clowns, exclusively. My female perc is becoming more and more aggressive. She won't even tolerate the turkery baster I use to feed her and the corals anymore, she visiciously attacks it as soon as it hits the water -- she ignores the food to do so. She also will relocate any snail that comes anywhere near her. She constantly tries to eat my coral banded shrimp pair, but they are very good at ducking into the rocks, unfortunately I never see them. They've not spawned yet, I'm nervous to see her behavior if she ever lays eggs.

I'd really like to add 1 more small fish, a goby perhaps, but am concerned my perc will destroy whatever I put in there. Any ideas?

Thanks.

[dwillingm]

Sell the clownfish to the LFS? That is what i had to do with a beligerant maroon clown. It would bite me and knock over any corals near its anemone. The problem only got worse over time. My tank is much more peaceful and manageable now.

[organism]

about how old are the fish? it may be that she's about to start spawning

[todd_nano]

Not sure exactly how old, I bought them as a mated pair from a guy that had had them for about 2 years, and he bought them as a mated pair too. I'd guess minimum 5 years old, maximum close to death. They spawned once apparently for the guy I bought them from, but he had them in 10g and Im guessing did not provide a good enough environment for them to continue spawning for him.

Even though she is a pain in the ***, no way I'm selling them. They have so much personality (good or bad) -- very fun to watch.

[Wryknow]

My tomato clown cleaned her act up when I added some big puple tangs that slapped her around a little bit. Not sure that I would recommend this to anyone as a styrategy though (even if you had the room.) They do tend to react to threats by hiding in their anemones though.

[bderos]

I had a maroon clown for about 5 years. She got so agressive every fish I added she would chase them around, stress them out and some have died, some are to quick and hide from her. I think she would even attack at night b/c I would check the tank in the morning and others would have chunks or peices missing. I just donated her to the LFS and my tank is alot more relaxed. Everyone comes out and plays, no more hiding for anyone.

[chocolateblnt]

Female's tend to be alot grumpier, jealous, and territorial ... and I'm not just talkin' about clownfish ;)

If I come up to the tank the female will become very excited for whatever reason and she'll start to put the male in it's place with it's wiggle and sometimes she'll actually gum and hold onto the male to show dominance! She'll often nip at me when I am near the anemone or simply cleaning the tank for too long. The male never shows any of these characteristics!

It might be a sign of spawning or that she is ready to mate ... especially since she is fending off your shrimp that could prey on their eggs. What is your male doing in all these situations?!

[todd_nano]

My male is in his own little world. Totally unpredictable. When he gets too far away the female goes and nips/rubs him and they swim back to where she was in the first place. He regularly does a little dance of submission after feedings too. She runs the show.

[chocolateblnt]

Sounds like the female might be ready to mate and the male isn't as interested, which could be frustruating her. I am in the same boat currently ... my male used to be very attentive to her "needs" and stick close but now he seems care-free.

Has the female been nipping at any specific live rock spots? Sometimes they will mouth an area to clean it in preparation for mating/egg laying.

Stay away from adding tank mates ... let the pair have the 22 gallons to themselves.

Any moonlights on your finnex to help a possible spawn? I put one on my tank, it didn't change the scenario much but I did notice they don't go to sleep immediately after lights out; they'll actually swim for a lil' while longer around the anemone before retreating to it for the night. You never know what can help during mating.

[todd_nano]

They both nip underneath a frogspawn. They only do this after a feeding. The male is there a fair amount of the time, and runs to that spot when he gets scared. The female hardly ever goes over there. They both "sleep" nowhere near this spot however.

[todd_nano]

I'm actually thinking of replacing the frogspawn with a bta, maybe that will make them more comfortable. They never actually dive into the frogspawn, just hover above, below it.

[chocolateblnt]

Hmmmm interesting ... the nipping is a good sign. They might have considered that as a possible spot for laying eggs before. Is the frogspawn away from the bandits spot?

[todd_nano]

Oh yeah there are moonlights, but this is very frustrating. They are linked to the power switch for the compacts. So if you use a timer.. no moonlights. I'm trying to figure out how to rewire the light, but think I'm just wind up breaking it.

[todd_nano]

The cbs are out of sight from the frogspawn, and were never near to it. I think the female has effectively scared them from ever coming out from behind the rockwork.

[chocolateblnt]

Good ... she's doin' her job keepin' shrimp away. I have one Yellow Headed Bandit and it is in the utmost deepest corner of my tank, only visible throught about a 1 sq. inch of acrylic on the other side. I have not seen him since 3 weeks ago when I bought him ... finally got a glimpse last night!

Is there a chance you have a digital camera that takes video ... perhaps you can catch her "agression" and post it?!

[chocolateblnt]

It's best you don't change anything in the tank at this point ... try to give her space and some time. She's simply anxious and frustruated.

Only thing I can suggest is to look for an anemone for the two ... a permanent home could help calm her down and allow her to be less defensive by having a place of refuge/safety.

[todd_nano]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i1dD-scdWA

Thats a video of them just hanging out. I'll post one of the female trying to destroy a turkey baster tonight. Thats the frogspawn in the foreground I'm referring to. They spend most of their time in the far corner, they're only over on that side because I'm there.

[GSMguy]

clowns just act this way especially when they havent moved in years

[chocolateblnt]

Beautiful Clowns! Really beautiful pair ... female has nice gerth! McFishy & McFatty :lol2:

That spot underneath the frogspawn looks really promising for spawning. Try to see if you can get an anemone for the two!

I'll share my fella's...

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e55/chocolateblnt2/DSCN2832.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e55/chocolateblnt2/FTSoctober.jpg

[chocolateblnt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8560717#post8560717 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
clowns just act this way especially when they havent moved in years

Waddya mean?!

[todd_nano]

Very nice clowns, very bright too. They really pop out along with the sponge in that pic. Love the rockwork.

[Imdone]

My pair of Maroon Clowns did the same thing. My female would bite me, not that it would hurt, and would chase the male away, I couldn't tell if it was mating time or not, I ended up breaking down that tank soon after and don't know what happened to them.

I now have a pair of black Ocellaris clowns and they don't seem as agressive to each other but they are younger than the maroons were at the time.

I would keep an eye on them.

[chocolateblnt]

Thanks Todd :p