Clown Fish Fighting - normal?

RussR19146 · 12/18/2009, 01:04 PM

Hi,

I have two Clownfish (black false percula - sdarker than the regular ones but not actually black and white) for about three weeks now.

Recently they have been fighting tooth and nail. They will fight chase each other, fin nip etc and then calm down and swim together or have separate time. then repeat

Is this normal?

They are both about 1.5" - 2" long no visible size difference

They got along well at the store and did so for the first two weeks - they do not seem to be killing one another

Thanks

Eric Williams · 12/18/2009, 01:28 PM

I also have a perc and a black and they do chase each other from time to time as well but do not really fight. Maybe tank size or lack of places to call home. I have had a maroon with them and had to remove the maroon since they are really territorial and would not give up on chasing the other two.

Chiefsurfer · 12/18/2009, 01:28 PM

yes. Most likely they are still juvenile fish. If they were bought together as juveniles, they have no sex yet. So you got 2 fish, that are neither male or female. If you bought them at the same exact size, and there was a bigger clown in there, they are both males. Either way, they will fight for dominance. They will keep doing this, and it can go for some time, until they establish dominance. The more dominant fish will turn into a female, and grow quite a bit larger than the male. How much depends on the species, and not familiar with the size difference among oscellaris.

Yes, the maroon will gang up on MANY osce or percs if in the same tank. Maroons are pretty nasty.

jenglish · 12/18/2009, 04:11 PM

They are likely trying to figure out who gets to be the female. If you got them from the same tank, they should both still be males. In the wild they are generally spaced out in a heirarchy and as a female dies, everybody gets to move up a notch. Hopefully they will work it out.

PattersM · 12/18/2009, 06:02 PM

I had the same issue with mine about six weeks ago. Both are perc's and were bought together at about 1 inch.

They fought for about 3-4 days and then I noticed that the fights started to get shorter in time, just a few seconds, and there was always the same winner.

You may notice the looser presenting it's side in submission.

As has already been pointed out it's all to do with dominance as the fishes go from un-specified sex to male and then one (the boss) to female.

12/18/2009, 01:04 PM	#1
RussR19146 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 104	Clown Fish Fighting - normal? Hi, I have two Clownfish (black false percula - sdarker than the regular ones but not actually black and white) for about three weeks now. Recently they have been fighting tooth and nail. They will fight chase each other, fin nip etc and then calm down and swim together or have separate time. then repeat Is this normal? They are both about 1.5" - 2" long no visible size difference They got along well at the store and did so for the first two weeks - they do not seem to be killing one another Thanks

12/18/2009, 01:28 PM	#2
Eric Williams Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Boise Idaho Posts: 46	I also have a perc and a black and they do chase each other from time to time as well but do not really fight. Maybe tank size or lack of places to call home. I have had a maroon with them and had to remove the maroon since they are really territorial and would not give up on chasing the other two. __________________ Sign Guy Current Tank Info: 210 Gal DT, 65 gal acrylic sump outer orbit hood with 3 150 14K MH, 8 96W Dual Actinic 8 moon lights Reeflow 3600 GPH return pump 2 Vortech MP40 Reef Octopus 150 protein skimmer

12/18/2009, 04:11 PM	#4
jenglish Marquis de Carabas Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,523	They are likely trying to figure out who gets to be the female. If you got them from the same tank, they should both still be males. In the wild they are generally spaced out in a heirarchy and as a female dies, everybody gets to move up a notch. Hopefully they will work it out. __________________ Jeremy Brown liquor never hurt anybody “Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse" Pierre-Simon Laplace I should want to cook him a simple meal, but I shouldn't want to cut into him, to tear the flesh, to wear the flesh, to be born unto new worlds where his flesh becomes my key. Current Tank Info: broken and dry

12/18/2009, 01:28 PM	#3
Chiefsurfer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Seaside Park, NJ Posts: 2,138	yes. Most likely they are still juvenile fish. If they were bought together as juveniles, they have no sex yet. So you got 2 fish, that are neither male or female. If you bought them at the same exact size, and there was a bigger clown in there, they are both males. Either way, they will fight for dominance. They will keep doing this, and it can go for some time, until they establish dominance. The more dominant fish will turn into a female, and grow quite a bit larger than the male. How much depends on the species, and not familiar with the size difference among oscellaris. Yes, the maroon will gang up on MANY osce or percs if in the same tank. Maroons are pretty nasty.

12/18/2009, 06:02 PM	#5
PattersM Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mattawan, Michigan Posts: 117	I had the same issue with mine about six weeks ago. Both are perc's and were bought together at about 1 inch. They fought for about 3-4 days and then I noticed that the fights started to get shorter in time, just a few seconds, and there was always the same winner. You may notice the looser presenting it's side in submission. As has already been pointed out it's all to do with dominance as the fishes go from un-specified sex to male and then one (the boss) to female.