hello im new and need some help with my clown fish id really apriciate it!!

[little mermaid]

hello i dont know if you can help answer my question i would be very gratefull if you could.
i have to orange tank bred clownfish i had one to start with but i wanted to get it a mate.
i went to the shop and was told to buy a smaller one due to them being unsexed and they wont fight much.
well since i brought it home about 6months ago they always seam to fight the smaller one backing off (poss the male) they dont have any damage to the fins but the bigger one shakes and chases the smaller one in to a coner so that it coweres not very peacefull to watch.
im just wondering if this is normal?
also the bigger one was acting very strange the otherday it was swimming fine then all off a sudden as if it was dead would float on the top like it was dead then the smaller one would nip at it then it would snap out of it??
so strange to watch!!
im just a bit confused with what there doing both eat fine and look healthy i just dont understand this behaviour id be very grateful if you would get back to me

thanks
sarah

 

[cheeks69]

Most likely mating behaviour. Sometimes the female will take some time before they accept a mate if they accept them at all, if they're both healthy and eating well I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[LittleFish]

Like cheeks said, it's most likely mating behavior. I had a larger clownfish for a while and got a smaller one to be her mate after about 6 months of her being in my tank. She chased him around and nipped at him for a while and it got so bad she was causing him to jump out of the main tank and into the filter. I was concerned that he was going to jump out when i wasn't watching him so I bought a small breeder net to hang in the tank. I placed the smaller clownfish in there for about 5 days so he would be safe and so the larger clownfish and my two other fish would get used to him being in the tank. I let him out after and he was fine. The larger clownfish still shakes at him and nips at him if he gets too far away from her or makes her mad but that's just showing she's dominant. Good luck! I hope it gets better.