Jackass clown fish!

sh8wn9 · 10-02-2009, 06:21 PM

OK...I have a 29g tank(biocube), and the first two fish I ever put in there were 2 clown fish...a male and female. The female is like 2 or 3 times as big as the male...they've both grown alot. Lately the female has been harassing the male tooo much. She reminds me of a freakin orca whale. She chases him all around especially at the top splashing water and looks so angry and like tries to bite him...and then they start that twitching thing. The male even got so harassed that I found him in the back filter chamber where the skimmer is!!!...3 times!!! Which means he freaked out enough to jump out of the water!
Anyone know why there is so much harassment? I don't understand it.

Royalscott · 10-02-2009, 06:25 PM

Mating?

sh8wn9 · 10-02-2009, 06:28 PM

Hmmm...I dont know...I've never seen doing anything as far as mating.

Varga · 10-02-2009, 07:11 PM

My clowns nearly killed eachother for about 2 months. now they've been friends for about 2 years.

chipmunkofdoom2 · 10-02-2009, 07:54 PM

It's part of how clowns establish their social structure. This is a pretty good read.

Basically, the larger clown is the female and the smaller is the male. In the wild, when the female dies, the most aggressive submissive male grows and changes sex to be the female. Clowns can change from "sexless" to male and back again as many times as they want to adapt to the social structure, but after one becomes female, it can't go back. It's possible the larger one is male, but morphing into female to take the dominant spot and must assert dominance over the other. It's also possible you have 2 females, in which case they'll fight to the death, most likely. Keep an eye on them. If the smaller one gets physically hurt (torn fins, other visible damage) then separate them. If not, let them duke it out.

sh8wn9 · 10-02-2009, 08:14 PM

Yea that was a very interesting article...thanks. One was always bigger than the other one...I'm not really too sure what is going on with them. The smaller one has some scars from being stuck in the skimmer for a while, but no torn fins or anything from the larger one doing damage.

10-02-2009, 06:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
sh8wn9 Ricordea Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: connecticut Posts: 191 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Jackass clown fish! OK...I have a 29g tank(biocube), and the first two fish I ever put in there were 2 clown fish...a male and female. The female is like 2 or 3 times as big as the male...they've both grown alot. Lately the female has been harassing the male tooo much. She reminds me of a freakin orca whale. She chases him all around especially at the top splashing water and looks so angry and like tries to bite him...and then they start that twitching thing. The male even got so harassed that I found him in the back filter chamber where the skimmer is!!!...3 times!!! Which means he freaked out enough to jump out of the water! Anyone know why there is so much harassment? I don't understand it.

10-02-2009, 06:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
Royalscott Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Louisiana Posts: 936 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Jackass clown fish! Mating? __________________ Janetta & Scott 29 Gallon Bio Cube, 14 Gallon Bio Cube 34 gallon Solana & 3 gallon Picotope The Nano Club Wear Gloves

10-02-2009, 06:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
sh8wn9 Ricordea Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: connecticut Posts: 191 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Jackass clown fish! Hmmm...I dont know...I've never seen doing anything as far as mating.

10-02-2009, 07:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
Varga Manta Ray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,368 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Jackass clown fish! My clowns nearly killed eachother for about 2 months. now they've been friends for about 2 years. __________________ Varga's Cube http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...on-cube-5.html

10-02-2009, 07:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
chipmunkofdoom2 Reef Lobster Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stewartstown, PA Posts: 1,689 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Jackass clown fish! It's part of how clowns establish their social structure. This is a pretty good read. Basically, the larger clown is the female and the smaller is the male. In the wild, when the female dies, the most aggressive submissive male grows and changes sex to be the female. Clowns can change from "sexless" to male and back again as many times as they want to adapt to the social structure, but after one becomes female, it can't go back. It's possible the larger one is male, but morphing into female to take the dominant spot and must assert dominance over the other. It's also possible you have 2 females, in which case they'll fight to the death, most likely. Keep an eye on them. If the smaller one gets physically hurt (torn fins, other visible damage) then separate them. If not, let them duke it out. __________________ DIY LED Retro I like to glue animals to rocks and put disturbing amounts of electricity and saltwater next to each other.

10-02-2009, 08:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
sh8wn9 Ricordea Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: connecticut Posts: 191 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Jackass clown fish! Yea that was a very interesting article...thanks. One was always bigger than the other one...I'm not really too sure what is going on with them. The smaller one has some scars from being stuck in the skimmer for a while, but no torn fins or anything from the larger one doing damage.

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