Clownfish Drama

[SarahSmile]

My first 2 attempts at fish ownership were unsuccessful and thanks to this forum I determined it was my gas exchange causing the issues. So I kept the top flap on my tank open and got a clownfish.
He is happy as can be (It's been maybe a bit over a month?) and, of course, I want another fish in there.
So off to the store I go and I pick him out a mate, the smallest one they had (so they are the same) and I was so excited to add him and see them bond. Yeah, um, they are not bonding. It's awful. The new fish is a JERK. My poor little fish is now forced to hide pathetically in a cave, he tries to come out and is MAULED by the newbie.
I shouldn't have added just one clown to the tank initially huh? I just didn't want to have 2 dead fish since I was still trying to get things worked out What am I to do now? Is my fish going to get bullied to death? I can't have that, I'll return the new fish but can I only have 1 fish now??
Anyone have any experience in this?

 

[AmberSunrise]

Yeah I would take the new one back and ask for an exchange. Clowns really need to go in at the same time or already be mated. From what I understand.

You have a pretty small tank so your choices are limited. Maybe a clown goby would be nice for you though they are cute.

 

[BL1]

What type of clown is it? I don't think it'll be a permanent issue, I added my second clown 2 months after the first. If it's still bad, you can try taping a mirror to the glass. It'll give your established fish something new to bully while your new clown gets used to the tank.

 

[SarahSmile]

They are false percs.
The new one is doing the bullying, which seemed odd to me.
I will try a mirror tonight....

 

[BL1]

What's the size difference between the two?

 

[SarahSmile]

They are the same size, almost exactly. Both very small. My husband didn't know how I could tell which was the new fish and which was the "old" but the new one is a slightly darker orange color.

 

[ErinCahir]

+1 BL... They are just trying to figure out who gets to be the girl.
It should pass.

 

[14 gallon nanocube]

try lights out and rearrange your live rock.change it up a bit and confuse them both may help them bond if they wind up exploring the new surroundings together

 

[BL1]

Yep, since they're the same size they're just trying to figure out who's gonna be the dominant one. Usually when you add a new clown you want to get one smaller then the original.

 

[wontonflip]

+2 Brian...they're just establishing who's head b*tch :) Hopefully they don't kill each other in the process LOL If you're THAT worried, trade one of them in for a much bigger one.

 

[Bifferwine]

When adding a new clown, it's best to try and get the most different size possible. That way they don't fight over who is going to become female (the big fish). If one fish is already larger than the other, it usually eliminates that aggression right off the bat since it is already established who is dominant. If you can catch one, I'd take it back to the store and swap it for a different sized clown.

 

[SarahSmile]

Thanks everyone.
I cannot believe I goofed that up and thought if they were the same size it'd be better.

This morning they seemed to be ignoring each other. One was swimming at the top, the other, the bottom. The old one was trying to burrow into a rock? I feel sorry for him.
I fed them mysis and that worked well as they were both about to swim around the water column and feed.

 

[SarahSmile]

Update:
I took the advice and totally rearranged all of my rocks. Almost instantly the drama went away and both fish are swimming nicely around. I have been watching them for a few days and things seem to be really ok. Yay! Clownfish are really the best.

 

[little_fish]

Yay! How about a picture of the now happy couple!

 

[SarahSmile]

I swear they were posing! I ended up taking waaaay too many pictures. Each one makes my tank look even dirtier...

 

[little_fish]

Your tank looks fine and the clowns look great!

And ya, i wont even begin to tell you how many pictures i have taken of my tank.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Cutie pies! Glad it worked out for you. Girl you better scrape that glass before it gets out of control! LOL

 

[SarahSmile]

Alright, time for another update, for the sake of those who may learn from this....It kept seeming like it was working but; the original one just kept getting picked on. They'd seem fine, I mean, one was showing aggression but I'd thought they'd work it out, then I'd see the underdog over in the corner, almost dead looking, like once every 2 or 3 weeks. I'd do my tests, everything was fine. I'd do a water change. The next day he'd seem better. I kept thinking, things will be better once the bigger tank is ready to go...But, Last night was the worst, I really thought he was dead, I came home from work today and he was trying so hard, to swim around but the other clown kept launching himself at him. And the poor little guy would cower and flop to his corner, and lay in the sand, not moving. So I yanked the bully outta there, and brought him to the LFS, the manager was delighted to get him and is going to put him in his reef tank as he doesn't have a perc yet. He was a beautiful fish, great colors, big; but, I can't have a bully. The other guy, I thought he wasn't going to make it but he's swimming around now, relieved.