Archivarium 2004

DanG · Members Joined: 15 Nov 2004

I picked up a pair of maroon clowns today from my LFS. One male and one female. After acclimating them, the female started kicking the males butt and did not stop. I had gone to work and my girlfriend called me to tell me what had started after I left. I got her to pick up some of that plastic grid that people sometimes use to protect flourescant lights to create a barrier in the tank. They have been seperated, but now the male is just sitting on the bottom in a corner with many of his fins shredded.
What do I do? I wanted a pair that would live together and maybe eventually breed, but not this. I'm scared the male may not make it through the night. From everything I've read, clowns are supposed to be peacefull fish. Or is this just an odd female? Will she be overly agressive to others in the tank if I add different fish(not another clown)? Or should I take them back to the store and get them exchanged?

FloridaBoy · Advisors Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Sounds like you did not get a mated pair.
In my experience Maroons are great community fish but they are intolerant of others of same sp. unless they are a mated pair.
You are seeing the standard territorial response from the alpha fish, including aggressive pecking which will kill the other clown if ignored. I have seen these in Micronesia, these fish occupy a very small area of turf, in/around an anemone, and they are very protective of it. Bottom line, you need to keep them apart. If the bullied fish survives, you can test compatibility later with a glass partition, but it would be foolish to put them together. If they were sold to you as a mated pair, you have a valid case for a refund.
http://www.orafarm.com/species.html
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

fishgills · Members Joined: 12 Jan 2004 Location: florida

I agree not mated pair, I'd get it out.
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Sylvia Satin

were the clowns wild caught? If so it is possable you have 2 females. sometimes the wild caught fish may b small but still has changed to a female.

Its pretty tough to pair maroon clowns, I have a female I'm trying to pair up as well. From what Iv read you should get the smallest male possable(tank raised and should b with a group of other small maroons to ensure it is still a male) and introduce it in a bag or behind plastic mesh like you have now. After a few days the female will(hopefully) stop trying to attach the male through the bag/mesh, and you can try letting him out.
some rough stuff is expected but if it gets too bad (damaged fins) I think its best to take the little male back to to the store and try another male.

I read a few really good articles about maroons and pairing them, I'll see if I can find them again.

Good luck!

SLACkra

the easiest way to pair clowns is to take advantage of how they live in the wild. its like a ladder at the top is the female then the alpha male and so on. if the female dies the alpha male becomes the female and the 2nd in comand male becomes the alpha. basicaly get two small fish(definatly males) eventually the dominant one the alpha one will become a female just like if there had been a female and it died. and thus there being only 1 other clown in the tank it is definatly the 2nd in charge and it becomes the alph. but with marroons expect some fighting there agro fish.

andrew
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32g planted community
7.5g Nano Reef
1 four legged wonder napper
2 winged demons

sirreal63 · Regulars Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Location: St Louis

Check out this thread on pairing clownfish...it is an excellent article.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215098
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Jack
29 gallon planted various fish
58 gallon salt, 30g fuge
75 gallon planted, 5.45 wpg

drbdc

Hey Jack! Found you on another board as well as reefcentral!

sirreal63 · Regulars Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Location: St Louis

Roy...I am everywhere. LOL

Glad you made it over here..I sent you the link long ago.
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Jack
29 gallon planted various fish
58 gallon salt, 30g fuge
75 gallon planted, 5.45 wpg

KDodds · Advisors Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Location: Suffern, NY

Some clown species are fairly peaceful, but Maroons aren't one. FWIW, you could still have a male and female, but a mated (as in produced offspring) pair is unlikely, IMO. You'd do better to return the male, and remove the female to QT, then get a known juvenile and introduce it to the main tank. After it's been in for several weeks, try re-introducing the female, feeding before, during, and after the introduction of the female. Increased feeding a few days prior to and after the introduction may also help.
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Kieron Dodds
Inside Aquatics
www.insideaquatics.com

DanG · Members Joined: 15 Nov 2004

I actually finally returned her the the LFS I got her from yesterday.
I tried the eggcrate stuff between them for a while, but they wouldn't play nice when I put them together, she would always go after him and nip at his fins. So he's currently all alone in the new 40G I set up yesterday.