Urgent help with clownfish!!!!!!

I'm gonna make it very short as I'm very very worried!

I had my female big clownfish in the 250L tank added a yellow tang 1 week ago and everythings was ok she tried to bite him as shes very very agressive, but after a couple of days she left him alone and everythings great now, today I added her a little partner another clownfish smaller than her she seemed great with him but now shes bullying him very very baddly!! she has bit off half of his underfins and shes chasing him around and not living him alone!!!!!!

he looks so exhausted, is this a normal clownfish behaviour or is there something wrong?!!?!


anything I can do about it?!

 

One of the clownfish is large the other one is small, any answers at all?! are they both females and the small one will become a male?! or are they fighting to see if they will pair up?! what's happening here?! x

gonna post pictures of them both!

you see the female one is 2-3X the size of the tiddly one, are they just trying to pair up or am I gonna end up with just 1 clownfish left?!

 

I'm sorry you're clowns aren't getting along.

I can't tell from the photos, are these the same species? i.e. both Oscellaris, or both Perculas?

Are they tank-bred or wild-caught?

Clownfish can be aggressive with both conspecifics and other clowns.

If you've got two different species, then I would think this is natural aggression, and from the photo, it looks like the larger one is defending it's territory.

Even if they are the same species, there is no guarantees that you will get a happy pair when introducing another clown, particularly when one has been in the tank for a while, and has established itself. We can't force nature.

If possible, I would try and rehome one or both of them, and if you want a pair, buy a known pair.

I would certianly be trying to remove the little one, and place in a hospital tank so he can recover.

 

hello thanks for the responce they are both same species, I haven't got another tank to put it in, theyre both tank bred, but the small one isn't even near the bigger ones territory, the small one is sitting in the far right corner and the bigger one runs all the way from the anemone just to bite him!!! the bigger one been in the tank for about 1 week. should I see how they will get along within the next couple of days? and I heard from many other people this is a normal behaviour because they are trying to pair up, I hope they do so they don't fight is driving me insane, the famale has stopped bullying him as much as she did she don't seem to show much aggression now, but the last thing I want to see is waking up in the morning and hes bald with no fins, I actually feel very sad and sorry for him is not the money is just a living soul u know?! x

EDIT : heres some more pics ryan, the big one is like 2-3X the size of the small one tried to get as closest pictures as I could, u see the small one the fin at the bottom is a small chunk missing, the big one is excellent he just don't bother her is her who just bothers him, how long do u think till they pair up or till they calm down, I heard is a normal behaviour till she accepts him or something but not very sure never had a problem like this.

Female is in the middle the left and right picture is the small male

I have just spend 15 mins looking at them and the female is right next to him and shes just twitching in some weird way, sorry I'm just trying to provide all the information I can, I never seen her twitch like this.

 

TBH, I'm not sure what to do. I bought mine as a known pair.

It'd be worth doing some more searching about clown pairing rituals etc. You'd probably need to be specific on the species (Osc or Perc)

And I definitely empathise with the living soul sentiment

 

thanks ryan I just checked and it said when they twitch they will be pairing and they will be breeding, I know they won't be breeding after 1 day LOL! what's the difference about ocelaris and percula? different looks or completely diff species even if one is perc and one is osc couldnt they get along and pair?!

 

To look at, the Perc and Osc are almost identical. There are subtle differences in colour, black lines, eyes, and dorsal fins.

The Perc's are not naturally hosted by BTA, whereas the Osc is.

 

thanks ryan ur always helpfull!

 

hello dudes, I checked the clownies this morning and everythings EXCELLENET she hasent bother him and they swimming together happily now the twiching part ive asked the fish shop and they said the twitching behaviour is when they accepted eachother and when theyre mating so I done a lil rearrange of the tank, I got a beautiful leather coral and a starfish along with a crab and some cleaning crew x

 

That's great that the clowns are getting along!

What sort of starfish did you get? Many a starfish will wreak havoc on a reef, eating corals and slow moving inverts etc.

And also what sort of crab? Depending on what it is, it could eat coral too.

 

ohh if the crab eats a coral, I will do what someone said, take it out of the water look it in the eye and throw it in the floor!

haha just kidding

right the crab is called emerald crab if I'm not mistaken is green and hairy.

the starfish is called sand shifting its really nice and quiet it just digs under the sand and just chills there

ill post u a couple of pics I just redone my aquarium.

now a quick question I HATE with passion bristle worms i

PS: the side of the tank on the left I will make the right side the same and in the middle ill build it up a lil but I need like 15kg more live rock

 

Emerald crabs should be ok. It might pick at your coralline, and bubble algae, but other than that, they're pretty harmless. Occassionally go after small snails, and can bicker with shrimp and other crabs.

Your starfish should do ok too.

FWIW - I love my bristle worms Sure they're a little freaky to look at, but they do a great job cleaning the sandbed

 

I HATE them!!!! I heard if you touch them they could send u to hospital is that true? x

 

Not sure if the hospital bit is true, but certainly the bristles can stick in you like a splinter that you can't see.

 

have you touched them before do they hurt?

 

Haven't touched a bristle worm (that I know of) - I don't tend to put my hands in the tank anymore, most of my work is done in the sump.

I have been stung by aiptasia and majano anemones. Leaves a tingle/numbness to your finger tips for a while (couple of days)

 

bristle worms won't send you to the hospital but do sting if you are allergic to them. my hands would burn just cleaning the tank if I had many larger bristles in the tank. glad your clowns are doing better. In general it is a good idea to get a clown that is just smaller than the female, 2 to 3 times smaller may have caused some of the issue, you can also rearrange the rock work when adding a new fish, if possible. but hard to do if you have coral. glad your clowns are doing better

 

Thanks for all the nice comments guys I know when to turn when I need help!!! althought the female doesent bother the male anymore the male seems to always be on top of the water like its scared and don't wanna be bothered, any ideas of that its been about 1-2 weeks now she has definetly accepted him sometimes I see them close together running around in the tank but most of the time the female is in the anemone and the male is on top, any ideas is that because he still fairly new?

 

Looking for anyone with experience with my clown fish has not eaten in eight days or more kind of swims funny and the biggest thing is he breathes very heavy day in and day out put him in quarantine but I’m not really sure what he may have there are no visible signs on his body . I’m treating with prazipro and only did one of the two of Cupermine. Hesitant about second dose because it may kill the fish . There is a string of black at bottom of belly. Is that poop, is Fish constapated? Even questioning gas bubble disease?

 

It's going to be tough given that it's a black ice occ, but have you checked the fins closely? Is it swimming with a clamped fin? or showing any kind of white spots anywhere? It does sound similar to ich or velvet but without visible appearance it's tough to say. I would keep dosing as at this point the fish isn't going to live much longer as is.

 

I agree with continuing medication, and that's saying a lot for me as I am reluctant to medicate without a decent diagnosis. However, if the fish hasn't eaten in that long, (particularly a clown, who are usually little piggies), there is something seriously wrong so I believe this to be a catch 22 type of situation. If you have started a treatment, do finish it, as it may be your best bet at this stage.

 

Thank you for responding. Should I do the second dose Cupermine? 2 days ago I did the first dose Cupermine and prazipro. There’s absolutely no white spot at all. I’ll post a pick of my tank as you will see no fish have ick and blue tangs are prone to it but I quarantined him months ago and he’s never got it again. Surprisingly I seen him poop and it was dark brown but parasites would make it white. Let me check fins? They are flapping all the way out like crazy so that’s not the problem could it just be constapation? Sorry it’s not downloading pic of dt

 

Did you see him poop today? The thing that seems most concerning is that the fish hasn't eaten for so long, but if he's defecating, and normally at that, then it seems like he must have eaten something recently. I am definitely no pro at diagnosing fishy issues. I do know that prazI is a pretty gentle medication, while cupramine is a harsher med. Have you noticed any difference in his behavior since dosing? It has to be your call, since you are able to monitor things. If the medications seem to be helping, stick with it. If there is no change, chances are you're not dealing with a parasite, so perhaps it would be best if you don't continue a copper treatment.

 

Let's cover the ground bases first because I'm not familiar with your set-up.

How long has your tank been set-up?
Is the tank cycled?
Temperature?
Salinity level? also what are you using to measure the salinity?
What I your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate?
What's your pH?

 

Did you see him poop today? The thing that seems most concerning is that the fish hasn't eaten for so long, but if he's defecating, and normally at that, then it seems like he must have eaten something recently. I am definitely no pro at diagnosing fishy issues. I do know that prazI is a pretty gentle medication, while cupramine is a harsher med. Have you noticed any difference in his behavior since dosing? It has to be your call, since you are able to monitor things. If the medications seem to be helping, stick with it. If there is no change, chances are you're not dealing with a parasite, so perhaps it would be best if you don't continue a copper treatment.

Did you see him poop today? The thing that seems most concerning is that the fish hasn't eaten for so long, but if he's defecating, and normally at that, then it seems like he must have eaten something recently. I am definitely no pro at diagnosing fishy issues. I do know that prazI is a pretty gentle medication, while cupramine is a harsher med. Have you noticed any difference in his behavior since dosing? It has to be your call, since you are able to monitor things. If the medications seem to be helping, stick with it. If there is no change, chances are you're not dealing with a parasite, so perhaps it would be best if you don't continue a copper treatment.

Let's cover the ground bases first because I'm not familiar with your set-up.

How long has your tank been set-up?
Is the tank cycled?
Temperature?
Salinity level? also what are you using to measure the salinity?
What I your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate?
What's your pH?

Tanks been setup a year. 75 gallon Fowlr definitely cycyled cuz parameters have been the same for months on test kit. Temperatures 80. I have refractometer reading 1025 . Ammonia is 0nitrite 0 and nitrate was 20 I will retest today. Ph has run low I’ve been struggling it’s been 7.8 . So I’m pretty sure Petco has been selling my rodI water with high tds . So I bought cartons of fresh ocean saltwater . They’re 12$ Every 5 gallons. I bought tds and it read 25, isn’t that bad?? I was surprised I saw Fish poop for first time since it didn’t eat. So I was happy. I’m thinking it ate at some point? Or the prazipro helped it. I posted pic of 75 tank

 

Glad you're here Nart

The TDS of saltwater is so very high, that my TDS meter can't read it. RODI water, pure and unsalted should have a TDS of zero.

 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........ I would ask you, what are you using to calibrate your refractometer, but I would assume you are using that refracto for your 75 gallon tank too... soo I don't think your salinity is an issue.

I mean, you've already treated with what most LFS would treat for in their QT process. My LFS usually does 2 rounds of Prazi.
The clown doesn't appear to be losing mass either. Still look pretty chunky to me. Is it pretty skittish when you go up to the tank?

Does it look a little bloated to you? Hard to tell from the pic.
Has it poop'd since? and what have you tried to feed the clown with? I would try a variety of food. Flakes, pellets, frozen Mysis, live and frozen brine shrimp, live black/white worms and see if it'll take to anything. Also, try having turning the light off that's directly over it to help lessen the stress.

 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........ I would ask you, what are you using to calibrate your refractometer, but I would assume you are using that refracto for your 75 gallon tank too... soo I don't think your salinity is an issue.

I mean, you've already treated with what most LFS would treat for in their QT process. My LFS usually does 2 rounds of Prazi.
The clown doesn't appear to be losing mass either. Still look pretty chunky to me. Is it pretty skittish when you go up to the tank?

Does it look a little bloated to you? Hard to tell from the pic.
Has it poop'd since? and what have you tried to feed the clown with? I would try a variety of food. Flakes, pellets, frozen Mysis, live and frozen brine shrimp, live black/white worms and see if it'll take to anything. Also, try having turning the light off that's directly over it to help lessen the stress.

So I’ve tried flake, mysis, pellet. I’m trying to be really careful because last time I over fed in the quarantine in the ammonia went crazy and I had to keep doing constant water changes and I’m also trying to put little so I can see if it gets eaten in which so far I haven’t really been able to tell . I have not recalibrated my refractor meter but it’s lining up with what the pet store salinity is saying they did show me how to recalibrate it though . He doesn’t look bloated to me and there’s no visible sign of anything at sometimes his mouth looks a little slanted so I’m wondering if he has trouble eating . It’s probably really nothing I’m just trying to find something anything wrong with him there’s not a single white spot or anything to the skin it’s probably really nothing I’m just trying to find something anything wrong with him there’s not a single white spot or anything to the skin . I saw another brown strand of poop today so I’m wondering if he’s getting cleaned out from the medicines or he ate which is pushing him to poop anyway I did the second dose of copper I just did a little under what I was supposed to . I can tell yha that the female clown was nipping a few Times throughout the day at the smaller clown assuming male. It was doing the whole mating dance and all so I don’t know if It just put the fish in some type of funk and then it started breathing really heavy which it has been for over a week and just made that stop eating . But now the fish are separated so we’ll see what the outcome is thank you for helping me it could be just one thing you say that could really be the problem or something I’m doing wrong so I appreciate anybody that helps .

 

Perhaps you could try a type of food that I refer to as whole proteins. So, mysis or brine shrimp, black or white worms, which are readily available in the freezer at big box pet stores.

If the male was put off by the female's attention, it may be good to just give him some solitary time, so having him separated is probably good. Do whatever you can to lessen stress... so lights off, access to a hide, and observe from afar. He's a beautiful little guy, and you are doing your best, so please try to feel good about that. Good luck!

 

See if this helps.

 

So you aren't using frozen foods? Even if the fish doesn't make it you should switch. Frozen foods like Reef Frenzy are arguably the best thing you can feed your tank (less fillers, nitrates, and it feeds your fish, corals and inverts just about everything they need). Oh and are you feeding your clownfish green stuff as well? They are omnivores and need green in their diet (ie Forzen Spirulina Formula).

 

Perhaps you could try a type of food that I refer to as whole proteins. So, mysis or brine shrimp, black or white worms, which are readily available in the freezer at big box pet stores.

If the male was put off by the female's attention, it may be good to just give him some solitary time, so having him separated is probably good. Do whatever you can to lessen stress... so lights off, access to a hide, and observe from afar. He's a beautiful little guy, and you are doing your best, so please try to feel good about that. Good luck!

Thank you I will do that. I’ll keep you posted.