Percula clown getting beat up. Is he tough enough?

[Anonymous]

I had one false percula, and I bought another of similar size. At first they were never separated, and the old one would even do the "dance," turning verticle and then swim sideways, for the new one. Over the last few days, the old one has started beating the snot out of the new one. He looks rough, almost like his stripes are going to peel off. Also, he's started making a bit of a dip in sand to hide in that's mostly covered by macro and is easily defensible. Is this the kind of spat that will be resolved, or should I try to catch him and take him back to the store? Would it help if I got them a host? I'd rather not go there yet, but it's realistic for the near future.

 

[Anonymous]

are they still the same size?
my experience- when trying to establish an 'instant' pair, it's best to first get a very small clown, let it acclimate for a month, then introduce a fairly larger one second.i think clowns all start as male, and the larger turn female(protogandrous hermaphrodites-spelling is wrong, maybe-is the tekky term,i think).letting the smaller one get over the stress of transfer first helps even the odds out, since the females, given their larger size, have a built in advantage.
fwiw-i used this technique with maroons- a bright red individual will almost always be male, at the size of 1-1&1/2"-and then added a darker maroon of 3"-4" size-within 24 hrs-instant pair-also advised customers to try this- was close to 100% succesful.
try seperating out the larger, more aggresive clown for a few weeks, and then reintroduce it, that may do the trick!
good luck!

 

[Minh Nguyen]

In establishing clown pairs, it is best to get two of with greatest differences in size so that the small one will not fight or if he does, he capitulate quickly. The more even in size, the longer the battle for dominates. Consider return one for a either much smaller or much larger clown.

 

[slojmn1]

Twice I have added a very small oscellaris to an existing large oscellaris and both times the larger took to the smaller immediately without any aggression. Both pairs in seperate tanks are together most constantly, with some traveling apart during the day. Both pairs snuggle together to sleep. No spawning yet as the smaller oscellaris are not mature males yet. The females are being very patient. I might return your beat up one and try for a much smaller or much larger one to try to pair them up.