Maroon Clowns

[thekwah]

Greetings!

Have had a 55 gal FLR going for 6 months. Fish specs are 2 maroons, 2 velvet damsels, 1 yellow tail, 1 firefish goby, 1 algae blenny. 10-15 hermits, 4 emerald crabs, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 med long tip sebia and 1 small bubble tip. Water is in spec.

The question is: the dominant clown established herself several months ago prior to the anemone placement. The dominant clown [how do I know if its a she yet] has imprisoned the other to the top right of the tank not allowing him/it to really do anything other then tread water. At night they seem to be normal, retreating into the rock. Yesterday the dominant clown finally took to the bubble tip [whew, no wasted money]. She/it is not very aggressive towards the others, aside from the occasional hermit.

This morning, both clowns looked as if they had a major brawl. Fins were ripped scales damaged, you get the picture. [Hey a pic might work...lol]

No other fish/tank mate seems to be part of that late night rumble. Now is it possible that they beat on each other? Seems very likely... I’m trying to not over think this, but I really want those 2 to get along and be mates. I don’t like having stressed fish in my tank, so I really want to understand if this is normal behavior and "should" calm down...

Thanks in advance...

 

[EmilyB]

My female tried to kill the male upon introduction. 8O

I bonded my pair by removing them both to a divided tank and gradually letting them spend time together (without the host to fight over). This worked incredibly well, and I have yet to have a clown pair of any species get along as well as this one. The male gets one day off between spawns... :lol:

Others have used a critter keeper for the newcomer with some success I believe. I feel my female bonded quicker without worrying about protecting her anemone. When they were reintroduced to the tank with the anemone they just plopped in and went about their business.

 

[thekwah]

These were bought from the LFS, same tank same time etc. I thought adding them would be a wise choice in combating the mean velvet damsel. Now both dominant fish [maroon and velvet] are best of buddies. No fighting nothing. But against their own species, they dominate. Arent fish cool?.... :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

The question is: the dominant clown established herself several months ago prior to the anemone placement. The dominant clown [how do I know if its a she yet]

if it's the dominant one-it's a she :wink:

At night they seem to be normal, retreating into the rock

if they're still 'hooking up' at nite-i'd say try to tough it out- my money is on the female letting the male join her in the anemone fairly shortly-prolly w/in a week after her 'taking over' the anemone-as long as the male isn't so stressed that he stops eating, they should pair off-if he stops eating-seperate them, but keep them in visual contact w/each other, and release the male when he also tries to drive to the female-imho

fwiw- a major size diff seems to make things go more smoothly when trying to pair up maroons-how big are they?

 

[thekwah]

I thought that might be case on the gender. That was made up within the first few days of them being the only 2 clowns in the tank. Its just weird she took so long to get into the bubble tip [they leave the long tenacle alone]. So much about their personality has changed in 24hours. Now the male has retreated to a hole in the rock. Completly whipped no doubt. Seems like they all are getting attitudes in there, if one of my emeralds isnt pulling on the long tentacle, then the CBS is pulling on it. Seems the only things not feuding are the baby serpent stars...and the turbo snails...

 

[thekwah]

Oh yea... They are still pretty small 2.5 inches. I ended up seperating them, he was floating on his side at the top of the tank. Feigning death no doubt because as soon as he was safe he righted up and ate...

So now she can still see him, just not hurt him.

Now why would my CBS be tugging at my long tenacle? He already lost one pincher during his molt. I hope he looses his other.... :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

ah-so they're very close in size?

in that case,- it may not work out,- far better if the situation is closer to a 3-4" female and a 1-1.5" male

if the male recovers, see if you can swap it for a slighly smaller male-only after the female gets abit bigger

hth

 

[thekwah]

That is a good idea. She is bigger, by a small margin. Im gonna keep him in his fry net for now. Try the introduction again after a few days. He wants out, maybe Ill let him try again.

Thanks

 

[dick182]

Yep, in Joyce Wilkenson's book, She said the really the only success she has had with pairing up maroons is when there is a well established female already in a tank, then adding in a MUCH smaller juvenile to the tank. Probably because there is such an extreme size difference, plus the females already established territory, makes for no arguments on who the boss is.
I just added a tank-raised marron clown, and i put it in the tank with a tupperware right beside the bta. It took to it within seconds, i was so thrilled. I'll wait several months then try adding a juvenile marron.
Only problem is the bta wants to hide in the far corner of the tank, making it tough to view. Ah well, can't win them all

 

[carter92]

Bypass all that hassle...I just bought a mated pair of Maroon Clowns and they are still happy after 3-4months....Even with another mated pair of Orange Skunk clowns in the same tank (on different ends of tank)...The tank is a 225 gallon......in the first several weeks the Maroons tried to evict the skunks but were rebuffed by them with amazing authority...Good Luck...save yourself...get a mated pair..............

 

[Anonymous]

fwiw-i've helped quite a few customers pair off their own, as well as paired for myself :wink:

every time there was a big size difference, and both were introduced simultaneously-things went swimmingly

i had a pair w/in one day-male was 1/3 the size of the female-i think the difference in size is really the key

 

[tkhawaja]

Post Error

 

[tkhawaja]

every time there was a big size difference, and both were introduced simultaneously-things went swimmingly

I've been reading about Maroon and Perculas today. Maroons seem to be more aggressive than others. Even juveniles will fight each other and stand their ground if they are of similar size. The advice I'm reading is the same as vitz's. If there is a large size difference, that helps. Plus the larger specimen should already be in the tank. Providing the smaller Maroon a safe haven also helps.