High Tide Aquatics

[Urgent] How to get current clownfish to accept a mate?

rdriggett

rdriggett

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Hi all, I've had my first frostbite clown since March and my LFS finally got more frozen frostbite clowns in stock. Betty (my clownfish) initially chased a mate out of the tank so I gave up on the idea until now. I added a 50% size frostbite clown and she is chasing him around relentlessly. I tried adding a mirror and that only provided a few minutes of relief. I cant get an acclimation box fast enough but I will try making one out of tupperware. I'm struggling to catch either clownfish.
What can I do to make the new clownfish submit? Or can I at least lessen the bullying? I don't enjoy having lost lives on my conscious.
 
Yeah, this can be a tough one.

Please take this for what it's worth, but IME (occi's and maroons) you'll need to take out the larger one and let the little one settle in, get comfortable and most importantly, get eating regularly. Give the little one a few days at least, more time is better, before reintroducing the big one. I've never tried an acclimation box, so I can't comment on how that well that works. They will probably still chase/nip, but the little one should do the submission shimmy basically immediately, and they should settle in eventually. In the best case, it will still take a little time for clowns from different sources to pair up unless you introduce them when they're really little. Some chasing and nipping is normal, but when one starts to hug the water surface, it'll need to come out and be given time to recover. Lots of other factors are important here like tank size, tank mates, hiding places and possibly anemones.

Again, this is just from my experience, and I'm sure others can add to this.
 
Get the new addition that is 1/3 the size of the current one. Let them sort it out a bit...and done.

I match clowns all the time, and works almost all the time... unless it's a maroon setup.
 
Btw, the rationale on the 1/3 thing is you are increasing chances that the new addition is either a male / neutral / sub...so much easier for main fish to accept.

Of course, it you have a known female and a known confirmed male, then they'll pair if not tolerate each other right away.
 
I had the exact situation. Frostbite, chased mate out of tank & killed it etc.

I eventually added a mate that was super tiny (what @NanoCrazed suggested) and it was a drama free situation.

Not a massive sample size but adding the tiniest mate I could find worked for me.
 
phatduckk said:
I had the exact situation. Frostbite, chased mate out of tank & killed it etc.

I eventually added a mate that was super tiny (what @NanoCrazed suggested) and it was a drama free situation.

Not a massive sample size but adding the tiniest mate I could find worked for me.
Click to expand...
Shoot, looks like a shot myself in the foot with a 50% sized clown.
 
I drilled a tupperware and the mean clownfish is in isolation now.
CB5F7029-BBF9-48DE-A50B-10FBD4C9BD25.jpeg
 
The larger clown occasionally swipes at the smaller one but seems to mostly tolerate his existence. The small one likes to hang with the big one but not vice versa.
Any further tips on forcing pairing?
2A6B81A9-D7B0-4144-B35F-F9D20955F786.jpeg
 
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