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She’s gone psycho...

Actually just full blown clownfish. But psycho/ clownfish... same thing.
A while ago my female clownfish had a rapid growth spurt, sadly the male did not. She started getting very aggressive with him, but he would do his submissive dance And all was good. One day a few weeks ago everything was normal when I left for work, but my Girlfriend called me a few times to tell me that the female was chasing the male all over the tank and beating the hell out of him. Long story short, she killed him. Came home he has a fleshy nub for a tail, another fin missing, a few chunks taken out of him. He didn’t make it. A few days later she started trying to get my torch to host her, which I was not thrilled with, then she moved to my beautiful new elegance. I’m hoping she doesn’t end up killing it, but it definitely isn’t thrilled about it. Hasn’t fully opened since, only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. Depends on how loving she is being.
oddly she doesn’t bother any other fish, even when they are right next to “her” elegance. But for the last two weeks if I so much as put my hand near the tank, she on the attack. If my hand goes in, Anywhere in the tank, it’s a matter of seconds and she is biting me. Fortunately it doesn’t hurt, except when she gets the skin between my fingers. Which she has become a master of. Today she actually jumped out of the water and hit the screen top trying to get at my hand that was resting on the edge. She’s lucky she’s so cute.

(And I thought my crazy ass Bronx born Puerto Rican, Italian girlfriend was aggressive.)

She even looks like she wants to attack in the picture. Lol
 

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Good luck! Maybe it's a mood swing lol
I’m still a little ticked at her for killing the male, he was a sweetheart.
I had to share the story though. I haven’t been nearly as active On here as I would like to be.
I hope she calms down at least a little.
 

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Been there and got rid of it. Brought it to a meeting in a bag and it would jump trying to bite my hand through it.

I named it the Killer Clown. Eric took it for his father in law. Not sure he likes the guy.
 
I have a black clown named Blackjack that went through 4 potential suitors before finally deciding not to kill #5. Not to mention various other tank mates she bullied to death or out the tank. Her mean attitude is exactly why I couldn't let her go. It was like finding a partner that could tame the beast. However, it is still instant mauling to any hand that goes in HER tank haha
 
that the female was chasing the male all over the tank and beating the hell out of him.

My guess is that the fish you named a "male" was actually becoming a female as well. Since you purchased both at the same size, it is likely they were both sub-adult juveniles. You probably got them together from a store/online right? With the lack of a dominant female, both subadults will begin a "transformation" to be "THE" female. The problem is that in this case the one that grew rapidly became the female, then discovered the sub-adult next to her was also transforming into a female. Therefore the aggressive behavior.

The only way to avoid this is to purchase two clowns that are mated already, OR purchase one large clown...let it establish...then purchase a very small juvenile. This latter method isn't foolproof either.
 
Actually just full blown clownfish. But psycho/ clownfish... same thing.
A while ago my female clownfish had a rapid growth spurt, sadly the male did not. She started getting very aggressive with him, but he would do his submissive dance And all was good. One day a few weeks ago everything was normal when I left for work, but my Girlfriend called me a few times to tell me that the female was chasing the male all over the tank and beating the hell out of him. Long story short, she killed him. Came home he has a fleshy nub for a tail, another fin missing, a few chunks taken out of him. He didn’t make it. A few days later she started trying to get my torch to host her, which I was not thrilled with, then she moved to my beautiful new elegance. I’m hoping she doesn’t end up killing it, but it definitely isn’t thrilled about it. Hasn’t fully opened since, only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. Depends on how loving she is being.
oddly she doesn’t bother any other fish, even when they are right next to “her” elegance. But for the last two weeks if I so much as put my hand near the tank, she on the attack. If my hand goes in, Anywhere in the tank, it’s a matter of seconds and she is biting me. Fortunately it doesn’t hurt, except when she gets the skin between my fingers. Which she has become a master of. Today she actually jumped out of the water and hit the screen top trying to get at my hand that was resting on the edge. She’s lucky she’s so cute.

(And I thought my crazy ass Bronx born Puerto Rican, Italian girlfriend was aggressive.)

She even looks like she wants to attack in the picture. Lol
I would send her back to the ocean via the sewerage system
 
So far she has taken nicely to the BTA I added yesterday. Within an hour of it being in the tank she was checking it out and living on it. Which I am very happy about. But of course there is always Murphy’s Law.... where did the anemone decide to relocate to while I was at work, directly up against the elegance and has latched its foot onto the base. Looks like it’s time to shuffle some corals.
 
So far she has taken nicely to the BTA I added yesterday. Within an hour of it being in the tank she was checking it out and living on it. Which I am very happy about. But of course there is always Murphy’s Law.... where did the anemone decide to relocate to while I was at work, directly up against the elegance and has latched its foot onto the base. Looks like it’s time to shuffle some corals.
Need bigger tank then
 
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