Found 2 Black Onyx clowns, have a question

[FSU]

They swim together but they also fight. Are they establishing dominance or will they keep fighting til one is dead? Right now, one is about 2 inches and the other about 1.5-2 inches. They were both introduced at the same time. Any help would be great, ty.

[tiger_eyed1]

Bigger one will turn into the female if it hasn't already. They will probably alway tussle. So long as both are eating, and not ripping off fins, they should be fine.

Marcus

[FSU]

Tiger, they were fighting mouth to mouth every 25 seconds or so, yet still swimming next to each other. i turned the main tank lights out and left only the actinics on and I watched them for a good 5-10 minutes with no fighting at all. they swam together as close as an inch face to face. They even split apart about a foot and a 1/2, then turned to one another and swam back together.

[Zack]

Where they the only clownfish in their respective tanks that they came from?

[tiger_eyed1]

I've had numerous pairs of clowns. This is typical. They are fighting about who wears the pants in the relationship. Feed them good and as she get bigger and can throw him across the room... I mean tank, he will submit. At that point, she'll just nudge him and he'll move. You are good. If you had three in there, she would pick her mate then they would kill the other. The 7yr old Perc that I had grabbed one of my b/w and shook him like a rag doll. FREAKED me out. I moved then to a different tank right away. With all this in mind, what you are describing is typical and acceptable.

[FSU]

Where they the only clownfish in their respective tanks that they came from?

No they were ordered an shipped in different bags, so not sure if they shared the same tank before.

[FSU]

Ok, thx Tiger. I really wanted this pair and figured they would be fine only to see them fight when I got home and was scared I would lose one. Picked up a RBTA for them as well. I'll have to get some pics too. They have great coloration for their size. The pair I had years ago that I got from Rod's weren't developed in color this much at probably twice their size.

[Third Coast Tropical]

It is possible you were shipped 2 females. That would explain the persistent fighting. It would be hard to tell (well maybe not, because if so one will be dead soon) since you don't know the history of the fish prior to receiving them. If your smaller was the biggest one in its previous tank it is very possible it could be a female. I would watch it closely. As tiger-eyed stated, watch for fin ripping/nipping. If that happens you need to separate asap, but I would suggest separating if this conitues much longer. When you ordered, did they give you size options? Did they sale them to you as a pair, or did you buy 2 individual fish? Ideally, you would want a much larger one and one an inch or less to avoid such an issue.

[FSU]

The fighting I saw wasn't fin ripping, it was mouth to mouth. Also, I didn't actually order, I saw them when they came in and grabbed them as they are one of my fav fish. They came in together but in separate bags.

[reefreak]

Yeah I noticed it when I got my tomato clowns now lipless lol they stopped after about a month

[FSU]

I didn't want to chance losing one so I separated them and am waiting for another to come in next week, hopefully a little smaller.