Clownfish Color

[Europhyllia]

sweet dreams little clown -hope you don't get beaten up so much anymore

[Zack]

Ok, back to fighting.. I separated them with a breeder box and put the smaller one in it.

Should I feed the bigger one more often to increase it's size?

How often should I try re-introducing them?

[Europhyllia]

how big is the tank?

[Zack]

10g.

[Zack]

Here's me thinking out loud.

I've read that all clowns start out sex-less. After about 1" they become males, and from there the dominant of the group become females.

Both my clowns were about .75" when purchased and got along famously. They are both now about 1", however the bigger one is about 1/4" bigger than the smaller one.

Could they now both be males and are now fighting for dominance?

How long does this fighting last? When I first got them, they seemed to bicker for about a week, and since they were fine.

Also, they started fighting once the hairy shroom began to open up all the way. Could this be the issue? If so, would adding another so they both have something to host solve this?

[Europhyllia]

In addition to any regular 'working things out you could still be dealing with two previous issues:
Your tank is tiny. Staking out a territory in a really small tank might be tricky. A second hosting spot might help.
Also:
it takes awhile to get them back to good body condition so just a couple of feeding them more frequently might not cut it (yet)

[Zack]

What else would you suggest to improve body condition?

I have another problem.

I understand the breeder box concept to allow interaction between the two fish with no risk of harm to the smaller one. Since I have moved the smaller one into the breeder box, I see little to no interaction between the two. Is this bad?

[Zack]

Update:

10:00 forced the issue and put both them in the breeder box with a divider between them. The smaller one shook vigorously overtime the bigger one charged.

3:30 I removed the divider and watched the smaller one shake, and the bigger one did not attack.

5:30 I decided to play with the variables and took the hairy shroom out and put it in the breeder box. Once it re-inflated, the bigger one seemed more aggressive. I took both clowns out and put them in the tank, leaving the shroom behind.

So far, they are both hanging out in the shroom's old spot. I see more shaking than before from the smaller one. I believe this is due to the fact that the female is not overly aggressive because her host is gone.

I'll keep you guys updated.