[Mirkle]

i bought 2 clownfish about 2-3 months ago and they have been fine swimming together no problems at all.. the last couple of day the bigger one has been chashing and nipping the smaller one.. looks like the bigger one is almost killing the smaller one.. what should i do? and why all of a sudden they doin this??

[demonsquirt]

Sounds like the larger female is letting the other know to go male as female position taken. This could take a few days or so. turning lights out may help for a day or two but they should work it out.

[lucas224]

what kinds of clowns are they? most clown fish do not like other clowns some more than others

[Mirkle]

both are perculas... yeah i truned off the lights and they stoped fighting.. i just hope they do stop i really dont want one to die.

[unclejed]

Sorry to inform you but if they have started fighting they will continue. Turning the lights off is like a band aid but you aren't going to keep them off. Once the lights come back on they inevitably will fight. I can't emphasize strongly enough that we must do our home work when selecting species of fish or corals for the tank.

Do not listen to LFS guys as most of them will tell you fish "should be alright" together. Here is the compatibility chart; Marine Compatability Chart

[spanko]

IMO the two perculas should end up being fine together once the jostling for position comes to an end. As demonsquirt said they are sexing themselves which is a natural occurrence. The larger to end up female and the smaller to end up male.
I think you are fine here, lights off is not going to stop this bickering as Unclejed said. Just let nature take it's course.

[Mirkle]

well i just got home from work to day and looks off it the bigger one has been fighting the smaller one all day long.. smaller one looks like its been through hell and back and is just floating through the current, all of its fines and body looks like they been nipped at all day.. it keeps gettin stuck to my overflow box and then try and gets off and floats around the tank a lil more.. think i might just put it out of its misery
what other types of fish would i be able to get to get along with the one clown and a yellow tang? i bought a bi-color angle and my yellow tang killed that one

[demonsquirt]

Clowns if young enough will be unsexed. As they grow then usually they work this out. But if they are both the same sex they might continue fighting for top position.

[Arnold40]

If the smaller clown is a lot smaller than the bigger one the bigger one will kill the smaller one eventually. You are better off keeping one and getting store credit for the other one. Do some research on the types of fish that you would like to keep and develop a stocking plan and stick to it.