[karun]

I have had a H. Magnifica in my tank for the last 6 months. (120G tank) It seem to be doing quite well and has grown to about 10 inches. About 6 weeks ago I added 2 maroon clowns. One was about 2.5' and the other about 1.5'. They were doing well. No fighting and they seem to hang out together most of the time but they both ignored the anemone. I assumed they would eventually form a breeding pair.
Yesterday I added a BTA. Within seconds of it being put in the tank the larger clown moved in. The anemone had not even opened and the clown was inside pushing it open. The male also tried to get into the anemone and the female chewed him up. All his fins are torn and he looks really sad. He has now moved into the H. Magnifica.

Today the two clowns are avoiding each other. The two anemones are at either end of the tank and the clowns also stay at either end. Occasionally the male will come within 8 inches of the female and wait. The female just chases him away.

What's going on? Why would they start fighting after so much time? Can I do anything?

Thanks

Karun

[rededteck]

How do you know you have a male and a female?

[David]

Karun- your clownfish are not actually a "pair", they are just two juvinile fish sharing a tank. You gave them something to fight over. Considering the size of the tank and the size difference in the two fish, time will probably yield a bonded pair. In theory the smaller fish will be so intimidated by the larger that it will not even attempt to compete for dominace, it will accept it's role as male and the larger clown will be the female. If this should fail and you want to try again, select an even smaller "mate" for the larger maroon. Have patience, they will work it out.

[Rin]

Ditto on David's assessment. The fact that both of them are still alive means that the larger is the female or that both are juveniles. Give them time, they'll work it out.