Can ocellaris clowns get aggressive?

[FishyLovers]

I've had one o. clown in my 35 gallon tank for years and its thriving. My corals and other inverts do well too, and my parameters have been stable for years. The thing is that every time I buy a new fish it dies within weeks. From the body I have to take out it never looks like disease, so I wonder- can my clownfish be the culprit?
Anyone think clownfish can get aggressive?
And what can I do to prevent it from being so aggressive?

 

[reefiness]

Very well can be the clown. Clownfish are in the damselfish family which are known for being aggressive. While clowns are usually not thought of as being aggressive (with some exceptions such as the maroon), even the more docile ones such as perculas and ocellaris can become very territorial especially to their own kind.

 

[marrone]

They're not as aggressive as other fish, or even other types of clowns, but they can be aggressive and that usually would be against other clowns, especially when they're paired out. What fish are dying, other clowns or other fish? If it was picking on other clowns you would most likely see it chasing and attacking the other clown, plus the other clown would most likely have ripped fins. It's possible that the clown that you have is a female, so you probably want to get a much small clown, same species, as if the clown is being a problem it probably wouldn't attacked the much small clown, and most likely even pair up.

 

[Reef Reaper]

most likely . they can get very aggressive

 

[theMeat]

Not as aggressive as most other clowns, but when you get a breeding pair they will nip at and try to chase away anything that threatens their space, including humans when cleaning tanks and whatnot.

 

[theMeat]

1 clown, not a breeding pair, this MR member has, pad-wan. :thrash: the force weak is you with.

Wow, whack job is still at it. See your post count is back down to zero. Lol. Do you really think you'r weak ego style isn't obvious? Do you actually think it makes ppl want to do biz with you? Give your butt hurt a break already, and stop taking over op's threads.

 

[theMeat]

if your post count is zero on Manhattan Reefs... does it make a sound?

Yes it does make a sound. It says your post have all been deleted because you offer nothing useful. Can only wonder how useless your store is, because knowing what i know now would never go there. As well as wonder how many other members now feel the same way.

 

[Aquadicted]

what are your nitrates? whenever you cant keep new fish it's usually because of high nitrates or you're not acclimating properly... Remember it's very hard for a fish to acclimate to higher salinity. And although it is possible aggression is the issue, I doubt it. You can tell aggression pretty easily since they'll chase non stop and the other fish will have damage on its fins etc. Anyway probably a water issue

 

[BioMan]

IME Ive had the same paired clowns for 5 years now and they've always picked their fav spot in every tank they been put into. once I made the mistake of putting other pair when I had my 265 gal and thats the only time I seen those little guys leave their safe place on the left side of the tank, an area they NEVER left for months, and attack the other pair.

 

[theMeat]

what are your nitrates? whenever you cant keep new fish it's usually because of high nitrates or you're not acclimating properly... Remember it's very hard for a fish to acclimate to higher salinity. And although it is possible aggression is the issue, I doubt it. You can tell aggression pretty easily since they'll chase non stop and the other fish will have damage on its fins etc. Anyway probably a water issue

Or a where you bought your fish from issue

 

[FishyLovers]

I added 3 new small oscellaris clowns a few weeks ago and they've been doing great, with surprisingly no aggression. I guess my clown was so much bigger that it didn't feel threatened by them.