Maroon Clown fish White Swollen Lip

Hello I bought this maroon clown fish two days ago and put it in with my other maroon clown (about the same size 1"). They began to peck which was expected but the new one seemed very stressed, I assumed from the combination of the acclimation and the fighting, so I separated them. The new fish is now in a temporary 10gallon tank by itself with a bubble tip anemone that it already hosted and now his lip is white and swollen and seemingly getting worse not better. Water params: Temp 78, SG 1.025, pH 8.3, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate < 5, calcium 460, Alkalinity 14dKH, Phosphate 0, Silicate 0.

Any ideas what this can be? If some kind of disease what do I treat with?

Thanks
Daniel

 

I dont know why his lip is white, must be from all the fighting, maybe it is healing now?

Anyways, the reason your clowns are fighting is because they are the same size. They are both 1" and they are fighting to see who will become the female (which will grow to be much bigger then the male). They probably will stop fighting, but it could take a while and one may die. I would return one of them and get a maroon clown that is much bigger then the other 1" clown so there is little fighting if any

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I know about the pecking order and determining sexes between clowns; however, I have had luck with paring very small (1.5" or less) clowns of the same size in the past, even maroon ones. Lately there have only been babies and a couple mated pairs around and they want like $75 for the pair and I can get them singly for $10 bucks. In addition I got it from PetCo because it is a block from my house and the specialty stores are all 1/2 an hour away, point being petco does not take back any live saltwater products. Even if they did I wouldn't want to I can keep them separated if necessary and continue to try and put them together until it looks like its getting too rough.

I was hoping it was healing but it seems to have gotton worse since they have been sperated so I don't know if maybe its too soon for it to start getting better (only 2 days) or if its something else.

But any info on the lips would be greatly appreciated thank you

 

I would not put them back together. I too believe there is a good chance you have 2 females. A clown fish housed alone is probably a good indicator of whether the clown has become a female rather than the size (within reason).

With that said after my female lost her male I was never able to introduce her to any other clowns regardless of gender. Or any other fish for that matter as she killed anything that went into the tank. Maroon clown fish are just that way.

You can try placing the clown in a breeders box hung from the side of the tank to see she will tolerate the new comer.

I would also research feeding or adding Melafix, Seclone or any HUFA products.

Good luck

 

Again thank you for the fast responses I appreciate the interest and the effort. However I am not asking about the fighting issue, I am concerned about the swollen lip, I know you are only trying to be helpful and I thank you for the effort.

In addition I should have been more clear. I had a mated pair of maroon clowns and the female died a few months ago after many years. My wife bought the first new 1" maroon clown about 2 weeks ago because they were always her favorite, but she didn't know about the aggressiveness issue. So when it seemed apparent that my adult clown would kill the newcomer I separated them. When I went back to the store they still had 1 clown left from the same batch which is the new one that I bought. So the new one was not housed alone and my other one I have only had for two weeks.

I believe the stress was more due to the acclimation then the fighting, as the nipping and fighting was not excessive. Either way if it ends up not working that is fine and not the issue. The only thing of concern is the swollen white lip. I thought it was from fighting as well but am puzzled why it has not gotten better since separation? I would like to attempt to diagnose before treating especially if there are no other signs of distress such as lack of appetite or something.

For me medicating is a last resort and only done when I have a good idea what I am medicating for. Any information, experience, or help with the white swollen lip would be helpful.

Thanks
Daniel