[mike31154]

Any idea how old your clownfish are? Where did you get them, LFS or a fellow hobbyist? Do you know if they are a mated pair, i.e., any history of spawning in their previous home? We generally make a distinction between 'bonded' & 'mated' pairs. Bonded means they are paired, male-female, with the larger specimen being the female. Mated means a bonded pair that has spawned. Either way, if they are bonded or mated, the larger female is usually the more active feeder.

Athough my mated pair are Maroon clowns, I reckon paired behaviour is similar with most species of clownfish. Mine have been spawning for a couple years now & I too often worry that the little male isn't getting his share of food. I call the female 'Miss Piggy' since she's a terror when food hits the water. She will charge quite a distance to take a piece of food. The male is a picky eater & often too busy minding the clutch of eggs when feeding time is on. He will not stray very far from the BTA for food. Despite my concerns, he's a healthy little guy & does his duty of tending the clutch admirably. Lately he's been a little more agressive chasing food, but still no comparison to the female who is easily 3 times his size if not more. I use an Eheim dual chamber auto feeder to feed my tank with flake, cyclopeeze granules & an assortment of other pellet food. There's a veggie clip with nori in there as well, to keep the tang & angelfish happy. When I'm home, in the evening I feed thawed out frozen food - marine plankton, brine shrimp & mysis shrimp. All the fish go ape over that, including the little male Maroon.

You may get the smaller one to eat by separating them, but that could be a tricky undertaking & in the end may even stress out the pair. If my guess is correct, you added the pair less than a week ago. Still a bit soon to get too worried IMO. You have observed him get at least one or two mouthfuls, that's a great sign. If you're only feeding once a day, try multiple feedings. An auto feeder might be a good idea, that way there's more flexibility in feeding times. Your presence during feeding time may also distract the little guy.