Clown fish
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Fish
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about fish.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=885
Printed Date: July 14 2025 at 11:30am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Clown fish
Posted By: imaexpat2
Subject: Clown fish
Date Posted: August 16 2003 at 9:01pm
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Anyone have any experience with pairing up Maroon Clown fish? My LFS say thier supplier cant fill that order, and I have checked with several on-line suppliers and they DO sell them but there is "no live arrival gaurantee" on them. So I am looking at purchasing one large and one medium Maroon Clown and attempt to pair them up. ------------- 300 gal. Frag System 300 gal. Live Rock Vat 240 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 135 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 75 gal. Softies only Tank 65 gal. LPS/Softies 24 gal. SPS/Softies Nano Reef |
Replies:
Posted By: bullitt4932
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 2:40am
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from everything i have read chance are slim to none that you will get 2 paired up if they are not purchased or captured that way. i have a maroon clown and he acts just like the bulldog in the tank i know mine wouldn't take a mate.
tyler |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 6:09am
| Have you read Wilkerson's book "Clownfishes"? The club has it. If I remember correctly, you need to get juveniles. They are born with no gender! We got 3 ocellaris.They bicker and fight until one becomes the toughest. She becomes the female. The second toughest becomes the male. They pair up and pick on the third, don't let it eat and just generally be rotten to the non-gendered thing 'till you feel sorry for it and get it outta the tank. The female gets bigger and darker. The male is smaller.They nest and defend "their" home from other fish and the hand that feeds 'em! |
Posted By: imaexpat2
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 10:31am
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No, I have not read that book yet! I found out about it last night when I posted my message. It is next on my list of books to add to my library. I do have one written by John H. Tullock. Its a very basic book on Clown Fish in gerneral and doesnt really address that subject. It left more questions than it answered. I am kinda picky too about color/markings and by ordering on line, I dont get to see exactly what I am ordering. I was thinking that since they are not "good shippers" that maybe buying a couple from the LFS might be a better way to go and avoid the risk of dead ones showing up on my door step via fedex. Do either of you think that putting them in a large tank (125 gallons) would give them enough elbow room to live without mauling each other fighting to the point one has to be removed? Thanks for the feedback! ------------- 300 gal. Frag System 300 gal. Live Rock Vat 240 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 135 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 75 gal. Softies only Tank 65 gal. LPS/Softies 24 gal. SPS/Softies Nano Reef |
Posted By: Flaz
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 11:43am
| The easiest way (at least it worked for me) was to add one maroon to the tank and leave it until it becomes a female. I'm not sure how quick this will happen but for mine it was alone for over a year before I got around to getting a second. When I purchased the second I went for the smallest maroon I cound find. I was very afraid to add the second fish but went ahead and did it. Upon release it swam directly to the other maroon and they've been best friends ever since. They started spawing about two months after this and have been at it every ten days for the last two years... |
Posted By: imaexpat2
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 1:51pm
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Thanks Flaz for sharing the info. I was kinda hoping that I would hear some feed back like that. But I have herd they can be pretty aggressive towards thier own. I was thinking this would be kinda risky for the reasons bullitt4932 outlined. That would be a real bummer. I guess for the time being I will "hold short of the active" and see if my LFS can pull a rabbit out of his hat and "hook me up". Might eventually try that if all else doesnt work out. What size fish did you get? What size tank did you keep them in during this evolution? Sorry to give you the 3rd degree, but I am just looking for clues. I am kinda new to the Reef Tank thing, although I have kept and bred Oscars and Discus for several years. So I am still learning. I appreciate everyones comments and assistance! ------------- 300 gal. Frag System 300 gal. Live Rock Vat 240 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 135 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 75 gal. Softies only Tank 65 gal. LPS/Softies 24 gal. SPS/Softies Nano Reef |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 1:54pm
| I have experence with this. I actually have a gold striped female mated with a white striped male. When I purchased them I made sure that there was a large size difference. The female was about 4 inches in size and the male was about 1 inch in size. I put them in the tank at the same time and they were fine for awhile. But the female did start the normal picking order fights which did not last long. Now they have layed eggs several time, but have stopped for some unknown reason. But the best things to do with getting a pair is to have a large variance in the size of the two fish. If they smaller fish is rejected it needs to have a place to hide (rocks, etc). If the fighting does not stop, then it is a good time to do a swap for a different small male/imature maroon and try again. From my reading and the experience of others the swapping thing can help if it does not appear that they will pair up. |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 3:44pm
| Try to get tank raised. Jake will special order for you..... |
Posted By: utahtaper
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 4:24pm
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I have a couple I would consider getting rid off.
Mated pair of white striped maroons. The female is big. She's bigger than my Yellow Tang. Thx, jason |
Posted By: Flaz
Date Posted: August 17 2003 at 9:58pm
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imaexpat2 The female maroon was about 2" to 2 1/2" when I added the second maroon. The second maroon was very small (about 1") and very bright in color compared to the female. As far as my tank's size it is a 75 gallon community reef with plenty of Bubble Tip anemones (the count is currently up to 5 with my last splitting). Let me know if you'd like any more info; I'm happy to share. Here is a picture of the female with the eggs: |
Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: August 18 2003 at 12:15pm
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Here is a good link on reefcentral:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215098 Just be sure to scroll down to the "Paring Premnas species clownfish (maroon clownfish):" section. |
Posted By: imaexpat2
Date Posted: August 18 2003 at 7:27pm
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Thanks to all for the wealth of info ladies and gents. I think I have got just about as much info as I am gonna get on this topic. All opinions, suggestions and recommendations were most greatly appreciated. I will however readily take any more on this topic that you wish to share. Thanks again!!! ------------- 300 gal. Frag System 300 gal. Live Rock Vat 240 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 135 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank 75 gal. Softies only Tank 65 gal. LPS/Softies 24 gal. SPS/Softies Nano Reef |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: November 18 2003 at 9:07pm
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I have a yellow and a white....do yours look that much different? I am starting to think mine are not the same. Do you think they could pair like yours? Do you have any pics? Where the white stripes on the male thin?
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WhiteReef wrote:Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: November 20 2003 at 10:36pm
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: November 21 2003 at 10:10am
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I started with 6 tank raised juvenile Tomato's from http://www.seabase.net - Sea Base when they were getting out of the breeding business. ($3 each!)
Eventually all, except the two that ended up being paired, were dead. This took 2 years. Some were killed by the pair! Interestingly, the male that survived had been so badly mauled by another of the Tomato's that part of it's lower jaw was severly dmaged. It recovered and the jaw looked totally healed in about 8 months. Then the pair started laying eggs every 14 days like clockwork. I was able to save a few larva and raise them. I didn't get a pic if the larvae, but it looked sorta like this: 
After 10 days it changed completely in just two days and this is a pic of it shortly after metamorphosis: 
Tomato's have two lines as juveniles. Maybe Adam can post a pic of it as it appeared years later in his care. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: November 21 2003 at 12:05pm
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My clowns do look slightly different, but that I believe has nothing to do with them pairing up. Mine varied greatly in size so this contributed their union. The female was about 4 inches in length and the male was maybe 1 inch. They did not fight at first but after a few days they started to. However, the fighting was short lived (less than 3 weeks) and was never all that bad. Key things to remember is to provide ample places for the male to hide as this will be the main thing that will help him survive. If the fighting does not calm down after a few weeks then it would be a good time to evaluate the situation. Also if the fighting is such that the male is going to die, then it would also be a good time to take the male out. Also the size difference is usually a main contributing factor to the sucess or failure of the fish to pair up. the reason is that the larger they are the more likely they will be female and two female clowns do not get along at all and will try to kill the other one. How large is the GSM and the WSM? Which one was added to the tank first and how long before the other one was added? How large is your tank?
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