pairing maroon clownfish

[webbster45]

I have had my maroon clownfish for about 2 months now and have been thinking about pairing it with another clownfish. I have decided to purchase another and have added him to my tank but the pair has shown high levels of aggression and have put my new maroon into a small divider. The female is remaining along the edges of the divider staring at the new clown and watching its every move. I am hoping for success as i do not want to lose such a great fish.

What is a good process or procedures in order to create a strong pair?
How will i know the female has accepted the new male maroon?

someone please give me some good advice!

[Ninong]

Hi webbster45,



How large is your resident female? How large is the new male?

This species, Premnas biaculeatus, is the most aggressive and the most difficult to pair. The process is usually less problematic if there is a noticeable difference in size between the female and the male. As you probably know, adult females are much, much larger than males.

I would leave the new male where you have him for at least two or three more days and then release him into the rest of the tank with the female. Expect a certain amount of aggression, this is perfectly natural, but it the male shows sign of submission, the female will eventually slack off on the harassment.

All clownfish have to go through a period of social aggression like this because that's how gender is determined. All clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites (males first). Once they sort out which one gets to be the boss (female), things will settle down. If your original fish was already a mature female and the new fish is obviously a juvenile or a male, then this process shouldn't take very long at all. If, on the other hand, both of your fish are still juveniles but one is somewhat larger than the other, the process will take longer and be more physical. If both fish were nearly the same size, the process could get very physical with this particular species.

Good luck!

[chefrt]

I have been trying for almost 1 year to pairing my maroon clown, about a week ago I successfully pairing them.
When I bough the 2nd maroon about a year ago I never tough there will be fighting until I add in to the tank. A few times I try to pair them but the small one had been beat-up, take him out after recover adding in again into tank but he been beat-up until half death. And I decide to put hin in sump, until last 2 week I buy bubble tip anemone and I put into the sump to make him happy, immediately he jump into anemone. After 2 day I decide to add the other maroon into sump to look where this fish can be pairing. Immediately the big one jump into anemone and chase out the other maroon, but not showing any aggressive to each other. After about 3 day booth of them take turn to go into anemone, and 4 days later both of them share the same anemone. And now they’re always together.

[webbster45]

both fish are juveniles and a little over an inch i have had one female for about a month and just tried adding as the new fish continuously sprints away as the female chases him. I have decided to add a small clear breeding tank which holds the new male and as i hope the female will accept him.

Am i better off leaving the male alone in the small tank for a few days or should i let the two fish socialize and watch them chase around the tank?

at what point should i seperate the two if they get out of hand?

should i gradually introduce the fish little by little together each day?

[Ninong]

Your first fish is not a female and your second fish is not a male if they are both only about 1" long. They are both sexually immature juveniles and are neither male nor female at this point in their development.

What will happen now once you put them together, is that they will compete with each other as they grow and develop. Each fish will try to prevent the other fish from getting as much to eat. In that way, the one that gets the most to eat will grow larger faster and have an advantage in the race to mature.

Since they are protandrous hermaphrodites, their male gonads will mature first. One of them will go on to become a female. In the case of this species, the females are much, much larger than the males. In some clownfish species (e.g., Amphiprion clarkii), adult males and females are approximately the same size.

In any event, one of the two fish will win out in the struggle for dominance. This fish will grow faster than the other one. It will try to beat up on the other one and chase it away. How much physical aggression is involved varies but it is most extreme with this particular species. Eventually the more dominant fish will convince the other fish that it has no chance of winning this battle. Once the smaller fish is finally ready to surrender, it will begin to perform submissive displays. Sort of like a little shimmy dance to show it's submission to the more dominant fish.

The more dominant fish will eventually become a female. As her ovaries mature and become functional, her male gonads will atrophy and become nonfunctional. In clownfish, once a female, always a female. A mature female is incapable of reverting back to male. The more submissive fish will remain a male and it will never become a female in the presence of the dominant female. Only if she dies or is removed from the tank will he have a chance to progress to female.

I'm surprised that you are referring to one fish as female and the other as male. Is this by any chance something you were told by an LFS employee? Just curious. I keep a list of really weird stuff that LFS employees say.

[Ninong]

I have been trying for almost 1 year to pairing my maroon clown, about a week ago I successfully pairing them.

Maroon clownfish are by far the most difficult clownfish species to pair. The best approach seems to be to have one fish twice as large as the other fish when they are introduced together. That way the smaller one will usually submit quicker and end the battle for dominance before it gets too deadly. Using this approach, some people have succeeded in getting the two fish to accept each other in as little as five or six hours.

When trying to pair juvenile Maroon clownfish, it is better to have one of them approximately 2.5" long and the other less than 1.5" long. That way the larger one is already much further along in development and there shouldn't be much of a struggle to figure out who's going to win. The most difficult situation is trying to pair up two juveniles of approximately the same size because the struggle for dominance will be prolonged.

[webbster45]

yes an employee told me since i already had the one on the tank that it would or has already become the female. Now what would be the best approach to allow these fish to join, should i let the new maroon out of the breeder and let them duke it out or should i wait a few days so they get used to each other and then try to release him into it?

[Ninong]

I would wait a few days and then release it.

[chefrt]

In my case, the small fish in my sump about 2in and the other one 2.5in. May be I’m the lucky one for the past few week. But it takes me 1 year to try to pair them until I buy the anemone.

[webbster45]

should i purchase an anenome even though they arent paired would that help copntribute to the paring process

[Ninong]

It's never a good idea to add an anemone to a newly set up aquarium. Check out this article on anemone husbandry before making a decision.

If you ever do decide to get an anemone for Premnas biaculeatus (Maroon Clowns), it's only natural host is Entacmaea quadricolor (bubble tip anemone).

[webbster45]

would it be safe to allow the two maroon clownfish into the same 75 gallon tank. the newest maroon has been inside a small breeding tank for about a week and a half in my main tank. my former maroon has shown some strong signs of agression and has torn quite a few of the new fishes fins as i have let him into the tank at various times. what should i do should i let the two fish swim in the same tank without my protection overtime or for a signifigant amount of time?

[Ninong]

my former maroon has shown some strong signs of agression and has torn quite a few of the new fishes fins as i have let him into the tank at various times.

This behavior is quite common with this particular species. It is sometimes extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pair two Maroon Clowns of approximately the same size. The LFS person should have known this and asked about the size of your first fish before selling you the second one instead of offering the ridiculous advice that a 1" clownfish could possibly already be a female.

I don't know what to tell you at this point. That's a personal decision that you have to make. There is a possibility that the first fish will actually kill the new fish. The other possibility is that they will go through a period of aggression that eventually subsides.

It is better to have one fish considerably larger than the other when pairing this species. If your first fish is only 1" long, then a new fish that is at least 2"-2.5" long might be a better option.

Another option would be to simply wait another year so that your present fish is larger and then get a new small Maroon to pair with it then.

Whether you keep the new fish or return it is a decision you have to make. Sorry.

P.S. -- As you can see from reply #3 above, it took chefrt a full year to pair his Maroon Clowns and the original fish nearly killed the new fish on several attempts at pairing.

P.P.S. -- The fact that this species is extremely difficult to pair is common knowledge and it is really irresponsible for LFS people to not discuss this with customers when they inquire about purchasing a second Maroon to go with one they already have. It is amazing the level of incompetence displayed by the average LFS employee. Not all of them are so ignorant but. in my experience, the majority are. That's because it's just a temporary, low-paying job with high turnover.

[webbster45]

thanks for the advance ill keep you updated if anything happens

[webbster45]

now my two clowns have been in my tank for a about more than an hour with very little aggression. The two clowns have actually been up close touching and the newer clown is seeming to create vibrations with his body towards the other. is this a sign of companionship, or a sign of submission accepting the role of the male less powerful clown:?

[Ninong]

It's a sign of submission. It's a good sign! It means that for the time being at least, the new clown is recognizing the resident clown as the boss. If the resident clown is satisfied with this subservient display, it will be less aggressive.

If things continue along these lines, there will be much less real aggression between them. The agressive moves of the more dominant clown will be more ritualistic than real and involve no real physical damage. Just hope the new clown doesn't change it's mind and decide to challenge for supremacy anytime soon. Once either one of them gets an obvious advantage in size over the other, the matter of eventual gender will be set. The larger one, which we now assume will be the original one, will continue on to become a mature female and the smaller one will become her mate.

Good luck!