Pairing Oscellaris Clowns

So I have a small clownfish that I got as a tiny little baby this last July. He resides in my 2 gallon. I just got a new tank (build thread coming) to replace the 2 gallon, and want to pair my little clown with another baby clown my LFS is selling. I had asked them about it, and they had told me the clown I have would be too aggressive and kill the new clown if I were to try to pair them now.

My question is would he still be aggressive if I added him and the new clown into the new tank at the same time? It'd be an entirely new environment for both fish, so I would assume there wouldn't be a dominance issue. Thoughts?

If your little guy has been alone for over a year, chances are, he's a she now. If you pick a small juvenile (2/3 to 1/2 her size), you may be able to get away with it.

Originally Posted by Ashlar

If your little guy has been alone for over a year, chances are, he's a she now. If you pick a small juvenile (2/3 to 1/2 her size), you may be able to get away with it.

I've had him for almost 5 months now, so I think he's still a he lol But I had intended on getting a baby that is about 2/3 the size, just to be safe.

Ahh, you said 'last july', I thought that meant over a year ago. My bad.

Do you know if this was wild caught or tank raised? Sometimes wild caught 'small' fish are actually older than they appear based on size, and it might already be a she.

In any case, getting one that you *know* is a juvenile will likely work out.

Originally Posted by Ashlar

Ahh, you said 'last july', I thought that meant over a year ago. My bad.

Do you know if this was wild caught or tank raised? Sometimes wild caught 'small' fish are actually older than they appear based on size, and it might already be a she.

In any case, getting one that you *know* is a juvenile will likely work out.

The clown I have is definitely tank-raised. I bought it from a couple that breeds, raises, and sells clowns. They brought in a big batch of new babies they had and were selling the clowns at the SEAMAX event for $5 each. I only bought one at the time because I was afraid getting two would be too much in a 2 gallon, even though they were very small. Now, I'm kicking myself thinking I shoulda got two >.< Oh well!

The baby I would be purchasing is from a local breeder that sells their babies to the LFS. They have new batches every few months or so. They are definitely juveniles, and super small. It would be no problem finding one that is smaller than my current clown.

+1 on what Scott said got with a tiny tank bred baby!! then u know its still a male

now remember that a clown that's alone may not change over to a female. It can stay non sexed as long as there are no other clowns around. And with them being pretty small and at a lfs they are probably around 6 months old when bought. At least that's when most of the breeders bring them in to sell.

Always error on the side of caution. Make sure you get a smaller clown than what you have. That way you can almost assure it will stay the male.

If you introduce them at the same time in a different tank you may be ok. Stay with them for about the first 10 minutes. That's long enough to tell if there's going to be a dominance issue. If there is then you can always put the smaller one in a breeder box or a net in the tank, so that the female can see it and be close to it, but not be able to get at it. It may take a few days like that, but more than likely you'll be ok.

I've added clowns over and over. Two at a time, then one, then another one. I've seen aggression, but they all survived.

If they are biting the tails = bad

If they are grabbing hold of the fins and pulling them around, you might be ok lol. That's usually a sign they might pair up. Sometimes is to much for the smaller one though.

Originally Posted by rgrking

now remember that a clown that's alone may not change over to a female. It can stay non sexed as long as there are no other clowns around. And with them being pretty small and at a lfs they are probably around 6 months old when bought. At least that's when most of the breeders bring them in to sell.

Always error on the side of caution. Make sure you get a smaller clown than what you have. That way you can almost assure it will stay the male.

If you introduce them at the same time in a different tank you may be ok. Stay with them for about the first 10 minutes. That's long enough to tell if there's going to be a dominance issue. If there is then you can always put the smaller one in a breeder box or a net in the tank, so that the female can see it and be close to it, but not be able to get at it. It may take a few days like that, but more than likely you'll be ok.

I've added clowns over and over. Two at a time, then one, then another one. I've seen aggression, but they all survived.

If they are biting the tails = bad

If they are grabbing hold of the fins and pulling them around, you might be ok lol. That's usually a sign they might pair up. Sometimes is to much for the smaller one though.

I was hoping you would see this thread and chime in, since you are the resident clownfish guru ^_^ Thanks for the great advice! I think once the new tank is all done cycling, I'm going to try to pair my current clown. The worst that will happen is he will kill the other clown, and I will take that to mean he doesn't want company

Thank you all for the great advice and tips!

oh I'm not a guru by any means. I just have a few and a couple of pairs. Barb, RCA. Those are the pros. I just read a lot lol. If you ever want any pdf files on breeding clowns let me know. Make sure you tell me what species of clowns you want. I have hundreds of articles on each on my laptop. lol

Originally Posted by rgrking

oh I'm not a guru by any means. I just have a few and a couple of pairs. Barb, RCA. Those are the pros. I just read a lot lol. If you ever want any pdf files on breeding clowns let me know. Make sure you tell me what species of clowns you want. I have hundreds of articles on each on my laptop. lol

Well if I do end up getting a baby, they are oscellaris (to my knowledge). Are there different kind of oscellaris? If there are, then I have no idea what kind I would have I am NOT knowledgeable on clownfish types whatsoever

there's just ocellaris and the Darwin (black) kind. You can go to scholar.google.com and type Amphiprion ocellaris and see what comes up. It's amazing the things out there. Regular google will work too, but the scholar one has all the scientific articles.

Google A. ocellaris

Google scholar

Sweet! Thanks for the recommendations!!