Buying a Female Clownfish

[Clownfishman]

I know when they are born they are neither male or female, but I saw one the other day that wasn't for sale and it was huge. It was maybe 3 or 4", I would like to buy one online that is already that big are there any sites that sell the female one's, that they can already tell they are female due to size..

Thanks

[xtopher]

think you're s.o.l. I am pretty sure that most retail stores only sell smaller sized clowns. I could be wrong but......anyways why do you want a female in particular? You can just add another clown and they will figure it out themselves over time. JMO

[avalanche wolf]

Books say the best way to do this is buy 3 at a time and most of the time as they mature one will become the female and be significantly larger than the other two.

[Clownfishman]

Yeah but i got 3 fish in my 29G already not sure if I could add two more clowns..

1 Clownfish
1 Blue-Green Chromis
1 Pajama cardinal

[TheSaladCompany]

Be careful!
My clownfish (A. clarkii) is about 2 1/2" and is really mean.
I bought a juvenile and put the two in the same tank (40g).
There were already two sebae anemones but they still did not get along.
The bigger clownfish had always refused the other anemone until the new clownfish arrived. After that, she took over both anemones and refused to let him come out of a hole in the rocks. He somehow disappeared. I haven't seen him in weeks!

[Geoff]

your one clown is prolly already a female. it would be better to find a clown smaller than the one you have. a better chance of them being a pair.

it does not take long for them to become female when left alone in a tank.

G~

[JennM]

Originally Posted by Clownfishman

I know when they are born they are neither male or female, but I saw one the other day that wasn't for sale and it was huge.

Actually, they are all born male. The dominant one in a pair or group (or a lone one) becomes female. Once they make the switch, they remain female (they don't change 'back'). If there is more than one present, the next most dominant becomes sexually mature (male). If the female is removed (dies, etc) then the mature male switches to female and if present, a subordinate male becomes mature etc.

If you purchase a lone clown, it will become female over time.

Sometimes you can find larger specimens, "mated pairs" (imo overpriced - there's no guarantee they'll spawn for you and you can "make a pair" just as easily). Or sometimes people trade in aggressive females etc.

If you've got a 29, you might want to choose your specie carefully - many get really big and really mean.

HTH

Jenn