hard to pair clowns?

Deuce24 · 09-29-2004, 02:25 AM

Hi all, I'm interested in getting a pair of clowns for my 12g nano, but don't know that I want to pay the $$$ to buy a 'paired set.' Is it hard/impossible to buy two Ocellaris clowns (maybe one a little larger than the other) and successfully get them to 'pair?' Or will the both be grumpy and territorial? Just wondering of the success of getting non-mated clowns to pair.

AnnArborBuck · 09-29-2004, 08:00 AM

You should be fine doing that with Ocellaris as they are very tame. That method would probably would not work with Maroons as they would probably fight to the death.

Another alternative is to buy one large clown and then the smallest clown you can find. The large will dominate and become the female and the small juev will become the male. That is how I formed the pair in my tank.

hankstanks · 09-29-2004, 10:23 AM

12 gallon Nano might be small for a pair of anything. do lots of water changes.

Deuce24 · 09-29-2004, 06:35 PM

Yeah, I've been told two small fish max for a nano. I really want a pair of clowns, and I take excellent care of my pets, so I will be diligent with my water changes, scouts honor.

Any other comments/suggestions on getting clowns to pair? Thanks.

Mrs Smith · 09-29-2004, 11:23 PM

Get two little ones... all of them start out male. The dominant one will become female. It's actually not too much of a gamble with percs and ocellaris. (But as above mentioned, I don't think I'd try it with maroons.)

My first salt fish were a little pair of percs - they paired up pretty well. I currently have a tiny pair of black ocellaris (they're about 1" to 1 1/2" long now) that I've been raising, and they've paired up beautifully.

Danielle

Deuce24 · 09-30-2004, 12:04 AM

Terrific, that builds my confidence about pulling the whole pair thing off. I'll probably just buy two ocellaris when the time comes. I really love the color of the Percs, but don't want to chance the $$ on them with this being my first tank. I've also heard they aren't has hardy, so I think the Ocellaris are a smarter bet at this point. Thanks for the comments!

Bob NY · 09-30-2004, 10:06 AM

It's definately a good idea to get one larger than the other.
My two Ocellaris Clowns were the same size. I though they were gonna kill each other while trying to establish dominance. It had got so bad I was gonna separate them.
Luckily shortly after, one established dominance. So by starting with one a bit larger than the other hopefully the male wont have to suffer such a intense beating from the future dominant female.
Also it's amazing how fast the one that becomes female grows after the sex change.