can u resticky this ?? plz why was it unstickied? lol

Might have something to do with this post... :lol:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by JHardman [/i]
[B]1) There are very few cases of long term success with keeping multiple pairs of clowns. The one case that I am most familiar with has been running for about 5 years and to date has only had one fish killed. I don't recommend trying it; it is very rare that it works out long term. Remember clowns can live for decades.

The difference between black A. Ocellaris and orange A. Ocellaris is just that, one is primarily black and the other orange. They are the same species of clownfish.

2) Yes a pair will form. However it takes considerably longer and may result in much more fighting and damage especially to the odd man out fish.

3) Depends on the fish. If all added at the same time the chances are better.

HTH [/B][/QUOTE]


I have an orange A. Ocellaris that is about 3" long and in my tank with a yellow tang for about 1 year. Could I get a black A. Ocellaris and mate them? I am getting that you can do this from your post, but would like to double check before I purchase this fish and maybe cause harm to it.

thank, and I have read the majority of this thread, and rest about mating this type of clown, but have not, or don't recall a definate answer. Is it going to be a long time as you stated above for the black and orange Ocellaris to mate up, or for 3 of them to mate up?

thank,
jon

You will have better success with 2... The third fish becomes a distraction and will be trying to fight for the male position since you have an established female. The only worry about crossing the black and orange ocellaris is that the recesive variant will be weakened or bread out. If you are not looking to sell the fry or are willing to let people know that you are selling a hybrid I say go for it. I persoanlly have seen many fry come from crossed pairs and the first line look just fine, it is later line breedings that could be a larger issue.

thanks, I am not trying to sell them. I would like to get one more clown because I think they are cool fish. I am only going to get 2, my female, and another non sex. I am going to pick one up today that is about 1" long, and just got to the fish store today from the breader.

What do you meen that the recesive variant will be weakened, or bread out? Is this that the weaker gene will go away, and the fry will be only one color? Will the fry be of both color for the first batch, or just one of the 2 colors? Regardless, I am getting this fish to add another clown but of a different color.

thanks

The fry of a mixed pair end up at about a 50-50 split between full blacks and full oranges. By breeding those new hybrid fish back with another of the opposite color you will see a less than 50-50 split and coloration may fade...

thanks for the info

ooops, what now?
 

Thanks for the clear and informative email on pairing clownfish - only wish I'd read it before purchasing the 4 cinnamon (melanopus) clownfish from ETropicals about 3 weeks ago.
After seeing them fight and each get white bruises and split lips I pulled two out and they are healing well, separated in a QT tank.
The two remaining in the main tank are now fighting. I bought them all with the understanding they were juvenilles, but based on your FAQ, since they are all fighting, are they all females at this point????

I have one anenome in the tank. I'd really appreciate your advice about how to handle it from here. Do I take 3 of them to the LFS and keep one to mature in the anenome, then introduce a true juvenile in a month? Or, do I need to 'test' them in various combinations to see if one is still juvenille?

Thanks so much for the clear explanations.

Re: ooops, what now?
 

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by naclh20 [/i]
[B]Thanks for the clear and informative email on pairing clownfish - only wish I'd read it before purchasing the 4 cinnamon (melanopus) clownfish from ETropicals about 3 weeks ago.
After seeing them fight and each get white bruises and split lips I pulled two out and they are healing well, separated in a QT tank.
The two remaining in the main tank are now fighting. I bought them all with the understanding they were juvenilles, but based on your FAQ, since they are all fighting, are they all females at this point????

I have one anenome in the tank. I'd really appreciate your advice about how to handle it from here. Do I take 3 of them to the LFS and keep one to mature in the anenome, then introduce a true juvenile in a month? Or, do I need to 'test' them in various combinations to see if one is still juvenille?

Thanks so much for the clear explanations. [/B][/QUOTE]

Keep one and introduce a CB juvenile in a month or so. That is one of the problems with getting WC fish that are not paired up, no one can tell for sure what sex/age they are.

Wow, I actuialy read every post, this is realy good information! :) thanks!

I have a 72 gallon, and a very large bta (at least 1 foot across). I added a large maroon(2.5-3 inches) and a samller one (1.5 inches). this was three days ago. Their first meeting in the tank went realy well, the smaller one turned on his side and shook when she came towards him, and she stopped her attack. he even kissed her on the cheek.
then she found the anemone, and has sicne ignored him except to chase him to the other side of the tank. I havent seen any submissive behavoir from him in the last few days but he does run from her.

yesterday she swam out of the anemone to the other side of the tank just to chase him. today she deosnt want to leave the anemone and has even brought it food! :D

I can see his fins(mainly his tail and the fin above his tail) are missing some small pieces, its worse today than it was yesterday, but I have two damsel fish in there that I think are picking on him too. they are larger than he is. (I have been trying to catch them but they are pretty smart!)

I'm wondering if she has rejected him now, or if they are just bickering and will eventuialy pair up. Also, how long should I leave him in before I call it quits ?

Thankyou !!

You should be OK, give them a little time and keep an eye on his damage level.

My female black perc has spent the last few days just laying around inside her colt coral. She is literally just laying there atop the colts large central stalk and branches, snuggles with it ocassionally, but doesn't move much.
She appears to be fine when I stick my hand in there (to make sure she is still alive), but she is not swimming around much. The male is out and about all the time but also swims into the colt and lays there with her. The last two feedings she would not come out to feed. This is what worried me the most.
The pair normally swim throughout the tank.
Is this normal behavior for her? Could she just be settling in or is she possibly sick? Could this be a precursor for egg laying?
I have not had mated clowns before this, so this is all new to me.
Tank parameters are all withing norms and no new additions that would stress her out.
Thanks for the opinions/advice.
_________________
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you" Gandalf

sonofgaladriel,
Welcome to Reef Central!!! Wish I could do the cool Welcome logo... :D How long have you had your pair? If they were recently purchased or another fish recently added without QT you might have a sick fish. Is there any white stringy feces or heavy breathing that you witnessed?

I have a 1" black saddleback I have had for about 3 months now.

My question is, can I add 2" Saddleback I have located, or should I get one the same size?


Kevin.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by want2reef [/i]
[B]I have a 1" black saddleback I have had for about 3 months now.

My question is, can I add 2" Saddleback I have located, or should I get one the same size?


Kevin. [/B][/QUOTE]

Is your current fish WC or CB? If CB how old is the fish?

I wish I could tell ya. The store I got "it" from couldn't tell me.

I can tell ya one thing, "it" loves my LTA!

Kevin.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by want2reef [/i]
[B]I wish I could tell ya. The store I got "it" from couldn't tell me.

I can tell ya one thing, "it" loves my LTA!

Kevin. [/B][/QUOTE]

I think we can safely assume the fish is WC then. That being the case there is no way to tell the age of the fish, so again we can safely assume that it is old enough to have and change sex.

You should assume that the fish you have now is a female and find a small fish to try to pair it with.

re:female black perc concern
 

Atticus- She shows no signs of being ill. She has started eating again, but will not venture more than a few inches from the colt coral host. She continues to lay utop the main stalk and branches but will chase away fish that come near her.
I am glad that she is eating again, but she will not leave the vicinity of the colt for the food, whereas before she would swim the tank to grab food.
I have given her a thorough inspection and there are no signs of infection, parasites, loss of weight, or shallow breathing.
I have not seen any egg deposits either.

I doubt you will see egg depositing as these clowns are fairly difficult to get to spawn. I think you are just seeing the hosting behavior.

Does anyone have a compilation on pairing/spawning behaivoir that are specific to certain clowns? I have heard that some Skunks have a different way of showing submission, etc

It would be great if there was special information like this out there.

Skunks... Well they tend to have more or less the same behaviors as other complexes. Where the difference lays is that the skunks can not quite make the quiver like other species. IMO that is from their incredible flexibility.

What I see with my skunks...

1) Dominate fish attacks.

2) Submissive fish takes up a perpendicular position to the dominate fish.

3) The submissive fish turns it's belly towards to the dominate fish.

4) The dominate fish goes more or less vertical and stops.

Pretty much the same as other species, except no real quiver. Sometime I see something that looks like they are trying to quiver, but it never really comes out as one.

awesome art. i 'am p/u my pair soon from my local fish store.
thanx for the info.
saltydwag24

i finally got my pair of WC GSM's. the female is huge! i would say 6-7 inches. the male is about 1.5 inches and they say its a GS but its mis-barred with thin white bars. i have seen some mis-barred white stripes turn into gold stripes but that is not my issue. i was just curious as to whether the sexual maturity of the male would be noticeable by the stripes. the size difference is so dramatic i cant even imagine them laying eggs. its like a 900 lb wife with a 90 lb husband that only drinks prune juice. they are definately a bonded pair but if they are or ever were a mating pair is questionable. i know she is sexualy mature just what about the guy wearing the pants? thanks again for your brilliance.

john booko

One more thing john!

i was reading some of your old posts and i noticed you said something about a season change stimulating a spawn (possibly).
i was just curious what temp you used to simulate winter. i am guessing around 78 and then raising to 82 but you are the man and i was just checking. thanks again

john booko

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by johnbooko [/i]
[B]i finally got my pair of WC GSM's. the female is huge! i would say 6-7 inches. the male is about 1.5 inches and they say its a GS but its mis-barred with thin white bars. i have seen some mis-barred white stripes turn into gold stripes but that is not my issue. i was just curious as to whether the sexual maturity of the male would be noticeable by the stripes. the size difference is so dramatic i cant even imagine them laying eggs. its like a 900 lb wife with a 90 lb husband that only drinks prune juice. they are definately a bonded pair but if they are or ever were a mating pair is questionable. i know she is sexualy mature just what about the guy wearing the pants? thanks again for your brilliance.

john booko [/B][/QUOTE]

Chances are really good that you have a white stripe male. It is unlikely to see one come in WC that is still white in the bars.

Yes he could very well be mature. I have had spawning males smaller than that. They were absolutely worthless at tending the nest, but they got the most important part of their job done.

IME GSM are pretty easy to get spawning. Generally you mess with temp with difficult spawners. If I was you, I would...

1) Feed to saturation 3+ times a day with a good varied diet.

2) Photo period with night light of 12-13 hours.

3) Water temp at ~82°F

4) Wait 4-6 months for signs of cleaning. If you don't see any cleaning by this point, then start adding BBS and/or Cyclop-eeze in the AM and PM.