Male or female clwon?

[FxdupCobra]

I have a maroon clown fish and I am about to buy another one and wanted to know if I tell which one is the a male or female clown? Are there any distinctions? The last thing I want is to put the little guy (2.5 inches) and my big maroon (4.5 - 5 inches) and have a disaster????

[jtemple42000]

There is no way to tell. Clown fish are able to change sexes.....No really! The female usually is the biggest. In schools of clowns, again, the largest clown will be the female. If the female happens to die, then the dominant male morphs into the female. Sounds strange, but its true.

I have a mated pair of Gold Strip maroons and the female is at least twice the size of the male.

It can also be very challenging to introduce a new clown to a establish tank that includes clowns.....read up on it there are several ways discussed on here to help make it a little easier.

[FxdupCobra]

Thank you for the information. The clown I have which is about twice the size of the one I am planning to get is going to be a female (i am assuming because of its size and the fact that its been alone for years). The little one I am going to get I am getting from a friend it is about half the size of my current one and has been alone in his tank for 1 year. I just dont want to have two females on my hands????????????

[Juck]

Any clownfish that has been alone for a year is unlikely to be a male,, regardless of size.