Male or female?

[willowtree_1987]

I am just starting out in this hobby....I have salt water fish also, and when I go buy two fish of the same breed sometimes they tell me one is a male and another is a female. I never understood how you could tell with this. I know it's something to do with fins in so cases if now all....With clownfish, how can you tell what sex they are?

How can you tell with clown fish, for I am quite interested in them since I am just starting out I want to go with something small like them, and I think they are just quite adorable....What would you do with them if they had eggs? I had a group of freshwater fish at one time and they managed to produce young....Sadly all the babies died....Mommy kept on eating them. How do I avoid this situation incase something like this happens in the near future? And while I am asking, what would I do with the young if they do hatch? I am just getting started and reading this forum has started my brain turning....I think breeding is quite remarkable and interesting. If anything like this ever happens to me and being very new, I want to be ready...I just want to make sure I am prepared....Thankyou for your time...Also, if any of you read this and have the time, if you have any pictures of anything related to this please post them if you have the time.

Your time is apprieciated...Thanks

[Beng]

Aahh, you might want to stick with the first part first, getting a male and female clown.

Go to your LFS or online and buy 2 clowns that you like. Put them in you tank, in six months, the larger one will be female and the smaller one will be male.

Breeding and eggs kinda comes in about 1-3 years after, depending on how big the clowns were when you bought them.

And if you have money to burn, you can also simply buy a big establish pair and maybe get eggs in about 6 moths, assuming your tank parameters are good and you don't kill them.

[Kathy55g]

Here's a good book:
Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson.

It will tell you everything you need to know and then some. And it will give you a flavor of what it takes to raise the fry.

Enjoy.

[Hockeyben51]

Has your tank cycled? Do you have ph,ammonia,phodphate,nitrate,nitrite, test not to scare you but make sure you know some of the basis and make sure you don't get ripped of by ur lfs because they said they were a mated pair or some crap like that

[NicoleC]

I suggest this FAQ:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=215088

And this one:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=215098

[willowtree_1987]

My tank is no where near ready for clownfish, but since I have an interest in the fish, I want to learn much about them....I dont really want to raise fry, but if that time comes I want to be ready....I have had freshwater fish mate and have babies, but since I wasnt ready for that and the fact the mother kept eating them, they all died....I dont want this to happen again....Thankyou for your help everyone

[NicoleC]

If you get a pair, and they mature and are very healthy, they may very well spawn. Unlike the FW fish you had, the eggs will hatch into tiny larvae but cannot survive in aquaria. So you won't have "baby fish" unless you choose to exert a lot of effort raising them.