pregnant?

[cinnamongirl]

How do you know when your clown is pregnant? I have a pair of true percs and yesterday, out of the blue, the larger one started hosting in my torch (much to the torch's displeasure!) but today I noticed that she looks FAT! They don't really spend too much time together except at night, they huddle around the powerhead together, so I assumed they're weren't a mated pair. I got them about 6 months ago and they were both about an inch. Now one is about twice as large as the other...... I'm confused!

[Avian]

A female clownfish does not get pregnant in the sense that we thing. A female will become "gravid" (sp) when she is ready to spawn.

I don't have much experience with breeding to know if that is the behavior your clown is showing.

[cinnamongirl]

Great. The LAST thing I ever expected when getting into this was things like spawing and breeding! I guess it's back to the research process!

[Avian]

I believe it is normal and healthy for your clownfish, especially the female to be a bit on the bulky side. It may indicated spawning is right around the corner, or several years away.

A. perculas take quite some time to mature.

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks, Avian! They are still very small so hopefully it will be a few years away. I'm not prepared to have my own children yet, let alone someone elses ;-)