How to pair up clownfish?

[goodman123]

Good day to you all. Can anyone please advise me how to pair up clownfish? Do i need to quarantine the first clownfish that is origin from my tank before introduce the new clownfish into the new tank? For i tried to find and search the forum under this topic ..... but unable to find any help at all. Therefore create a new topic on this. Sorry if i ask create too many topic recently.

[straydum]

you might want to try google, here's the first link that came up

from RC,

One of the most common questions on RC is “how do I pair clownfishâ€Â. Pairing clownfish can be a troublesome thing to do or very easy to do. Here are a few things that might help you in this task.

1) You need to understand clownfish sex change and how that effects pairing and interaction. Please refer to http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=215088 page for sexing FAQ. For further information.

a. Briefly, clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites. They are hatched as sexually immature fish. Based on signals from their environment and being physically mature (12-24 months) they will either remain sexually immature, change into a male or change into a male then female. This is a one way trip, sexless to male never to be sexless again and male to female never to be male again.

b. A clownfish kept by its self will become a female in a short period of time if it is physically mature, in as little as a month.

2) Two female clowns will fight. The tell tale sign that you have two females is fighting ending in the two locking their mouths together.

Clownfish pairing techniques:

There are a couple of proven techniques to pair same species of clownfish. Mixing species of clownfish should be avoided and has very limited long term (multi-year) success (only one case that I know of and could be considered unsuccessful as at least one clownfish was killed by another clownfish in the tank).

Grow out technique:

With this technique two small juvenile clownfish are purchased at the same time and introduced into the tank at the same time. The fish will establish a dominate submissive relationship as they mature and eventually form a pair bond. This technique works the vast majority of the time.

Notes: Since the fish are going to fight and/or chase each other to establish who is the dominate fish and who is the submissive fish, it will often speed the pairing process and reduce fighting and potential damage to the fish by getting one of the two juveniles larger than the other.

This technique should not be applied to Premnas species (maroon) clownfish.

Add a new clownfish to an existing clownfish technique:

With having an existing clownfish in your tank adding a new clownfish to form a pair can be a little harder or in other words more dangerous to the new fish. The technique is basically the same as the grow out technique. You will want to find a small juvenile clownfish and add it to the tank with the existing tank. By getting a small juvenile fish you are not risking possible sex compatibility problems, e.g. two females.

Example: Existing 3†A. Ocellaris clownfish that has been in the tank by it’s self for over a year. We can assume this fish is a female based on size, age and environment. A ¾†to 1 ½†juvenile from a community tank is added to the tank. The vast majority of the time the new fish will submit to the existing fish with little or no fighting at all.

This technique should not be applied to Premnas species (maroon) clownfish.

Paring Premnas species clownfish (maroon clownfish):

Pairing maroon clowns is much more problematic than pairing Amphiprion species clownfish. Maroons are notorious for being very aggressive towards other clownfish. They are pretty much fearless and will only back down from an all out fight when presented with the overwhelming threat of death.

Separation Technique:

The only technique I am aware of that works the vast majority of the time with the least amount of damage as possible to use a separation and slow acclimation process to introduce a poetical mate to a maroon clownfish.

First you need to have a large female already established in your tank before trying a pairing. The clownfish should be at least 3†from nose to start of the cardinal fin. Next you will need to do a little preparation before buying a potential mate for your maroon. You need something to securely separate the two fish in the same tank while still allowing the fish to see each other and the new fish to get water flow. You can use a clear plastic specimen container with holes drilled in it for example.

Now go to the LFS and find the smallest juvenile maroon from a community tank that you can find. It should be no larger than 1†nose to start of cardinal fin. Acclimate the new maroon just as you would any other fish. Once the new maroon is acclimated to your tanks water, place the new maroon in the specimen container. Let the two fish see each other, place the specimen container near the females territory. Carefully watch the female’s behavior. If she is trying to attack the new fish thru the container, it is not safe to release the new maroon. Give her time to cool off from the disruption to her tank and addition of a foreign clownfish in her tank.

Now that the female has cooled her temper it is time to try an introduction. Get your favorite fish net ready and release the new maroon to the tank. If the fighting gets too bad you will need to rescue the new maroon and place it back in the container and try the next day. If after three failed attempts you can write off the new maroon as incompatible and you will need a new juvenile to try with.

Submissive behavior in clownfish:

As a part of pairing you need to know what submissive behavior is. You will know that you are well on your way to a successful pairing when one fish submits to the other fish. This is especially important behavior to observe in maroon clownfish.

Amphiprion and Premnas species submissive behavior goes something like this… First the dominate fish will rush or otherwise attack the submissive fish. The submissive fish will turn sideways to the dominate fish and tilt its belly towards the dominate fish and quiver like an epileptic seizure. The female should recognize this behavior and stop the attack short of actual damage. Sometimes in new pairings and old well established pair bonds the dominate fish will move to a parallel position to the submissive and quiver back to the submissive fish.

In Premnas species there is an additional submissive behavior that is unique to maroons. When the submissive fish is rushed or otherwise attacked it/he will duck the attack, slip to the side of the female and tenderly kiss her cheek spines and pectoral fins of his beloved female.

Signs that you have a pair bond in your clownfish:

There are a couple of signs that a pair bond has formed and is maturing in your clownfish in addition to submissive behavior. Typically mated pairs (pairs that have a pair bond) will sleep in the same area. They will also host in the same host or stay in the same territory if there is no natural host present. The two fish will stay close to each other the vast majority of the time.

The pair bond is a developing thing. It starts out as a general acceptance of each other. Then slowly develops into a closer relationship were both fish are together most of the time. There is a bickering phase too where the female will make sure the male knows who is the boss. During this time it is not uncommon to find the poor little dejected male cowering near their normal host/territory. But don’t worry this is normal and the male will be accepted back sooner or later. The ultimate end of the pair bond is seen in a spawning event such as nest cleaning or laying of eggs.

References; Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson, Anemonefishes by Dr. Gerald Allen, Conditioning spawning and rearing of fish with emphasis on marine clownfish by Dr. Frank Hoff.

[goodman123]

thanks for the quick reply. I did follow the menthod whereby throw the new clownfish into the tank with the existing clownfish... and the existing clownfish chase and bite at this new clownfish till it jump over to the filter comparment behind my tank....

Now i had already quarantine this existing clownfish, but i just want to know when then they consider as pairing up, when then can i move this quarantine clownfish back to the tank?

[Solo77]

Personal experience, if u adding just one to yr existing one in yr tank, u got to get one bigger one(.5 bigger or more). Having said all this, there is always exception, depending on yr luck. If u adding a school, then can try small but possible of grouping and dying for those weaker one after all the pairing and grouping. U can also try catching the existing one and release the new one. Do some scaping and wait for existing one to get stable before 4 releasing.

[Gouldian]

thanks for the quick reply. I did follow the menthod whereby throw the new clownfish into the tank with the existing clownfish... and the existing clownfish chase and bite at this new clownfish till it jump over to the filter comparment behind my tank....

Now i had already quarantine this existing clownfish, but i just want to know when then they consider as pairing up, when then can i move this quarantine clownfish back to the tank?

You may want to place the smaller clown in a betta box and place it into your main tank. This, will allow the "older" clown to get used to the presence of the "newer" fish and release the fish once aggression ends.

[peacemaker]

You may want to place the smaller clown in a betta box and place it into your main tank. This, will allow the "older" clown to get used to the presence of the "newer" fish and release the fish once aggression ends.

Alternatively, you can swap places and release the "newer" fish while you keep the "older" fish or the aggressor in the betta box. This allows the "newer" fish to get used to the environment without disturbances and could pick a few hiding places if necessary.

[goodman123]

my existing clownfish and the new clownfish is almost same size is it ok or not? Now what i did is i isolate the new clownfish in those betta tank and the new clownfish in the main tank.... so that they could see each other... but i dont know when then is the right time to release the existing one out from the betta tank. Can anyone suggest? Thanks.

[Solo77]

So far, this doesn't seem to work for clown, even if they don't show aggression. Once u release, the established clown will come. Same size not easy but if yr new one is a commando clown, should be ok.

[goodman123]

if thats the case i could only say good luck to this new clownfish......

[Solo77]

Try to catch out and sell away. If kena chase, likely ease to catch. I tried adding a pair to my existing 3 pairs but can't and catch them out. All the best.

[Morpheous]

Personally feel that a larger pairing with a smaller one will do the trick. If of the same size, if the fighting is not too extensive, they usually end up as a pair. However to have them breeding depends on luck...

[CFOh]

if thats the case i could only say good luck to this new clownfish......

Dun give up.. try put the dominant one in betta box as bro peacemaker suggested.. release every night and monitor the behavior.. fight again.. back to betta box.. I am sure he will give up fight eventually... need patient dun let the fight proceed.. surely one sacrifice or jaw lock till lost appetite issue if ignoring.. Cheers and Good Luck...

[goodman123]

ok i would try.... but catching this dominant one really make me headache... once i release it to the main tank.... For last time i try to catch this clownfish using the net, but failed therefore do some research from this forum and manage to find the diy fish trap and "bravo" able to catch it. And now i worry that once i released it, and later want to catch back using the same fish trap....this clownfish would not buy the idea anymore..

[DUCADOS]

Ya I feel so too. Choosing the correct size to pair is very important.

Otherwise it will ended up become fighting fish

[law1210]

I tried introducing a same sized maroon clown into my tank before. Tried the above method of putting one in betta box, released, fight, put back. Repeatedly did that release, put back thing for one month. Now both of them have accepted one another and are living happily together.

Needs lots of patience. Both of them sustained quite a bit of damages to the fins during the process. But luckily it worked...after one month.