Pairing Two Clowns...

[Daniel]

Hi, i know we have some clownfish "experts" on SDReefs, so i'd like to ask: what's the proper way to pair up two clowns?

here's my scenario:
currently, i have one 2'' true percula clownfish, i purchased it over 2 yrs ago and it's still alive and fat. when i purchased it, i purchased a "pair" of them, unfortunately its partner died after 2 weeks, simply disappeared after 1 day. anyways, the 2'' clown is currently the boss of my tank, he's got his anemone staked out and won't let anything else near it. (i have a 40G tank, setup for about 10 months now).

recently, i purchased a 1.25'' true percula clownfish (considerably smaller than the other clown), and had him acclimated and am currently keeping him in a transparent "holding box" sitting in the tank. i put it in clear view of the bigger clown, and by looking at the interaction of the big clown bullying the lil guy through the glass, i can tell that the lil guy might get beat up the moment i set him free.

my question is: how long should i keep the smaller clown in the holding box until i can let him go? (safely without being beat up) ... and/or, am i doing this all wrong?

i've had the worst luck trying to pair clownfish, any help would be appreciated.

[treylane]

Percs are FAIRLY good at accepting partners ... when I finally decided to get a partner for my established female, she took right to him inside an hour. Tiny bit of chasing for a day or two but nothing serious. Pairing maroons is like playing russian roulette with the small clown.

[XxMutedYouthxX]

when ive paired up my maroons and percs in the past they tend to go at each other for a little while.... not really biting or anything damaging just a some nudging but then they mellow down. Percs generally are more mellow but sounds like you got a lil fighter.

[Daniel]

so after a few hours, i let the lil guy into the tank. the larger perc gave him a good beating. bit him, but no torn fins, he literally bit his tail and dragged him a few inches around (strong clown!) the lil guy wriggled free but is persistent in dodging attacks.

after more observing (to make sure the lil guy could put up with the beating), the bigger one seemed to back off a bit with an occasional nip here or there but nothing serious.

i guess it wasn't that bad to get them paired... to make sure, i'll see if they're sleeping in the same anemone in a few days :)

[DaChrisDude]

To tag another question on to uchiha's: I've got a ~2 inch Petco special false Perc and want to add another one to have a pair, should I add a smaller, larger, or same size one?

[Daniel]

i was told smaller, but i don't know how accurate that is since i'm having a hard time with my established clown beating up smaller fish.

btw: my big clown has started picking fights again with the little one. bites his fin, drags him around, and then lets him go. what a biatch!

[Little Luey]

I think the bigger fish has to stablish who the boss is first, after that he may take the newcomer, hopefully the little guy will be able to take it.

[XxMutedYouthxX]

you should add a considerably smaller false perc dachrisdude... the fish in your tank now has his dominance set up because there is no other clown in the tank so if you add a larger clown in your smaller clown is still going to think he is dominant and they will most likely go at each other... if you put in a smaller one normally they are smart enough to realize that they arent the dominant fish and submit to the larger female...

[Kee]

Put some speakers next to your tank and play some Barry White. That should help them pair up.

[colindoug3]

Looks like this is the ongoing clownfish thread....
I thought mine were a pair. The female's been increasingly brutal on the male. He's in the doghouse now, they don't even sleep together. He is in the torch and she's in the frogspawn. What's going on? Should I break them up?

[phishphood]

PMS? :D sorry...couldn't resist

[colindoug3]

It's once every 30 seconds, not every 30 days. :D

[DaChrisDude]

Offer marital counceling...


Looks like this is the ongoing clownfish thread....
I thought mine were a pair. The female's been increasingly brutal on the male. He's in the doghouse now, they don't even sleep together. He is in the torch and she's in the frogspawn. What's going on? Should I break them up?

[DaChrisDude]

Thanks 4 the advice.

you should add a considerably smaller false perc dachrisdude... the fish in your tank now has his dominance set up because there is no other clown in the tank so if you add a larger clown in your smaller clown is still going to think he is dominant and they will most likely go at each other... if you put in a smaller one normally they are smart enough to realize that they arent the dominant fish and submit to the larger female...

[Daniel]

just an update, my larger clown has "allowed" the smaller one to hang around her, but she hasn't let him in the anemone yet. once in a while, she will still chase him around, but nothing as brutal as the first 2-3 days. thanks for the help guys :D