So Mr.Rob, clownfishman, what would be the best way to get a pair of clowns besides just finding someone who will already sell me a pair. i really want to start with a fish only as i mentioned before(i love inverts but i dont have the monatary resources to properly care for them). so im looking into a pair of maroons. cause i :love!: maroons any help appriated.
Thanks

get a large and a small one. most likely the large is female and small is male. they are capable of changing sex. but i heard only up to certain age.

I would go for clowns that are already paired. Alot less to worry about.

Maroons are one of the most aggressive clowns you can buy, and if you buy two from different locations they will probably beat up on each other. They would have to be put in the tank at the same time or there will already be established territory. But thats just my opinion and i could be wrong. :)

As I understand it, clownfish are born sexless. As they mature one will establish dominance, or in the case of captivity one may be housed alone. This one becomes female. The rest in the group become male (or remain sexless, cant remember), and the more dominant male gets to be with the female. If the female should die the dominant male will become a dominant female, and the next one in line will become a dominat male.

Once a clown becomes female i cant be a male again.

david is right. (and htey stay sexless.. ;) )

you can do it one of three ways
1.) get a "pair" that is sold as a pair - expensive option
2.) get a large and a small - potentially risky since aggression might be an issue
3.) get two juveniles - safe way, but will take a long time for them to "pair"

now that list above is a general list for all clowns. for you, with maroons its a bit different, you actually want to go with 1 or 2. getting one that is large and one that is small, the small one will quickly give in or die (as with others clowns it may just lead to months of bickering) maroons also need larger tanks than most, i would say at least 30 for a set of maroons, and nothing else. and if you intend to have them breeding, a dedicated tank will help get you there faster

ok well i have a 20g long tank they of course would be the only two in there and it would be FOWLR. would that still be too small a tank for a pair cause honestly if it is i wont let my fish suffer. cause i talked to the owner of a lfs and he said i should be fine if they are the only fish in there and dont raise the bioload beyond about 3 fish. he has alot of exp. with fish only tanks. but if honestly its too small then thats too bad and ill have to get my maroons later.

Rob in your experience which clowns have been the most intresting sp. that you have had?

well i cant say for sure because i have never had maroons, all i can relay is that this is below what i have read for the recommended.

as far as intriguing, im not sure i have seen any that really stand out. my favs for looks are the pink skunks and perculas, and the onyx perculas.

im only breeding the perculas now, but woudl like to do the onyx, skunks and maybe some picasso morphs (morph of the percula or occellaris)

ya Ive seen some picassos before.. and skunks are really cool never heard about onyx before imma have to go look those up.

Are the picasso's simply a morph or a result of cross breeding perculas? cause ive learned alot about breeding for traits in snakes and if that could apply to here maybe it could be fun.

I guess im going to have to look into more clown breeding then do you have any resources i can look for stuff on this its kinda hard to find good sources.

yep, the breeding for traits is exactly it..
its basically a freak morph that is now thought of as rare and valuable...lol

lol.. and darwin said they should die hahaha. now they are tresured.

cool im glad this was brought up now Im seriously going to look into clown trait breeding that is one of the reasons i was so interested in ball pythons.

now im going to read all i can on this... be prepared for more questions from me Rob.:D

np, it will be good for the upcoming clownfish series.. :)