Breeding or Pairing

**Nazaroth** · 08-10-2008, 01:12 AM

I have a maroon clown right now that I got from a friend and he is quite old. How do I know if it is male or female? Can I get a baby of the opposite sex and they will be ok? Or do I need to get 2 babies together at the same time? I want to have a pair just not sure where to start...

**Amphibious** · 08-10-2008, 09:10 AM

The sure way is to buy two or more juveniles and raise them together. The following is a non scientific account of juvenile clown fish maturing to adulthood.

Juvenile clowns are born males (some authorities claim, non sexual). As the group matures the most aggressive juvi grows larger and matures into a female. The next most aggressive juvi matures into a sexually active male. The rest remain sexually inactive unless they wander from home and pair off separately.

Not knowing the history of your clown, it would be impossible to determine the sex without doing a biopsy. So, your best bet if you want to pair it up is to buy a small (juvenile) Maroon and place them together. Be prepared to separate them. Your larger, older clown may not take kindly to a like tank mate. If this happens, I've had success partitioning off the two and letting them "get used to each other" through the glass for a few days or weeks. What happens after that is anyone's guess.

The problem is, not knowing the sex of your fish and not really knowing the sex of the fish you want to introduce it to. If, for instance, yours has turned into a female and you inadvertently introduce another female (after all you really can't tell the difference), neither of them will turn back into a male. Once turned, done.

It's still worth a try, if that's what you want to do. Just be prepared to find a different home for one of them if things don't work out.

Dick

**StormKrow** · 08-10-2008, 02:41 PM

Another issue you may want to consider is that if it is a female, depending on how old it really is, she may be done laying eggs. Buying two younger fish, as Amphibious said, may be a better bet in the end.

**Amphibious** · 08-10-2008, 02:56 PM

Welcome to TR, StormKrow.

What you said above is a good possibility.

Dick

**CarmieJo** · 08-13-2008, 12:31 AM

Hello StormKrow and

to TR.

**rayme07** · 08-13-2008, 12:44 AM

welcome to TR and awesome advice.

**Jace** · 08-13-2008, 11:11 PM

I aggre with Ray

**Berto** · 12-10-2008, 09:16 PM

i have had an orange false-perk in my tank for about a week, i have a black-perk in a baggie stitting on the surface water of my tank as i type this right now.

i am crossing my fingers they will become friends and even better, mate.

i was told that you can breed the orange with the black species..

Berto.

**Amphibious** · 12-11-2008, 12:21 AM

The orange false perk is actually Amphiprion ocellaris, the Ocellaris Clown fish. The black-perk you have is actually Amphiprion ocellaris Black Color Morph. Since they are the same species it is likely they will breed, if given the right conditions.

Crossing your fingers may help if you are superstitious but, my advice to you is to buy a copy of Joyce Wilkerson's book Clownfishes. It covers breeding and rearing clowns.

Dick

**Berto** · 12-11-2008, 12:32 AM

thanks Amphibious

im currently reading lots of info i find on the web plus the SUPER helpfull information and equally helpfull and friendly people on TR.

but i can see a book purchase in my near future.

at the moment im just happy they get along.

thanks again!

Berto.

**CarmieJo** · 12-11-2008, 06:09 PM

It sounds like you are sticking a new fish in straight from the store into your display tank. If correct this is asking for trouble. I'd like to really recommend that you pick up a QT tank.

**Berto** · 12-11-2008, 08:51 PM

your right,

i knew i shouldnt have dont it, but was way to excited to stop myself..

when i add another fish to my tank, it will spend some hard time in my QT tank for sure..
my wife just bought me a 10gal QT tank (she's amazing)

the clown i bought came from the same tank as the first one i got a week ago..
so i figured if they did turn out to have a disease, i could treat them together.

**CarmieJo** · 12-11-2008, 09:17 PM

Good move by your wife! Hopefully you won't need to use this knowledge but keep in mind that you can't treat much of anything in the DT.

**THEJRC** · 12-12-2008, 02:57 AM

I highly recommend taking a look at MOFIB - Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders - Marine Fish Breeding / Saltwater Fish Breeding / Marine Invertebrate Breeding if your truly interested in breeding. It's a lot of work but can easily be done with some dilligence. There are a lot of great threads currently active on color morphs and the like as well (depending on how deep you want to get).

As far as sexing, Dick is right it's not that easy. The money is that your existing clown is most likely female at this point as they can change from male to female but not back. If at any time she/he/it was dominant in another tank it's highly likely she/he/it is a she now.

If you do decide to add another follow the advice above, be ready to separate! Clowns are in fact very territorial and can be extremely agressive. In any case for some good information take a look at a lot of the MOFIB (marinebreeder.org) info. The group there is highly dedicated and a few such as KathyL are not only extremely successful currently but are pushing the envelope in study on better ways.

**Berto** · 12-12-2008, 10:35 AM

Thanks for all the great information!

the last two days ive woken up to feed the tank in the morning and found the two clowns sleeping side by side in the same spot.

im not sure if they've mated up.. or are "just good friends"
or if they were'nt opposite sexes if they would even act that way.

i believe ill have to look into the book mentioned above.

thanks again!

Berto.

**kodocat** · 12-12-2008, 05:35 PM

sounds like you got lucky, i bought my clowns both as newbies, but ensured that they were the exstreams of sizes from differant tanks. so hopping to get two juvaniles from differant parents, but ensuring that one was significantly more dominant.

tough love in the fish world the big one was definatly more dominant and bit off the main dorsal fin of the little one.
but thanks to the healing powers of salt water , he healed up very quickly and they have been inseprable since. and have hatched three spawnings.

so it sounds like you are over the worst.

listen to the earlier podcasts on clown fish i found it helped me.

**sweetpea** · 12-14-2008, 02:39 PM

This is a great topic because I am debating which type of clown to purchase for my newest tank. I wanted to purchase two black clowns in hope they would breed. I really wanted a black and an orange to do what you are attempting Berto. Let me know how it goes. I may get the black ones before your little guys are successful but I would like to compare notes, since I too will be going through the same process in the next month if I find the little guys I want. On another note, I have two clowns in my larger tank, A tru perc and a clarki. Putting them together was not my original intention. I had the perc in my large tank, and the clarki in my first 8 gallon tank. One day clarki decided to do a loop d loop and landed him self in the dry filter. We put him in the 30 gallon, and the next day the two different clowns were the best of buds. The clarki is now the biggest and protects the perc from everyone. Its so cute, I wonder if they know they are different species.

**kodocat** · 12-16-2008, 03:08 AM

you will need to set up a nursery tank, one that you can run with only an air stone,

i have just started to cycle mine so i exspect to lose a couple more spawnings before i can start to save any,so as not to waist any power i plan to use mine as a frag tank in between hatchlings, on a skimmer and punp. but power down to just the air stone when i put the little ones in.

if you dont mind the asthetics follow the advice of others and put in an ideal surface for the clowns to spawn on. and do it now. a small pot an upside down tile , it only needs to be 2" square but once they have desided where they will spawn, it'll be hard to move them.

and when it comes time to save the hatching eggs your life will be a lot easier. as instead of just moving a submerged piece of pot when the silver tips appear. i have to wait up when the lights go out . turn off the pumps, and two hours later use a torch and laddle.to catch the micro scopic little criters.

their are a lot of info sites out in the web , look at as many as you can to form your own opinion. happy surfing.

**CarmieJo** · 12-17-2008, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by kodocat

i have to wait up when the lights go out . turn off the pumps, and two hours later use a torch and laddle.to catch the micro scopic little criters.

LOL, I bet your neighbors wonder what in the world you are doing!

**THEJRC** · 12-17-2008, 11:56 PM

what a coincidence.... lo and behold my clownies laid eggs this evening (okay so it's not so much a coincedence, every 16-18 days like clockwork). Once you get the pair be on the lookout for this -- >

The conundrum here is that I have a test kreisel setup that I've been working on for my Mythrax spawnings and now have to fight the urge to use it for clown fry.... hrmm perhaps I should waylay the crabbies....

then again, clowns are bred by a lot of people, the crabs not so much.

**rayme07** · 12-18-2008, 12:47 AM

Very cool congrats on the clown eggs.

**sweetpea** · 12-18-2008, 03:56 PM

Congrats as well. I have not yet baught my clowns that I entend to try and breed, but I have a nano cube that I was going to eventually use for the babies. I was going to screen off the intakes with a fine meshy so they didnt get sucked in. Will this be ok or do I need to think of getting another small tank with an air stone. How much light do these little guys need? I have a while so I am going to kepp reading up on the web and also the books everyone suggested.

**THEJRC** · 12-18-2008, 03:59 PM

I've tried the mesh thing with a low flow hang on back fuge with poor success, it doesnt take much for the fry to get sucked to anything and eventually die.

Your best off with still water, a heater with no light (or light covered by tape) and doing manual water changes for the first week or two.