Clown fish question

[Eric_n_Ga]

So I've had this pair of clowns for a while ,the smaller one I be had for a couple yrs , he actually had another partner the jumped out as well.

My question is the surviving clown has always been the smallest of the pairs so I'm assuming he's a male . Although he's a few yrs old now so not really small anymore. I'm going to get a replacement tomorrow should I look for a larger one ,or a smaller one to put in with him ...or does it matter ?

These are ocellaris clownfish by the way.

 

[jcook54]

Please take this with a grain of salt, I'm not a clown expert but I did recently ask this question to someone who I believe is. @percula doesn't get on much at all any more but he darn sure knows about clown. So, I have an o. clown in my frag tank and another one about the same size in my QT tank. I thought about putting them together and was told they would either harass each other until one of them goes or they will turn into a male/female pair. 50/50 chance. I didn't ask about selecting a different sized on but it makes intuitive sense to me.

 

[gill]

I'd put a juvenile in. It will change to whatever the other is not. Or vice versa. Adding a fully mature fish seems riskier.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

So I've had this pair of clowns for a while ,the smaller one I be had for a couple yrs , he actually had another partner the jumped out as well.

My question is the surviving clown has always been the smallest of the pairs so I'm assuming he's a male . Although he's a few yrs old now so not really small anymore. I'm going to get a replacement tomorrow should I look for a larger one ,or a smaller one to put in with him ...or does it matter ?

These are ocellaris clownfish by the way.

You may want to reach out to bobs. He is a clown breeder whom has threads in the Breeder’s Corner. You could also PM bobs?
- wannabee

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Should be bobz

 

[Cook]

Agree with what @gill said. @bobz is definitely the resident expert that's on more often. You need a clown smaller than the one you have to minimize aggression and a juvenile is the choice I would make for the reasons he stated. With my mated ocellaris pair, I introduced a small black clown juvenile, the mate I had for this one in another tank died similar to your situation. The pair were never very aggressive towards him, even when first introduced and he is the only fish they tolerate near their eggs. That means in this tank, a 40 gallon breeder, I have two males now. These clowns can become very territorial, so I would still introduce with caution. How does your clown react when you put your hand in the tank? To me that can be an indicator. I now have two sets of ocellaris that are laying eggs in two different tanks. In the tank with the black clown the female watches my hand but does not come near. In the other, the female comes right to me in what is currently a curious, but but definitely defensive posture.

 

[Adam]

The male can turn female if a smaller juvenile is put in. The male can also stay male if a larger female is put in. The problem with the latter is there's also no guarantee that the latter won't result in a fight to the death, the smaller existing male would likely lose in that case.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Went with a smaller snow flake clown from Nemo's , they are buddies already . Straight from acclimation to doing the clown fish boogie.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

So George , the black and white one originally had his mate ..weezy . They were the Jefferson's . Well when Weezy died ,he was introduced to Jane ...then they were the Jetsons . So if George is going to assume the female role he needs a name change .. thinking georgia, you know so he doesn't get too confused ..lol so for the new male I need some name ideas .. So far I have come up with Bama

 

[Shawn]

I recently took a chance like this. I had a pair and one jumped. Both were the same size so I don’t know about their gender. I just know they chilled together all the time. I let a few months pass and I got a black ocellaris from Hui. They immediately bonded with each other and have been together ever since. They even slept in the same spot the first night.

The only thing was the new black ocellaris was half the size of the existing Orange ocellaris. So if I was going to do it i would make sure the addition is much smaller.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

So George , the black and white one originally had his mate ..weezy . They were the Jefferson's . Well when Weezy died ,he was introduced to Jane ...then they were the Jetsons . So if George is going to assume the female role he needs a name change .. thinking georgia, you know so he doesn't get too confused ..lol so for the new male I need some name ideas .. So far I have come up with Bama View attachment 36031

Georgette Bama?