Clown Sizing

[LbulletM]

Well, with the sad passing of my brand new Blacker Ice yesterday (had a little too much fun carpet surfing) I will need to pick up a new one this weekend (after adding a lid -_- ).

My question is:

The long fin clown that I had was in its own tank for at least a month. I'm worried that it has already turned into a female. With that being said, I've been looking at definite juveniles - the smallest in tanks of at least 3. How important is it that the juvenile be smaller than the "female"? If it's a tiny bit larger, but still definitely the smallest in the tank it's purchased from, what happens? Will the established female grow faster to outsize it? Will they both become female and gladiator-fight it out to the death?

 

[Tahoe61]

Ideally the new clown should be smaller. Get an acclimation box and put the new clown in the acclimation box.

 

[ebushrow]

I find that it depends on the clown species....The typical suggestion is to get one that is smaller than the current one in the tank....This generally works the best...however, with some species it doesn't seem to matter what size they are. I believe the long fin is an ocellaris so I would just suggests going a bit smaller to pair her up and if possible, move some rock around to change the landscape to prevent any territorial battles. IMO

 

[LbulletM]

I'm definitely aiming for smaller. It's just tough because the long fin is still pretty small. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect in case the LFS doesn't have any tiny ones. Here was the pair.

There actually wasn't too much aggression, the Black Ice just couldn't resist the siren songs of the carpet ocean's waves. Might end up just holding off until I can find a definitely smaller fish. Definitely sticking with an Ocellaris morph.

What kind of issues come from having a clown alone for too long when trying to pair them up? Long fin has been happily in the tank since 1/28. Blacker Ice thrived from 2/4 - 2/8. RIP Blacker Ice.

 

[ebushrow]

I'm definitely aiming for smaller. It's just tough because the long fin is still pretty small. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect in case the LFS doesn't have any tiny ones. Here was the pair.

There actually wasn't too much aggression, the Black Ice just couldn't resist the siren songs of the carpet ocean's waves. Might end up just holding off until I can find a definitely smaller fish. Definitely sticking with an Ocellaris morph.

What kind of issues come from having a clown alone for too long when trying to pair them up? Long fin has been happily in the tank since 1/28. Blacker Ice thrived from 2/4 - 2/8. RIP Blacker Ice.

The only thing I have found when leaving a clownfish alone for a long while is that the territorial defenses become magnified when a new clown is added in....but if you can adjust the landscape it usually can be overcome....and the breeder box is a good idea to use to determine what will happen if just released.

Did the black ice clown only last 4 days?

 

[LbulletM]

The only thing I have found when leaving a clownfish alone for a long while is that the territorial defenses become magnified when a new clown is added in....but if you can adjust the landscape it usually can be overcome....and the breeder box is a good idea to use to determine what will happen if just released.

Did the black ice clown only last 4 days?

Yup! He liked to stay in the top half of the tank, so I was looking at building a screen top yesterday. Long day at work and came home to find him beside the tank rather than in it. Going to Lowe's after work -_-