Clownfish mate lost what now ?

SaltwaterTanks · Jan 19, 2020

I had a clownfish for about 3 years it had a mate and then i got another clownfish and they bonded well no fighting at all . I currently lost this clownfish and now have a female I noticed a change in personality since it’s a lot more shyer it used to come up to the glass during feeding but is more shy. What can I do? Should I get another clownfish?

Old Fritz · Jan 20, 2020

It may not even be a mate thing. I noticed that with some fish if you remove another fish other fish will hide. For instance when I worked in a fish store I had a foxface that every time I sold a fish in its tank it would go to its stress camo colors and hide for like a week.

Anyways I think fish know the community they are in and when they lose a fish that is a part of that they may feel threatened.

You could add another clown but there is a chance that they will not pair and the female will kill it. Its happened to me and a friend of mine but most times they get along fine

vetteguy53081 · Jan 20, 2020

I had to separate my breeding pair due to aggression. You can see the “ i miss her behavior “ but he’s lucky I let him remain. I gave him a bubble tip which he’s taken on to

The Aquatic Arsenal · Jan 20, 2020

My females tend to get depressed when they loose a mate. I put another smaller clown in there, and they perk right up.

Katrina71 · Jan 20, 2020

Get her a tiny mate. I've seen it first hand. The big girls choose very small mates. I'm going to assume it's her way of maintaining dominance (survival) in the wild.

Thadunc · Feb 2, 2020

Katrina71 said:
Get her a tiny mate. I've seen it first hand. The big girls choose very small mates. I'm going to assume it's her way of maintaining dominance (survival) in the wild.

So i recently lost my smaller clownfish (He jumped) that was bonded with the bigger female. They are snowflakes, does it matter if the next clownfish is a different type. Such as a cheap regular one?

Katrina71 · Feb 2, 2020

Thadunc said:
So i recently lost my smaller clownfish (He jumped) that was bonded with the bigger female. They are snowflakes, does it matter if the next clownfish is a different type. Such as a cheap regular one?

It just depends on your female. I'd try it.