Clownfish pairing

[JSelley]

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I started my 75 gallon tank about 6 months ago. I started out with 2 percula clowns. One of them (the larger and more aggressive one) eventually fell to lockjaw. My wife and I replaced her with an Ocellaris clown. We purchased a larger one thinking we were replacing a female. Our Perc got sick so we moved him to a QT tank where sadly he died two days later from what appears to be clownfish disease.

We just replaced that one today. Went to our LFS and purchased a smaller Ocellaris. As soon as I put him (thought was him) in the tank, my larger clown swam right up to it and started twitching and seizing like what a male would do when submitting to a female. I’m very confused because this clown is about an inch and a half and much thicker body than our new clown, yet it’s acting like the male. They have been inseparable since being introduced and there has been no chasing or signs of aggression from either one.
What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever had this happen? Thanks in advance

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

#WelcometoR2R
It does sound like normal behavior. Clowns can be pretty funny fish..hence the name Clown
But it sounds like they're pairing up and as long as they're not beating up eachother too badly let them be

 

[GabeM]

I am not sure what the timeframe is between you getting your new fish and your new new fish. You may have 2 males in which case one will likely turn into a female in the next few months. Also welcome!

 

[SDK]

Totally normal. I've seen plenty of shaking from both sexes....

 

[ThePurple12]

Totally normal. I've seen plenty of shaking from both sexes....

Yup, same here

 

[JSelley]

Thanks everyone. I thought I was losing my mind when the larger clown started the twitch and seizure dance. I don’t think the larger one ever really paired up with the Perc while it was still alive. It chased it around a lot but that’s it. Now that I have 2 ocellaris they haven’t been more than 6” apart from each other. It’s like my one gave a tour of the tank to the new one and showed him where the current is (my power head) and they’ve been playing in that all day.

 

[Mjrenz]

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I started my 75 gallon tank about 6 months ago. I started out with 2 percula clowns. One of them (the larger and more aggressive one) eventually fell to lockjaw. My wife and I replaced her with an Ocellaris clown. We purchased a larger one thinking we were replacing a female. Our Perc got sick so we moved him to a QT tank where sadly he died two days later from what appears to be clownfish disease.

We just replaced that one today. Went to our LFS and purchased a smaller Ocellaris. As soon as I put him (thought was him) in the tank, my larger clown swam right up to it and started twitching and seizing like what a male would do when submitting to a female. I’m very confused because this clown is about an inch and a half and much thicker body than our new clown, yet it’s acting like the male. They have been inseparable since being introduced and there has been no chasing or signs of aggression from either one.
What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever had this happen? Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum! It does sound like normal clownfish behavior to me also. If you do notice any aggression starting then turning off the lights and moving some rocks around could distract them from each other and help them bond.

There is one thing a little concerning to me in your post however, you mentioned that you believe you lost a clown to clownfish disease (brooklynella). That is a parasite that may very likely still exist in your tank and your other fish could be affected by it
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brooklynella.247938/

 

[JSelley]

Welcome to the forum! It does sound like normal clownfish behavior to me also. If you do notice any aggression starting then turning off the lights and moving some rocks around could distract them from each other and help them bond.

There is one thing a little concerning to me in your post however, you mentioned that you believe you lost a clown to clownfish disease (brooklynella). That is a parasite that may very likely still exist in your tank and your other fish could be affected by it
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brooklynella.247938/

I have thought about that as well. The first Perc we lost was definitely from lock jaw. The second one we lost, I’m speculating and am not 100% sure. He started turning a milky white color around the fins and had almost no top fins when he died. I’ve been told fin rot or Brook. All other fish in my tank are doing great. We have a yellow tang, diamond gobey, 2 pajama cardinals, a pulsing Xenia which has almost doubled in size and a rose bubble tip anemone which is also doing fantastic.

 

[ccombs]

Welcome to the site!

 

[Mjrenz]

I have thought about that as well. The first Perc we lost was definitely from lock jaw. The second one we lost, I’m speculating and am not 100% sure. He started turning a milky white color around the fins and had almost no top fins when he died. I’ve been told fin rot or Brook. All other fish in my tank are doing great. We have a yellow tang, diamond gobey, 2 pajama cardinals, a pulsing Xenia which has almost doubled in size and a rose bubble tip anemone which is also doing fantastic.

I don't want to overwhelm you with too much information right away but I would urge you to start doing some reading on here. If you've had a disease in your tank it's probably still there and could cause you many problems in the future. Here are some threads that you may find helpful
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fallow-periods-going-fishless.190324/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/