Clowns && Sex Change: What about when isolated?

[AmaleeC]

Hello guys! I was curious about wether my maroon will turn into a female if I have just one in the tank by himself?

I noticed he does occasionally nest and has hosted the overflow, even though I put an anemone less than 10 inches away from him lol But I’m in no rush for him to host as I heard they can get nasty afterwards?

 

[Big G]

Bump

 

[AmaleeC]

Bump

Why thank you :,)

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’ve wondered the same thing. You may already have a female depending on the size and history. How big is it and how long have you had it?

 

[AmaleeC]

I’ve wondered the same thing. You may already have a female depending on the size and history. How big is it and how long have you had it?

I’ve had him for about 3 or 4 months now, he’s about 2 inches. Still small, but he’s definitely grown a little since I got him. I love him, he lives in la la land most of the time. For my maroon to not be the most aggressive in the tank, I’m a proud parent for the time being.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I have a 3” maroon and I’m guessing a female simply because of her size and assuming that she came from a tank with other clowns, which sparked the change. I could be totally wrong though! I wonder if a male clown stops growing at a certain size? Or if it grows past a certain size is it for sure a female? Idk, so many questions. I’ve wondered the same since mine came almost a month ago.

 

[AmaleeC]

I have a 3” maroon and I’m guessing a female simply because of her size and assuming that she came from a tank with other clowns, which sparked the change. I could be totally wrong though! I wonder if a male clown stops growing at a certain size? Or if it grows past a certain size is it for sure a female? Idk, so many questions. I’ve wondered the same since mine came almost a month ago.

I have no clue how to attach a video here. But I visited a fish store 40 mins from me recently and their maroon clowns were MASSIVE! I took a video just for reference, but was told they’re over 45 years old!!

 

[TriggerFinger]

oh upload the video to YouTube and post the link in the thread

 

[F i s h y]

Great question... following to learn...

 

[AmaleeC]

oh upload the video to YouTube and post the link in the thread

Believe it or not, Im in my 20s and didn’t know how to do that either lol but I managed just fine, check out these fish!!

Great question... following to learn...

Thank you! I’ve found some old threads on other reefing websites that state a bunch of different opinions. I guess it’s hard to tell because pet stores often keep all their clownfish together, so like @TriggerFinger mentioned - it could’ve been the dominant female right when you bought it. In the past, I’ve bought ocellaris clowns that were the runt of the group but they didn’t make it

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m 33 and only know to do that because I have seen other people on here say it. That’s the only way I can see videos on my iPhone also lovely maroons.

 

[mort]

I think it's hard to answer because you have a lot of variables, like was it the dominant clown in the tank and had it already started the change. Over the years I've seen people with single maroons that varied massively in size and I personally think that they need some sort of stimulation from another clown in order to start the sex change. If you have a female then they often put on the most growth when they become sexual mature, and this growth can be rapid. If you have no stimulation from another clown then growth is slower.
The biggest single maroons seem to be females that killed or lost their mate so I'm assuming one kept singly from young will not grow as big or not as rapidly but I do believe they still change sex because it's only in the presence of a dominant female that they are "kept" male and in evolutionary terms for a clownfish a female is the top goal. We see in wrasses the opposite sex change and this frequently, near constantly, occurs in many singularly kept species like halichoeres.

 

[AmaleeC]

I’m 33 and only know to do that because I have seen other people on here say it. That’s the only way I can see videos on my iPhone also lovely maroons.

Haha, comforting to know I’m not alone lol

I think it's hard to answer because you have a lot of variables, like was it the dominant clown in the tank and had it already started the change. Over the years I've seen people with single maroons that varied massively in size and I personally think that they need some sort of stimulation from another clown in order to start the sex change. If you have a female then they often put on the most growth when they become sexual mature, and this growth can be rapid. If you have no stimulation from another clown then growth is slower.
The biggest single maroons seem to be females that killed or lost their mate so I'm assuming one kept singly from young will not grow as big or not as rapidly but I do believe they still change sex because it's only in the presence of a dominant female that they are "kept" male and in evolutionary terms for a clownfish a female is the top goal. We see in wrasses the opposite sex change and this frequently, near constantly, occurs in many singularly kept species like halichoeres.

Wonderful insight! I too believe clowns need some kind of simulation to change sex! Logically, it seems like a waste of energy for a fish to change sex without a mate present as I assume changing sex is a LOT of work. When considering basic survival instincts, and how important it is that animals save every bit of energy they get, I’ll never understand why fishes like halichoeres (and potentially clowns) will make the switch from female to male without a mate. I guess if they understood that the switch from female to male would make them bigger (and therefore less vulnerable to predators), then it’d be worth it. But the fish would have to know that to begin with.. Lots of questions here lol

 

[AmaleeC]

I guess a better question to propose is if anyone has ever bought a clown that they thought to be a male (least dominant or smallest of the group) and if that fish has stayed male w/o a mate.

 

[GabeM]

This is entirely anecdotal but mine definitely turned into a female on its own when my female jumped. The process took about 6 weeks.

 

[TriggerFinger]

How do you know @GabeM? Did it grow alot in 6 weeks time? Was it small before the original female died?

 

[William Norman]

I thought based on the title this thread may belong on another site...

 

[dvlpr]

I have no clue how to attach a video here. But I visited a fish store 40 mins from me recently and their maroon clowns were MASSIVE! I took a video just for reference, but was told they’re over 45 years old!!

If a store tells you a clownfish is over 45 years old, I'd probably not visit that store anymore?

 

[GabeM]

How do you know @GabeM? Did it grow alot in 6 weeks time? Was it small before the original female died?

It basically doubled in size lol

 

[mort]

Haha, comforting to know I’m not alone lol



I’ll never understand why fishes like halichoeres (and potentially clowns) will make the switch from female to male without a mate. I guess if they understood that the switch from female to male would make them bigger (and therefore less vulnerable to predators), then it’d be worth it. But the fish would have to know that to begin with.. Lots of questions here lol

I think nature tends to go for the simplest answer, so my guess would be they change because for clownfish, males are by far more abundant so you are more likely to run into one. If we are talking wrasses then the opposite is true and females out number males so it's best to be a male as you'll most likely encounter a female. They simply don't know a a partner isn't likely to turn up in our tanks.