Gender

[mjscooby717]

i’ve had a black ocellaris clown fish in my quarantine tank for two weeks. Then I added a snowflake ocellaris clown fish, the snowflake is noticeably larger than the black ocellaris. Usually they don’t fight but sometimes the black ocellaris (smaller) goes at the snowflake (bigger) and the snowflake begins to shiver. i’ve heard the shivering means submission by the male. but is it possible that both are female since they weren’t always together and only have been for a week? Or is it possible that the snowflake (bigger) is the male and the black ocellaris (smaller) is the female, especially with the black ocellaris being aggressive and the snowflake being submissive.

 

[CubsFan]

They’ll figure it out. Just wait it out.

 

[mjscooby717]

They’ll figure it out. Just wait it out.

just scared to find one dead when i wake up lol. but i guess it’s too late now too worry.

 

[D-Nak]

It's definitely possible that the larger one is a male, particularly if it was previously partnered with a female that was larger.

It's also possible that they're both female, but I doubt it since and it appears that the smaller clownfish is quite small (but it's hard to get a sense of size/scale in the photo).

Many times clownfish are sold to a retailer before they have a chance to become male or female, and if they're kept as a clutch at the retailer, this process may not have started yet. So, the third option is that both are determining who is going to be what in the relationship.

In my experience, for some reason, Darwin/black ocellaris tend to be more aggressive than other ocellaris, so it could be the fish's demeanor.

Long story short, try not to worry about it, and if something bad happens it probably couldn't have been avoided.

 

[mjscooby717]

It's definitely possible that the larger one is a male, particularly if it was previously partnered with a female that was larger.

It's also possible that they're both female, but I doubt it since and it appears that the smaller clownfish is quite small (but it's hard to get a sense of size/scale in the photo).

Many times clownfish are sold to a retailer before they have a chance to become male or female, and if they're kept as a clutch at the retailer, this process may not have started yet. So, the third option is that both are determining who is going to be what in the relationship.

In my experience, for some reason, Darwin/black ocellaris tend to be more aggressive than other ocellaris, so it could be the fish's demeanor.

Long story short, try not to worry about it, and if something bad happens it probably couldn't have been avoided.

yeah i was thinking that too, it’s unavoidable at this point because i’m not about to go out and buy a baby and waste 60$ on the ocellaris