Maroon clownfish pairing

[Craighg]

Thanks in advance for the replies,

I know this has been discussed before but I can't find a scenario similar to mine. I have a juvenile maroon clownfish about 1.5 inch, he's quite small and in a tank with 3 nems. I have a reefsys 255. Similar to a red sea 250 in size.

While at my lfs today I saw a lightning maroon clownfish and I now want to order a juvenile one and try pair them.

Whats everyone's thoughts or experience. Is it one to avoid or is it a good idea to get two juvenilles. Anyone's experience is welcome

 

[KING KONG]

Thanks in advance for the replies,

I know this has been discussed before but I can't find a scenario similar to mine. I have a juvenile maroon clownfish about 1.5 inch, he's quite small and in a tank with 3 nems. I have a reefsys 255. Similar to a red sea 250 in size.

While at my lfs today I saw a lightning maroon clownfish and I now want to order a juvenile one and try pair them.

Whats everyone's thoughts or experience. Is it one to avoid or is it a good idea to get two juvenilles. Anyone's experience is welcome

U can try that but with caution. As soon as u see any aggression, isolate the aggressor. U hv to get ready for aggression. They might try to kill each other and will bite your hands. They hv spine within their cheeks.

They claim whole tank as their territory so beware of that they r known to kill fishes especially new additions so,try to add big fishes that can defend themselves otherwise they would be killed. If u hv any weak fish, they will be killed. In short, After this, u can't add any peaceful and small fish. They may also go after big fishes too.

U may also hv return one of them back

 

[Craighg]

U can try that but with caution. As soon as u see any aggression, isolate the aggressor. U hv to get ready for aggression. They might try to kill each other and will bite your hands. They hv spine within their cheeks.

They claim whole tank as their territory so beware of that they r known to kill fishes especially new additions so,try to add big fishes that can defend themselves otherwise they would be killed. If u hv any weak fish, they will be killed. In short, After this, u can't add any peaceful and small fish. They may also go after big fishes too.

U may also hv return one of them back

Thats that idea out of my head. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

A lot of threads on this actually...

As said above, female maroons can be hell on wheels. I do love my current pair tho. No they weren't paired, came from two different tanks. They are territorial as can be about the cabbage and nem.

 

[Craighg]

A lot of threads on this actually...

As said above, female maroons can be hell on wheels. I do love my current pair tho. No they weren't paired, came from two different tanks. They are territorial as can be about the cabbage and nem.

I havent seen anything about pairing two juvenilles thats why I asked! I saw a number of threads going wrong with more mature fish.

Any advice to give with your success? did you have much trouble with pairing them and is there more aggression towards other fish now that theyre paired?

 

[Steve and his Animals]

My theory about why it's difficult to pair maroon clowns is that, since their adult size is so large, it's likely they don't transition to female until they are a decent size. On top of that, the average size differential between the male and female in wild pairs usually goes that the male is at most half the size of the female, if not a third her size. I would assume trying to follow that differential might help.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

My theory about why it's difficult to pair maroon clowns is that, since their adult size is so large, it's likely they don't transition to female until they are a decent size. On top of that, the average size differential between the male and female in wild pairs usually goes that the male is at most half the size of the female, if not a third her size. I would assume trying to follow that differential might help.

That was my situation. The female is about 2x the size of the male. I also have a pair of skunk clowns in that same tank, they can care less about each other. The skunks don't have the same noticeable dimorphism. The female is larger than the male just not as much ( maybe 20%). IME, the maroons and tomato's have the biggest size difference between paired (mature) females and males. I'm big on non designer clowns and have paired (tried) on quite a few over the past few decades + now.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I havent seen anything about pairing two juvenilles thats why I asked! I saw a number of threads going wrong with more mature fish.

Any advice to give with your success? did you have much trouble with pairing them and is there more aggression towards other fish now that theyre paired?

Like I said above they can be territorial as hell (maroons). That's just their nature, they stick to their area, but if your near that nem they will chase any fish away (including my tangs). Pairing is a lot of luck, not a lot of science. There are some subtle clues when it comes to taxonomy, but its usually watch a harem of them and get the largest one and the smallest one, then roll the dice.

 

[OrionN]

One way to pair maroon clowns is to use one of the isolation ball and keep the smaller fish in it for 4-8 weeks.
One of the LFS here in Corpus Christi did this and he pair them without injury every time. The trick is to have larger gap in size and isolate the smaller one. This will cause him to capitulate without a fight. The female will have a long time to get use to him so she won’t attack and kill him.