Pairing of two clowns

[Miemaes]

Hey all,

I’ve just introduced a juvenile mocha storm to my other clownfish. They both do this sideways swim and shake and I was wondering what this means? I picked one that was smaller and pretty submissive. The one it was paired it at the store kept biting him. My bigger fish does dart towards him every now and then and I feel there are mixed signals Can anyone enlighten me? Is this good, bad… what do I need to watch out for? I managed to capture the “dance” on video for a brief moment.

 

[Kasrift]

Hey all,

I’ve just introduced a juvenile mocha storm to my other clownfish. They both do this sideways swim and shake and I was wondering what this means? I picked one that was smaller and pretty submissive. The one it was paired it at the store kept biting him. My bigger fish does dart towards him every now and then and I feel there are mixed signals Can anyone enlighten me? Is this good, bad… what do I need to watch out for? I managed to capture the “dance” on video for a brief moment.

That’s normal courtship. The “shimmy” is a mating move and the female will beat the male up for a bit

 

[Miemaes]

That’s normal courtship. The “shimmy” is a mating move and the female will beat the male up for a bit

Thanks… is this sign of courtship a guarantee that she wont kill him? She has been going after him in bursts and he’s exhausted at the bottom now

 

[Kasrift]

Thanks… is this sign of courtship a guarantee that she wont kill him? She has been going after him in bursts and he’s exhausted at the bottom now

They’d have to be really aggressive for her to kill him. If she was established with another male that died, then it could take her time to adjust and an acclimation box might be needed, otherwise you should be fine. I had a paired clownfish couple and the male jumped and I found him on the floor the next day. I had to re-pair up a small male and he took a beating for a bit but had been fine for the last year and a half. I think I might have put him in an acclimation box for a few days when I first got him.

 

[Dom]

Hey all,

I’ve just introduced a juvenile mocha storm to my other clownfish. They both do this sideways swim and shake and I was wondering what this means? I picked one that was smaller and pretty submissive. The one it was paired it at the store kept biting him. My bigger fish does dart towards him every now and then and I feel there are mixed signals Can anyone enlighten me? Is this good, bad… what do I need to watch out for? I managed to capture the “dance” on video for a brief moment.

Mating behavior. Courtship.

 

[The_Paradox]

Thanks… is this sign of courtship a guarantee that she wont kill him?

Never going to have a guarantee. I’ve seen paired clowns turn on each other after years. Keep an eye out for server fin damage or bites. If pieces start missing it’s gonna be a rough process. Sounds like you are currently on the right track. What happens overnight will be a good indicator on how this is going to go.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

my two clowns when at it till he started swimming upside down from swim bladder issues. Ran to Petco since it was the only place open on a Sunday evening and bought an isolation chamber to place him in inside the tank. After a few days when he was swimming OK again I re-into'd him in and they have been fine ever since swimming together.

 

[Miemaes]

They’d have to be really aggressive for her to kill him. If she was established with another male that died, then it could take her time to adjust and an acclimation box might be needed, otherwise you should be fine. I had a paired clownfish couple and the male jumped and I found him on the floor the next day. I had to re-pair up a small male and he took a beating for a bit but had been fine for the last year and a half. I think I might have put him in an acclimation box for a few days when I first got him.

I’ve just put him in a small breeding box now and there is a lid on the tank. I’ll put him back in the tank with her/him?! tomorrow morning so I can keep an eye on it. Sorry to hear about your clown that jumped Must be rough finding him like that

 

[Miemaes]

Never going to have a guarantee. I’ve seen paired clowns turn on each other after years. Keep an eye out for server fin damage or bites. If pieces start missing it’s gonna be a rough process. Sounds like you are currently on the right track. What happens overnight will be a good indicator on how this is going to go.

I have placed him in a breeding box for the moment as I want to keep an eye out so I can intervene if I have too. I would hate to lose this little fella

 

[Miemaes]

my two clowns when at it till he started swimming upside down from swim bladder issues. Ran to Petco since it was the only place open on a Sunday evening and bought an isolation chamber to place him in inside the tank. After a few days when he was swimming OK again I re-into'd him in and they have been fine ever since swimming together.

Thanks for sharing. I hope this will be a similar case when I let him out of the breeder box in the morning

 

[IKD]

I have placed him in a breeding box for the moment as I want to keep an eye out so I can intervene if I have too. I would hate to lose this little fella

Is the new one still eating? If the bullying is excessive (sounds like it is if he’s laying at the bottom), the acclimation box is a good idea so he can recover.

 

[Miemaes]

Is the new one still eating? If the bullying is excessive (sounds like it is if he’s laying at the bottom), the acclimation box is a good idea so he can recover.

At one point it was. she was after him non stop and he was exhausted. Now in the breeder box he is swimming around and eating the pellets that I tossed in. I think he was out of “breath” for a moment He’s at the skinny side so I don’t want him having to go through this all night. Hopefully things may work out like this… gentle introduction

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Thanks for sharing. I hope this will be a similar case when I let him out of the breeder box in the morning

This was how I found him after she kept slamming him into the sand bed.

 

[Miemaes]

This was how I found him after she kept slamming him into the sand bed.

Poor thing… Mine was laying like that too and she still couldn’t leave him alone.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Poor thing… Mine was laying like that too and she still couldn’t leave him alone.

Well they hang out with each other now. Though they are Orange, they look more like Mocha.

 

[Miemaes]

Well they hang out with each other now. Though they are Orange, they look more like Mocha.

They are gorgeous

 

[KenBabich]

Others are suggesting mating dance, I submit it is dominance dance/shimmy. My clowns do that every so often, such as bickering over who has the anemone.

 

[bruce337]

Hey all,

I’ve just introduced a juvenile mocha storm to my other clownfish. They both do this sideways swim and shake and I was wondering what this means? I picked one that was smaller and pretty submissive. The one it was paired it at the store kept biting him. My bigger fish does dart towards him every now and then and I feel there are mixed signals Can anyone enlighten me? Is this good, bad… what do I need to watch out for? I managed to capture the “dance” on video for a brief moment.

totally normal activity. i will warn you mocha are VERY aggressive... my female used to drag the male around the tank when she's ticked or its feeding time. it could also be that your bigger one was a male in the store and is still changing sexes.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Others are suggesting mating dance, I submit it is dominance dance/shimmy. My clowns do that every so often, such as bickering over who has the anemone.

my clowns are siblings. had them for 2.5 months before who got to make the sex change decision and really did a job hammering. I have the video but don't YouTube host. the addition of other fish also changed behaviors. a dotty became boss chasing the clowns, then a jawfish stopped the dotty chasing. a couple damsels and we are all happy campers. till I stick my hand in the tank and the jawfish tries to bite me now. and now the missing link re-appears trying to pinch me. a 2.5" emerald. the bubble algae must have had prednisone in it.

 

[Miemaes]

Others are suggesting mating dance, I submit it is dominance dance/shimmy. My clowns do that every so often, such as bickering over who has the anemone.

I think you are right. I read that both will do it (to show dominance or being submissive. Everytime the bigger one darts at the smaller one… the smaller shows this behavior