10 year-old ocellaris - too old to add a mate?

[RobertK]

Hi,

I have a 70 gallon reef tank that's been up and running for 10 years. The first fish I got was a tank-raised ocellaris clown. She has never been paired with another clown. She has survived several tank disasters that wiped out most or all of the other fish, and pretty much rules the tank. Her current tankmates are a royal gramma, a starcki damsel, and a springeri dottyback who mostly hides in the rock. I read the post on pairing clowns but I still have a few questions:

1) Do you think if I added a small tank-raised ocellaris they would pair up or duke it out? Is she too old for this? (How old do they get anyway?)
2) Do you think the chance of success would be any different with a black and white ocellaris vs. an orange and white ocellaris?
3) Do you recommend isolating the new addition within the tank at first before turning him loose?

Thanks,
Robert

 

[rkelman]

I would add a mate sure. Your Clown is getting pretty close to max life span.

You have just as much chance of a B&W pairing as a regular orange one. They don't seem to know or care about colour. Just species.

I wouldnt isolate him.. I would quarantine him though.

Make sure you get a Juvenile. If you get a mature female you'll have a bad fight then a death.

 

[JamesJR]

I disagree. I bet that clown could easily push another 5 years or possibly could push another 10.

 

[rkelman]

Sure it could. We are talking averages here. 20 year old Ocellaris are not unheard of. 10 is more average I would say.

 

[RobertK]

Thanks. I always quarantine. I heard that some people put the new addition behind some sort of barrier or cage in the tank for a while before turning it loose. I was mainly wondering if the age of the fish and the fact that she's been the dominant fish in the tank for so long would make her more likely to attack or reject a smaller fish of the same species than a younger adult female would.

 

[LiveRound69]

i had a clarkii clown for a while and when i wanted to add a mate for her. She would kick his butt constantly to the point i thought he was gonna die. I talked with the LFS guy that i know, and we came up with the idea that since i was building the new tank at that time, to put him in a clear plastic container to separate them until it was time to place them both in the new tank., to my surprise it worked. They are currently mating and she started laying eggs the other day.

 

[WDLV]

I have a 14 YO ocellaris and I just added a young mate. Clowns have been known to live 25 years in captivity. Yours isn't even middle aged!

 

[kerusso316]

+ 1

 

[RoastReef]

I agree you could add a male. But mostly I want to commend you for keeping your clown for ten years. Good Job.

 

[RobertK]

That's awesome, WDLV!