Adding female/male clown in with 2 juveniles

[Mercer]

Well, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve been babysitting a friendââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s clownfish for awhile now. But, it finally discovered how to hop out of itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s sectioned off area. So, now itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s in with the two juveniles. They all look so happy ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ which makes me happy! But, whatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s going to happen now? 2 males? 2 females? Dead fish? I discussed this in a previous thread, but itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s never been to the point where they were in the same area. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve very glad I only deal with friendly fish ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ yikes! I would like to leave him in there, but only if itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s safe for everyone. There is plenty of swimming space, but that doesnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t seem like a factor. All 3 of them just hang out within one or two inches.

 

[stykthyn]

eventually a female/male pair will form which in turn will attempt to kill the remaining fish. I would remove the adult fish and give it it's own tank for the remainder of it's stay.

 

[Mercer]

How long would that take?

 

[stykthyn]

2-6 weeks, depends on the fish

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

i would remove one of the juv. instead. you can dev. a mated pair faster that way.

also, how are you coming up with 2-6 weeks? thats so subjective.

 

[stykthyn]

is he babysitting or adopting? If he does want the mated pair then by all means remove the juvi. I would hate to watch a friends fish and have it pair off with mine, just to have to break the pair later.

 

[dantodd]

As you can see there is no simple answer for all situations. If you are keeping the adult for a month or two and it's OK for it to be a female (you may have no choice anyway) I'd leave her in with one of the juvies. This will most likely kick start the juvie left in with her into adulthood. Then when you take her out that juvie will continue the transition to adulthood and will almost certainly become the dominant fish when you re-introduce the other juvie. In this case, I'd leave the larger juvie in with the adult.

If, on the other hand, you have no interest in speeding up the pairing process with your 2 fish or if you are watching for a year then just keep the 2 juvies together.