are my clowns breeding?

ryanhayes96

New member
The female is 2.5 to 3 inches and the male is 1.5 to 2 inches. I have had them fro around 7 months and they have definetly grown a lot. they live in a carpet anemone and love it. I came out today and they were both doing that little waggle shake thing clowns do. Is this a sign of breeding? are they big enough to?
 
I think the best sign of breeding is to look for a patch of eggs somewhere nearby their nest. I've been reading a little bit of the Clownfishes book by Wilkerson (did i spell her name wrong? Joyce W.) and it seems to be the easiest sign to look for

also you might want to check out the anemone\clown section on RC there are people with very actively breeding clownfish with some really really awesome pictures of eggs and behavior and what not that might help out.

I wish I could offer more info but mine are dopey as every and while they have paired up, seem to be absolutely clueless as to the other stuff clownfish are technically "supposed" to be doing :)
 
Look for the male cleaning an area of rock and then watch to see if he sits by it for about 5 days, not moving away except to chase bigger fish out of the area. They can breed at that size.

Clownfish dancing or shimmying is not necissarily a sign of breeding, but more a sign of dominance in the female. This does usually mean that they are mature enough to be showing sexual signs of pairing, but again, does not mean they are breeding.

Before eggs come or when eggs are not visible, the above mentioned signs will be able to give you an idea of when they are about to breed. The male's picking at the rock is the best indicator, because he is specifically doing this for a place for the female to lay eggs. This will not be a process done much except for when the female is about to lay.

Also, I don't know the exact way to describe it, but you can check the female for an enlarge belly and a visible ovipositor and these will be the tell-tale signs of a female ready to lay eggs.
 
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