are they a pair?

[sir_dudeguy]

I just got a couple clowns today from the lfs..actually i was in there a week and a half ago, and some guy brought them in from his 250 cuz it busted a seem...he brought them w/like 16 other fish...anyways, he'd had them for a while, and they dont fight or anything..so i put them on hold, and finally got them today.

Now that i've got them, i notice that one of them is just slightly larger than the other...im guessing female? They're the only fish in the tank right now (55 gal) but where ever one goes, the other follows..kinda funny actually lol...anyways, would that mean they're a pair? if not, what should i look for for them to be a pair?

so far they're pretty active, just swimming around checkin everything out, and they stick together.

thanks
mike

 

[masterqaz]

sounds like a pair. they're just not a mated pair until the actually you know.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

great thanks! and how often would they mate/how soon would they mate if they do? They're prolly about 2 inches i'd say...the tank has been running since march so about 4 months is all, but its pretty well off i'd say...all my corals are doin great and so were the damsels before the clowns. The only deaths i can think of were one turbo got stuck on the end of a powerhead, and 1 hermit got killed by another, so there havent been any problems w/water.

so i guess a better question is, what would they require to mate? do they need a host coral/anemone? I dont have an anemone yet...dont really plan on one for a while (unless 384 watts of pc light is good enough for one) and the biggest coral that i have is a button polyps about the size of a softball..but they dont host polyps do they? I spose they can host a rock if they wanted to tho...

thanks for the quick reply!
mike

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ok, i wa just watching them, and one of them keeps going up to the other, and trying to rub its back on the other's side or belly. Whenever it did this, it would kinda wiggle its tail a bit...is that just normal clown behavior?

 

[traveller7]

Normal clown behavior.

If they are mature, they could breed any day or never. Odds are you will see them chewing on a patch of rock or other hard substrate for awhile first, aka cleaning behavior.

They don't need an anemone, I tend to provide them a clay flower pot or a PVC elblow large enough for them both to get in :>)

For good pairing, breeding, and rearing threads, head over to the FAQ pages here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282136

 

[dantodd]

Is that one of your clowns in your avatar?

 

[AngeloM3]

if you have other fish in the tank with your clown pair.... its VERY possible they wont mate.... they will just stay paired up

 

[sir_dudeguy]

no thats not my clown on the avatar lol..i do wish it was tho lol! thanks whoever took the photo, and srry for stealin it!

I dont have any other fish yet...prolly add some in about a month maybe..hopefully i'll have a job by then to pay for it.

and thanks for that link. i'll deffinately read up on it, and hopefully they'll breed before i add to many fish..that would be kinda cool to breed them i think...prolly wont mate that fast tho, but then again, i had some mollies a while ago, and the day i put thm in my tank they had about 300 babies lol..but then again, they're livebearers.