Black and Regular Ocellaris

[Ricardo Jaber]

I know this has been probably asked hundreds of times, but I can't find a clear answer.

So, I have a tank that finished cycling 2 weeks ago and I'm ready to put a pair of clowns in it. Water testing reads everything in 0.

In my LFS they have like 20 Ocellaris of about 2" in a single tank. In another tank they have like 4 Black Ocellaris around 2" also in size. They say that there are no pairings yet.

I would want one regular ocellaris and one black if possible...

So the questions are.. Is it possible to pair these two different color ocellaris?
How likely is that they will pair (they are of the same size).. Would choosing the smallest and the largest help in the pairing?

in the case that they do not pair.. will they fight or just ignore each other?

Thanks for any recomendation

 

[Postal]

Same species, just different color morphs so there is no issue (other than the normal ones) pairing these types of clowns.
A 2" fish is very likely to have become female unless they are some of the tank-raised clowns that are kept together in huge groups.
And yes, buying the smallest and largest will increase your odds of a successful pairing.
They could pair instantly, or it could take a while (with some abuse). You would just have to keep on eye on things and see how they progress. If you happen to get 2 females (very possible with larger fish) then they will never pair and most likely attack until one is dead.

 

[Ricardo Jaber]

Same species, just different color morphs so there is no issue (other than the normal ones) pairing these types of clowns.
A 2" fish is very likely to have become female unless they are some of the tank-raised clowns that are kept together in huge groups.
And yes, buying the smallest and largest will increase your odds of a successful pairing.
They could pair instantly, or it could take a while (with some abuse). You would just have to keep on eye on things and see how they progress. If you happen to get 2 females (very possible with larger fish) then they will never pair and most likely attack until one is dead.

Thanks Postal,

I forgot to add that all the ocellaris are Tank Raised, so from what I understand, this increases the possibilities of getting a male?

 

[Postal]

Yes, buying a tank-raised fish (from the large producers) will likely mean that you can get bigger fish that are still "juveniles".

I would spend some time observing the fish at the store. You will often see hints in behavior that might give you a better guess at male vs female. I would definitely try to start with a pair that is not the same size if possible.

 

[Ricardo Jaber]

Yes, buying a tank-raised fish (from the large producers) will likely mean that you can get bigger fish that are still "juveniles".

I would spend some time observing the fish at the store. You will often see hints in behavior that might give you a better guess at male vs female. I would definitely try to start with a pair that is not the same size if possible.

You have been of great help Postal, thanks..
sorry to bother with one more question. When observing a group of ocellaris.. what behavioral hints would suggest male.. or female?

 

[Toxic45]

From what I've seen in clownfish the females will try to swim higher in the water column than males. They try to use it as an indication of dominance; it gives them more power over the other if it's higher up. If you see any clownfish that swim on their sides, that's a sign of submission that males tend to show. If they start to twitch like they're having a seizure it's also a sign to the female that they are submitting and they don't want to get picked on anymore. Other than that there's nothing I'm aware of.

 

[Postal]

As mentioned above, look for signs of submission, especially turn to the side and switching. That was how I picked my male B&W oscellaris out of a group of 5. I brought him home and he dove into my malu with the female percula. She looked at him like he had lost his mind, but he started shaking like he was having a siezure and she was fine after that.

 

[michaelr]

hey everyone. I know i am a little late into this conversation but thought id comment because i have first hand experience. I have a female black ocellaris and a male orange ocellaris. They are a pair in my tank for sure. although they have not started spawning yet (they are young) they are a pair and show dominance. not to mention the fact that they spend all their time together. honestly i have not observed any difference in aggression between the two. as an added bonus the babies imo are the most beautiful clowns ive seen.

** i just remembered what the babies are called... google mocha clownfish and those are the result of black and reg oc