Black Ocellaris Clownfish Questions

[WaffleWalffle22]

I have a few questions regarding my ocellaris clownfish. I got them about 9 months ago from All About Fish. They had been in the store for about four months before I bought them. They were in the same tank together and were both about 1.5". I'm almost positive that they were tank raised. I think they were about 8 months old since they were only 1.5" or so and tank raised. That would make them currently about 1 1/2 years old. One of them has an orange face which is turning black extreeeeemely slowly. They are now about 2.25" from nose to the tip of their tails. They slept one laying on top of the other when I had them in my 14g. Now they sleep in the 8" & 10" anemones (which overlap each other) so they are within an 8" or smaller area of each other. My first question is if they are both female. It worries me since they are both the same size and sometimes fight a bit every now and then that they might be a bonded female pair. If that isn't the case and they are a bonded male-female pair will one of them shrink and the other get bigger when/if they start to spawn? I've always seen in pairs at the LFS the male is smaller than the female but these are both about 2.25". How big will they get and if they are going to become a pair will one stay at 2.25" and the other grown to 3.5" or so?
If they are going to become a mating pair at what age will this start to happen? I've heard they become mature between 12-24 months so could mine since mine are 17 months could they still be juveniles? The one that used to be submissive is seeming to be dominant now so do you think if they were both still juveniles that it turned into an adult and gained dominance since the other one might still be juvenile?

 

[Bernie21]

I have too A ocellaris as well, one black & one orange, both Tank Raised. They are about the same size, my female is only about 1/4 of inch bigger. She is clearly the aggressor though. By now you should have a male & a female. THe female will be larger, even though it may not be much of a noticible difference in size. Dont worry about the fighting, they do that from time to time, its usually the female picking at the male. But like I said, its usually nothing.

 

[WaffleWalffle22]

I really want my clowns to start mating, but my biggest concern is if they are both females. So that is my main question. They don't fight like locking mouths, but sometimes one might bite at the other and the one being bit at will do the clown fish quivery thing and then the other one will do it back. There is no size difference. They are both about 2"-2.25". When I got them they were about 1.25"-1.5" each and they had been in the store together for four months. I've had them a year now, so I'm guessing they are 14-18 months old. They sleep within 8" of each other and defend the same territory. I'm just worried they might be a bonded female pair. Also, once a bonded pair forms, normally how long does it take for the female to get bigger in size? They don't swim right together all the time, but they swim together like in the video links below... Here are the two videos with them in it. Remember: this was a long time ago - like a few months or so...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX4rew_J3J4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6t2wKuAGs&feature=related

 

[rkelman]

I don't think you have anything to worry about. They are young still. If they were both female they would have killed each other by now. Patience...

 

[WaffleWalffle22]

OK. I'll keep everyone updated on them and hopefully they'll become a pair soon!

 

[WaffleWalffle22]

I recently noticed one has gotten bigger than the other. It is about a tail length bigger than the other. Is this a sign that they are staring to become a true pair? (the were already a bonded pair when I got them) and they are about 18-24 months old or so.

 

[rkelman]

That's a good sign. It means one is becoming female.