Off subject from the Black Ice discussion, but I wonder actually if those juveniles "in-waiting" may actually be functional (although not dominant) males, or at least are able to make the switch within a few hours "notice" and fertilize a nest in the absence of the dominant male (which I would think is less likely). It does go against the conventional thinking/knowledge of neuter--male--female development for clownfish, but we've found males to be functional at 4 months old --from crowded larval tank in the morning to fertilizing eggs in the evening.
It would be interesting to try this experiment on the reef, although it would require the removal/isolation of all but the dominant female and a single juvenile on the day of the anticipated spawn, and there can of course be lots of juveniles around a single anemone. I'm sure there isn't a ton of funding out there for this type of thingand disturbing wild breeding pairs is, shall we say, less than ideal...
Matt C.
I agree that would be interesting. The problem with the larval tank scenario is any "developed" or "developing" males can't be kicked out of the tank, the way they can an anemone in the wild.
Kevin
