Clown fish question

[Allmost]

Hello,
so I have had a pair of clowns for about a year now, one is smaller false P. and other is a black clown fish. they have not paired up yet :S

once in a while I see them sleeping in the same anemone, but then the red one moves out lol, is there anyway to get them to pair up ? do clown date interracial ? lol

could it be that they are both females and wont pair up ?

I really want a paired clown so was thinking of adding the smallest false P that I can find, so hopefully it will pair up with the other False P. ? please advice what will be my best option

thank you all.

 

[ECU stew]

I assume if they were both females you would know because it would be a war, or they would have an imaginary boundry they didn't cross(I've seen this once with a group of three(one female) and a group of two(one female) in the same tank but they were all added at the same time and it was only temp.) but I doubt they would share the same nem.

Black and whites are occelaris as well as false perc. being occelaris so it is possible to pair and mate. One would establish dominance (the larger) and they would go from there. If you add another false perc and it is smaller it will retain its male gender and the larger of the two existing clowns would still assume the female role.

Did either of them ever spend extended periods in a tank alone?

My b&w's spend most of their time together swimming and one is clearly female(larger, completely black), but they still do not share the same sleeping spot.

 

[Allmost]

I assume if they were both females you would know because it would be a war, or they would have an imaginary boundry they didn't cross(I've seen this once with a group of three(one female) and a group of two(one female) in the same tank but they were all added at the same time and it was only temp.) but I doubt they would share the same nem.

Black and whites are occelaris as well as false perc. being occelaris so it is possible to pair and mate. One would establish dominance (the larger) and they would go from there. If you add another false perc and it is smaller it will retain its male gender and the larger of the two existing clowns would still assume the female role.

Did either of them ever spend extended periods in a tank alone?

thanks for your reply
I got them about 1 year ago., first got the False P. which was really small, then about 2 weeks later picked up this anemone which came with a black clown fish. the black one was alone in a tank with the anemone for quite a while so I assume that has turned into a female already.

you are right about the boundry, since they do not HATE each other like Ud expect from 2 females hahah

they have been in my new upgraded tank for about 6 months now, and about another 6 months in my nano reef.

Im not sure if 6 months is enough time to be sure they wont pair up, or if there still is a chance .. .

ohh and if it helps with anything, the black one is wild caught while the false red one is tank raised and took about 2 months to learn to go in an anemone lol

 

[ECU stew]

If your b&w spent that much time alone it is likely that it is now female. Your smaller false p. will have to submit to her, but to form a mating pair takes time. In my opinion it is still possible. I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in but I'd wait it out a while longer and see. If they are sharing the same nem occasionally or swimming in close proximity you still have fair chance.

 

[WDLV]

I'd say try a new "male" (not an additional male) at this point if they don't sleep in the same spot most of the time. They should be pretty inseparable at this point.

 

[Allmost]

I'd say try a new "male" (not an additional male) at this point if they don't sleep in the same spot most of the time. They should be pretty inseparable at this point.

try a new male you mean get the smallest clown fish I can find right ? or are you saying take it out and replace it with another one ? lol
sorry just want to be sure I understand,

would they fight if al in one tank ?

 

[WDLV]

you mean get the smallest clown fish I can find right?

Yes.

Would they fight if all in one tank?

Yes. the potential of them fighting increases but that's not the only reason I say to do it that way. You also have the potential for the new addition to pair up with the other orange ocellaris and I presume you want to see the orange and black mix.

 

[Allmost]

thanks for all the advice it will be hard catching it, but I'll try my best,

 

[WDLV]

If you know where it sleeps, you can throw the lights on abruptly a couple hours into it's "night." It will be dazed and easy to catch for about 1-2 minutes.

 

[Allmost]

If you know where it sleeps, you can throw the lights on abruptly a couple hours into it's "night." It will be dazed and easy to catch for about 1-2 minutes.

Hmm that sounds like a nice plan ! I have turned the lights on at night to see the tank and you are right all fishes seem blind for a couple mins !
was thinking of tricking it with food, but that way I';ll be netting all the fishes in my tank lol

thanks again