Clownfish: Buy a bonded pair for more $ or buy two for less?

[Xandernfs]

I'm looking at adding a pair of clowns to my tank and was wondering which route to take: spending more for a bonded pair or getting two that are not bonded. Are there any advantages to getting a pair that already bonded? Would I be risking one getting beat up if I were to just get two?

 

[crawlerman]

I've had three pairs over the years. All bought as small, non paired. They all became a bonded pair. Pretty sure as long as they haven't matured one will become dominant and turn into the female. Mine have always been more into attacking me than their tank mates. They will chase fish away, but never anything crazy. Not sure about maroon clowns though, never had them and have heard they are really aggressive.

 

[Rover88]

I am by no means an expert, I've only been doing this a few months. However, I bought two clowns at the LFS, and they bonded just fine. I picked them out, and I selected a smaller one and a larger one. The larger one immediately took over, and I'm not sure they've ever 'fought', they kinda just slid into their roles.

As Crawlerman said, they might chase the tankmates a little but nothing excessive. They like to go after me more!

 

[newbie2014]

^+1000

I'm not a breeder, so I wouldn't spend more money on a "bonded" clown pair.

 

[hkgar]

+1

I made a mistake of buying a bonded pair. They hung out together great for awhile, then started fighting, one became dominant and now they spend there time on opposite sides of the tank.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Clowns basically come in three stages. Juveniles are really small and sexless. As they mature, they become male. When in a group, all but the most dominant will remain male, the dominant fish becomes a female. When alone, any single clown will eventually become a female.

How does this impact buying decisions? If you have a chance at a bonded pair that's an obvious mature pair with one male and one female (the female will be significantly larger, and obviously "in charge") then that's probably the most sure bet. Another sure bet is two known-young fish that have been in a group their whole life.

What you don't want to do is buy fish of unknown age or background, or fish that are currently alone in a tank. It's easy to end up with two females this way, which will basically end with one fish dead.

If you have a good LFS with lots of fish to choose from, offering both juveniles in group tanks or well established bonded pairs, there's really no reason to pay more for the pair unless you like the specific fish more for whatever reason.

 

[Uncle99]

Bonded pair.
Otherwise, pair in two stages....
1- add one clownfish female....would be on the large size so say 2 inches....
2- wait 6 weeks.....add another small, say half an inch, SAME, species, same color

The small one will become the male and 9 out of 10 times they will bond.
If not, remove smaller one for 48 hours and reintroduce.....repeat if necessary
Good luck...

 

[oldhead]

Bought both of mine when they were about 1". Now one is 2 1/2 and the other one is half the size. I'm guessing they bonded.

 

[Uncle99]

Not necessarily.
If they bond, they will clearly display a kinship for each other and rarely stray far from one another.
They will waggle and clean their host regularly.
If they lay eggs....they become a mated pair......and this process may go for several months every 21-30 days.....then a break for a few months....back to egg laying.....

 

[hkgar]

I don't have any anemones so here is my "bonded" pair hosting two of my Capricornis corals

https://photos.app.goo.gl/spdV1mfFLfHqbJiJ2

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I think it's fair to point out that, just like people, not all clownfish relationships are the same and "bonded" may look different for different fish. It's not a black and white thing.

I've had breeding ocellaris pairs that were very friendly towards each other and were inseparable. I've had other breeding pairs where the female was a constant, but gentle, bully and the male stayed generally near but always kept a little distance.

Starting with two males can go fine but may result in a period of fighting while one establishes dominance. Starting with two juvies generally goes very easily, one is naturally dominant as they mature. Starting with a mature female and either a male or juvie is usually OK too, but is dependent on you correctly identifying the sexes. That's why I like starting with known juvenile fish from a known breeding source, ie an LFS that knows where and when the fishes were born, or picking two obvious juvies from a big tank filled with lots of clowns.

The only absolute definite thing in all of this is that having two mature females together won't end well.