clownfish fighting in QT?

[Neptune 555]

I just purchased two tank raised percula clowns from the LFS. I have them in QT for observation. It has been 4 days now... My kids named them Lilo and Stitch. They were the same size.. and upon purchase you could not tell them apart. NOW you can tell them apart b/c one is darker colour and aggressive (stitch female) and the other is lighter color and hiding (lilo male). They are in a 20 gallon QT.. I plan to release them in my DT in 6 weeks and will start investigating hosts for them.

The issue now is that when I feed them... Stitch gobbles up all the food and Lilo swims by her side. Stitch ingests a ton of food and makes runs at Lilo pushing him away from the food? Lilo gets tiny bits of food often after Stitch takes such big bites he can't keep it all in his mouth. What should I do? and why does Lilo stay by Stitch during the feeding? This is a huge 20 gallon tank and their is food everywhere? Lilo could easily go elsewhere and eat but does not? WHY?

I have PVC piping in the tank so they can hide.. I often find Lilo hanging out in the PVC piping.

Today I am taking home a Valentini puffer to be added to the QT for 6 weeks. Will having a puffer in QT help or hurt this fledging relationship?

Neptune

 

[Allmost]

welcome to clown fish life ... where the males are all whipped lol

no but thats how clownfish basically become a couple .... the female bully's the man till he gives up at which point they become a pair.

opposite of the saying we have for humans ... "She is not hurting him, he is liking it"

 

[davocean]

What size are both?

 

[Neptune 555]

both are tiny and equal sized... about the size of my pinky? 1.5 inches 2 inches? I asked when I purchased them to capture one medium sized one.. and one tiny one... so that it would be obvious who was who??? However the LFS guy said these were both the strongest and they were so young now.. that it would not matter??? I had a pair of percula clowns for 10 years... and only remember them being in love... they never separated.. These two stay at different ends of the tank? then come together to fight over eating?

Neptune

 

[Allmost]

can you please explain how clowns in love act ? lol

go on google, type clownfish pairing lol

 

[davocean]

Anything over an inch and a half is borderline, it is possible you may have two females maybe.
Yes, it is pretty obvious when they are bonded and getting along wonderfully.
Even if one is a male, there is no gaurantee the female will accept that particular male.

 

[Allmost]

Anything over an inch and a half is borderline, it is possible you may have two females maybe.
Yes, it is pretty obvious when they are bonded and getting along wonderfully.
Even if one is a male, there is no gaurantee the female will accept that particular male.

Ehh ?

clowns change sex ?

 

[davocean]

Ehh ?

clowns change sex ?

Serious?
Yes, from male to female

 

[Allmost]

exactly, they will be opposite sex at the end of the fighting, and will be paired up

then they will be "in love"

 

[davocean]

exactly, they will be opposite sex at the end of the fighting, and will be paired up

then they will be "in love"

If they are both females they will remain that way, and there ends the possibility of any love connection.
And even if they are opposite sex, there is never a gaurantee they will pair up as I mentioned.
Pretty often a female will refuse certain males.

 

[Allmost]

If they are both females they will remain that way, and there ends the possibility of any love connection.
And even if they are opposite sex, there is never a gaurantee they will pair up as I mentioned.
Pretty often a female will refuse certain males.

clowns are all born male.

when 2 fight, stronger/more dominant will change to female. and they become a pair. see the process ? the more dominant, will go through a sex change, and becomes a female ... once its a female, the "pairing up" process is done, they are then a pair.

unless it turns into an ugly female haha sorry everyone ... its friday night, have a good weekend yall

 

[davocean]

Uhm, yeah, that is what I wrote, males turn to females.
I guess you were joking which sometimes does not come across in print well, it is Friday night alright!

 

[Irishdolphin]

The point being well made by davocean is that if they have both already changed into females then there is no going back on that and the only thing that will result from the fighting is the death of one of them

 

[davocean]

The point being well made by davocean is that if they have both already changed into females then there is no going back on that and the only thing that will result from the fighting is the death of one of them

Thank you, I think it may be later into Friday in Canada than it is here!:beer:

 

[snorvich]

Actually, I believe that all clownfish are born as "juveniles". When two are put together, they start to sexually differentiate and one becomes dominant and starts the journey towards being a female. The other one becomes male. At this point there is a bonding process that occurs wherein the male submits to the female via a shimmying dance. The female may or may not accept the male. If she does not, the male is often killed or shunned. If you are highly interested, get the book Clownfish by Joyce Wilkersen which has everything you ever wanted to know about clownfish and clownfish breeding. Note, however, that once clownfish start down the journey towards becoming female, they cannot go backwards.

 

[davocean]

^^ Agree, they actually begin sexless from my reading, then to male.
It's a pretty safe bet though at time of purchase they have most likely developed male sex organs.
At an inch and a quarter-to inch and a half is about the cutoff point at being a male or female, under that size very likely to be male still.

 

[snorvich]

^^ Agree, they actually begin sexless from my reading, then to male.
It's a pretty safe bet though at time of purchase they have most likely developed male sex organs.

Could be either male or female, but usually if kept in a group, they are still juveniles. Which is one of the reasons breeders keep them in groups.

 

[davocean]

Gotcha, and the only thing I'm not clear on is in a group, one being dominant female, one being male, are the others being juvenile meaning completely sexless or just sub males?
I really need to purchase Joyce Wilkersons book!

 

[snorvich]

Gotcha, and the only thing I'm not clear on is in a group, one being dominant female, one being male, are the others being juvenile meaning completely sexless or just sub males?
I really need to purchase Joyce Wilkersons book!

They are sexless. In the wild, interestingly enough, a clownfish pair in an anemone can have juveniles around that are presexual. But if they start to sexually differentiate, they will be killed. The book is worth a read if you are interested in clownfish. I got mine on Amazon.com used (because I am cheap). But they are not expensive new. Now in the case of fairy wrasses, there are vastly different rules.

 

[davocean]

Thanks Steve!