Clownfish pairing problems

[rompininphx]

Im attempting to pair a black ocellaris and a picasso perc. The black oscellaris is im assuming a female, I've had her by herself for about 6 months. She's about 2 inches now. The picasso is just a baby. At first, there was just minor chasing but nothing major, they even were in the same anemone and I saw the twitching submissive behavior. After about two days, the picasso is never near the anemone and the female is very badly chasing and nipping. I put the picasso in a small tupperware container with lots of holes drilled in it and put a magnet inside to keep it in place. It's right in front of the female's anemone. She only notices it when I release it to chase and nip at it. I don't want the picasso to be hurt or jump so what should I do?

 

[rompininphx]

bump

 

[wheelspin]

I consolidated my smaller tanks into a large one. One of them had a gsm clown and the other had a pair of ocellaris. I was worried that the gsm would hurt the two smaller so when I set up the tank I divided it with white egg crate for a month or two and now they all 3 get along happily.

 

[cgauer5]

I consolidated my smaller tanks into a large one. One of them had a gsm clown and the other had a pair of ocellaris. I was worried that the gsm would hurt the two smaller so when I set up the tank I divided it with white egg crate for a month or two and now they all 3 get along happily.

I think that this is by far the exception as opposed to the rule. For the most part it is hard to pair up different species of clowns, it all depends on the individual animals. Granted you can see percs and ocellaris paired up very often, but it is not a guarantee. My LFS often has to try multiple combinations in order to discover which clowns will get along and successfully pair.

 

[slosht]

Try putting the female in the container/egg crate barrier/breeder net and let the new guy have the run of the tank for a few days.

 

[rompininphx]

Im using eggcrate to divide the tank. It seems to be working, the female can't chase the smaller one through the holes

 

[rompininphx]

I took out the eggcrate and there's no more aggressive chasing. But the female does swim up to and follow around the male sometimes, but he shows no interest. Also, she is doing the shaking/seizure stuff to him. Is he not interested because he's still so small?

 

[rompininphx]

Well Im hoping he warms up to her because Im really wanting them to pair!