Difference in clownfish male or female?

[RustyReefer]

i think i have a male because he keeps digging out the front corner in the sandbed. and is very aggressive when i stick my hand on that side of the tank. i would like to buy a female but the guy at the LFS said its hard to tell the two apart. is there a way to tell them apart?

 

[billsreef]

They are protandrous hermaphrodites, which means they start out male and become female as the need arises. When you see a group of clownfish on the reef, the largest one is female, the second largest is male, and the rest of the smaller ones are immature. If a grouper comes along and eats the female, the male will become female and the largest of the mature group becomes male.

This makes it easy for us form pairs in our tanks. The best way in the situation of already having one solitary clown, is to buy the new one smaller than the existing one.

 

[RustyReefer]

should i only buy one or two?

 

[billsreef]

Only one