Does anyone know HOW LONG it takes for Male --> Female ocellaris after removing mate

[Newreeflady]

Does anyone know HOW LONG it takes for Male --> Female ocellaris after removing mate

I have had a pair of ocellaris that have been breeding for a couple of years. Recently (Monday) the female jumped out of the tank at night, and was dried up on the floor leaving her mate all alone.

The aftermath:

I would like to pair the male with a known female from another pair.

How long can I leave my male in the tank alone without him turning irreversibly to female?

Is there any research on this? How can one tell?

Thanks!
Angela

--- in case you were wondering---
Screen is on the way so that I can make a screen top. I owned this pair for 5 years and had never witnessed a clownfish jump. I have a community system, and the female clown that jumped was the largest/ dominant fish in the system (56g).

 

[Newreeflady]

Found this... guess the answer is "who knows?" haha.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1047255&highlight=sex+change+clownfish+months

 

[davocean]

Yeah, I honestly don't think anyone TRULY knows, and there could be so many other factors involved that could affect the timeline.
I think if you found a female right away you could be ok, but safest is to chill for a spell and seek a young male, give your guy a chance to be the boss.

 

[Newreeflady]

Well, it's only been 5 days. I'm hoping he'll take the female, but I will update with progress to let you know

Honestly, I would prefer he stay a male. Dunno why, just like him as a male and think the female black ocellaris look meaner, haha. He's such a good little egg tender, too.

-A

 

[jonnybravo22]

I can tell you it's less than a year and 3 months. the female of my pair jumped last june so i replaced it with a much smaller fish and formed a new pair. the NEW female- former male - just laid eggs last week.

 

[davocean]

^^ Actually it can happen much much faster than that, like I said, so many variables, each animal is different, and responding to different conditions.

 

[SwampyBill]

Sorry for your loss. Good luck with 2nd pair!

 

[Newreeflady]

So, I just received a "m/f" pair of ORA ocellaris. The "female" is significantly smaller than my established male, and I suspect that this "female" is actually a male, and that the "male" of the pair that I got is actually a juvie. (ie, I believe that I purchased a male/juvenile pair).

So, my suspicion is that adding the larger fish I ordered in with my established male will cause my male to change to female, and the ORA "female" to be the submissive male. I will let you know...

Thanks, Swampy, I'm really hoping for the best. I am building my screen top this weekend so the loss of my female will not go in vain.

 

[davocean]

So, are you adding all 3?
I personally would not assume that the pair you ordered "female" is not female yet(this is getting confusing!LOL)
To be safe I would only keep 2 in there, and intro in a specimen container to check reactions.

 

[Costa reefing]

Specimen container & good observation FTW

ORA had sent me a supposed male/female pair. Turns out they were both just big juvies. Dont get me wrong, ORA is great at what they do but nobody is perfect

Good luck

 

[Newreeflady]

Well, I added the supposed "female" to the tank with my known male. And, I put her partner "male" in by himself in my other tank. It is possible the "female" is a female... I am not sure, but I'm not convinced that it isn't a male. I do think it is larger than a juvie, so I believe it is a male or female, and am leaning toward male just given its size compared to my full-grown male. I could be wrong.

So far after adding the "female" in my male immediately began to chase her. Now the dynamic is that my male is following "her", and is doing the shake every now and again, even though "she" is smaller than him. Is it possible that the shake could be dominant, rather than submissive? Or, is it possible that my male is submitting to her even though she is smaller than him?

-A

 

[davocean]

I "think" it's so soon that your male could be confused and relating to it's last partner, maybe.
Twitching is submissive/male behavior, yes.
Really hard to say for sure, this is all kinda shot in dark stuff w/out seeing pics/vids or clown sizes and responses first hand.
I would say a safe bet would be any clown over 2" could be a female, unless it is part of a pair w/ a dom fem keeping it in check.
Personally w/ your stating your want of keeping your existing male male, I would have only added a larger clown to attempt that, and if not, then I would only have added a clown as close to one inch as possible, and always intro in a container and observe them first.

 

[Newreeflady]

I "think" it's so soon that your male could be confused and relating to it's last partner, maybe.

That makes sense, I think you're right on that part. He looks confused. haha.

Personally w/ your stating your want of keeping your existing male male, I would have only added a larger clown to attempt that, and if not, then I would only have added a clown as close to one inch as possible, and always intro in a container and observe them first.

I definitely agree with you that I should have added a larger female. The problem is that I found a "female/male" pair and really loved the looks of the female and wanted to make her my new one. Since no two misbars are exactly alike, I knew I wasn't going to find this again so I really wanted to try since ocellaris are the most docile of clownfish so I was hoping they would pair. I'm still hoping for the best, but have 3 aquariums so if something goes wrong I will not let them murder each other.

Here are some pictures. Sorry they are horrible, but just for size reference. I don't have the main lighting on in the tank due to the acclimation, and don't want to use flash and freak out the fish<-- that's my story and I'm stickin' to it

 

[davocean]

As long as there isn't excessive aggression/fin tearing, maybe ride it out.
My guess would be your male black will transition to female.
I have seen clowns close to same size work it out, and what becomes female always grows bigger much faster than the male.
Just keep an eye.

 

[Newreeflady]

As long as there isn't excessive aggression/fin tearing, maybe ride it out.
My guess would be your male black will transition to female.
I have seen clowns close to same size work it out, and what becomes female always grows bigger much faster than the male.
Just keep an eye.

OK, this isn't going stellar. Last night was OK, but this morning my male is chasing "her", and the angel has decided that it's fun and has joined in In response, she is just swimming away, not doing the shake and shimmy. I'm concerned. If she does not start doing the shake at some point, can I suppose that she is a female and that my male has decided she isn't a suitable mate? How long will it take for my male to change to female in this instance? Sill my male change to female in the presence of a weaker female? My male, on the other hand, is clearly confused. He will chase her, but every now and again he will do the shake. There hasn't been any fin tearing or actual biting yet, just chasing. What would you do, still ride it out?

Thx!
Angela

 

[Newreeflady]

I'm just gonna chalk this up to lesson learned. I don't want to stress this fish to death. I have traded her out for the obvious juvenile that came in the pair. It is about 1". I was lucky enough to be able to catch both of these fish in 5 minutes and they are now acclimating to opposite tanks. Let's wish my black ocellaris luck in being a nice dominant female- I am sure this pairing is much more appropriate.

Thanks!
Angela

 

[phil519]

that mis bar is cute.

I have a female left (male carpet surfed) and am sort of in the same situation (though reversed).

I have read that some will take to each other right away (shimmy) but others require more time in a specimen box. Perhaps re-capture yours and try again?

the dad was the misbar - and here are some of his progenyin a bc29):

 

[Newreeflady]

Yeah, she is cute. I am thinking it's a female, though, and that my male has decided to vie for dominance and just become the female. I don't think he will be her male, and I can side with him, she is wimpy compared to him, haha. Oh, well, not every one of the moves we make is right, but I'm glad this was reversible.

It's gonna be hard watching the little guy be beat on by my male, but I know that's life so let's just hope for the best. Now I have to sell the beautiful female that I bought the pair to have I'm sad, but I guess that's life. Or, I can just let her live alone in the 20g that is being converted to a refugium.

-A

 

[davocean]

Sometimes even doing things all the right way just doesn't work out, they are animals and we are just making our best educated guess on what's going on or what they will do.
My last maroon, obvious female, would absolutely not accept the first 2 males, and they were as small as they come, and I even intro'd in a floating breeder container for 3 days before release.
The first male was a stunning specimen, but she killed it before I could even get the net.
The second almost the same result, had net ready, but it died from her bites later.
The 3rd, and what I decided was final try, the female swam to the breeder container and just took to it instantly, it was so obvious I didn't even wait 3 days like I normally do.
All 3 males were from same place and exact same size.
Hope this one works for you.

 

[Newreeflady]

Do you think I gave up too soon? :/