Female Clarkii is being wierd.

[rlf_racing]

I have a bonded pair of clarkiis in my tank and the female is being weird. I say bonded since they haven't progressed to the next step of being mated pair yet. Alright to get to my question. My female at night is obsessed with an old clam shell that sits on the bottom of my tank. At night I see her inside it sleeping. Is this normal? This is the only place she likes to sleep. When the clam falls over she gets upset and kicks up the sand all around to try to get it to stand buck up. So every once in a while i have to fix it. So is this normal behavoir??

 

[Bebo77]

yeah thats normal.... clowns are a funny fish...

 

[rlf_racing]

Good to know. At first I thought my diamond goby was the one making the large mounds of sand in the tank. I wasn't able to see the clarkii moving the sand until today. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong.

I have another question. How big do clarkiis have to be to spawn? My female right now is about 3.5" long and the male is about 2". Do they still have a while to go or they getting close to be at the right age?

 

[rlf_racing]

Bump

 

[Toddrtrex]

My pair ( seen below ) are about 4 inches ( the female being just slightly bigger then the male ) now, they have been spawning for about 5 years now. I have had them for about 7 years now. I would guess that they started when they were around 2.5 inches.

How long have you have you had them?

 

[rlf_racing]

Do I need to do anything to get them to spawn or will they do this in time on their own? Does my male size make difference in them spawning? Meaning is he sexually mature enough to mate with the female or is he still to young?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Make sure that they are well feed, water is in check, and try to keep "things" as same as possible --- meaning not changing things in the tank, keep the light schedule the same.

How old is the male? Size wise seems like he is large enough.

How long have they been together?

 

[rlf_racing]

I am not sure how old either of them are. I have had these two for a couple months now. They were brought in on trade at the lfs before I got them. I am assuming they were there for a few days before I got them. All my fish are feed twice a day, once in the morning with spectrum pellets and at night with either mysis or brine shrimp. the only thing I have to do in the tank is fix the old clam shell when it falls over. If I don't fix it she gets really upset.

 

[Toddrtrex]

If you've only had them a couple of months, I wouldn't expect anything yet. It took mine about 2 years to start (( going off memory, since I've had them for 7 years )).

Might want to try something more substantial then brine for the second feeding, and mix it up some more. Maybe pick up some Rod's Food, I know that all 3 of my clown pairs love it (( 3 tanks ))

And fixing the clam is fine. Was meaning re-arranging the whole tank.

 

[rlf_racing]

I just noticed that you live in lombard. Where do I find rods foods at? Or which lfs do you get it at? I haven't had any luck witha couple by me.

Does tank mates make a difference with mating as well?

 

[Toddrtrex]

I either get it at Trop-a-quatics which is in Lombard, or Reef Depot ( just started carrying it ) in Villa Park.

I don't think so, my clarkiis don't see to be concerned with their tankmates (( of course if there was another clown in there, that would be a different story ))

They spawned again last night, and weren't bothered by my purple tang, flame angel, or juvi blue face angel.

 

[rlf_racing]

I will have to call a couple more lfs around me before I take a cruise out to your neck of the woods. Currently I do have a pair of ocellaris in with the clarkiis and haven't had any issues other than the female clarkii chase the female ocellaris once in a while. But no fighting. I will however going to be getting another tank for them so if the behavor change of the clarkii I wont have to worry about anything.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Yea, I don't get that far South all that often to know what stores around there carry it. If you do ever might it up here, you are more then welcome to stop by.

Be glad that your clarkiis aren't spawning yet, because your ocellaris would be gone. The older they get the meaner they get towards other clowns. Or even anything that looks like a clown. I used to have a 3 stripe damsel in that tank, which was never let out of the rocks.

 

[rlf_racing]

Do you ever get over to Scotts pet shop in westchester? I know how to get to that since it is in the opposite dirrection of the zoo. i am just wondering if they might carry it.

Is Rod's foods made for all types of fish or is it just for clowns?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Once in a while I get there, but haven't been there in over a year, so not sure if they carry it. Might give me an excuse to go there again.

All my fish love it, and my potter's angel really loves it.

 

[rlf_racing]

Is there an online site that I can get more info on it? I had a flyer but I lost it. That is good to know that it is for all species of fish.

 

[Toddrtrex]

http://www.rodsfood.com/

 

[rlf_racing]

Thanks for the link. Thats cool that they local to us. I will definately give this product a try. How much does this usually cost?

 

[Toddrtrex]

A package is around $20. Lasts a long time. And while 6 oz seems small it is a large package.

For reference.

 

[rlf_racing]

Thanks for the help. I will call around tomorrow to find it.