Gender in immature clowns?

[fishguy2727]

Are the immature clowns (the ones under the pair in the pecking order on an established anemone) gender neutral or considered immature males?

 

[elegance coral]

They were once considered immature males. The current thinking is that they are gender neutral.

 

[Arati]

Does a gender neutral clownfish, when left alone in a tank become male and then female, or does the fish go directly to female?

 

[Grunt]

juvi by itself will become a female.

 

[Arati]

without ever being male?

 

[Grunt]

Well, it will become male, with no other fish present it will turn female (dominant, and large).

When they are juvi, to get them to turn male you have to throw in a much larger clown to assert dominance on the juvi (tank situation). If and when the dominant female clown dies, everyone moves up. Male turns female, juvi turns male.

Joyce Wilkersons book describes how this works too.