Well about 6 months ago i purchased a pair of GSM's. after acclimation they were both eating, doing fine, then about a month later i come home to find my cleaner shrimp picking at the smaller of the two, my guess it was the male. i know that GSM's have the worst attitude as far as clowns go, but i would really love to have a pair again. My question is, is it possible to add another clown to the tank and for them to pair up, has anyone done this before, or am i asking for trouble?
Giving my female GSM a partner.
- Thread starter coryjac0b
- Start date
A lot depends on your female's personality. I had one that was the sweetest, mellowest fish on earth. Most are not like that. If you find a bunch of juvenile GSM's for sale in the same tank, and pick the smallest one, it should still be a male. Just don't keep him in a tank by himself (quarantine or whatever) because he'll turn into a female and then it's a lost cause. Elmo18 has a thread somewhere about pairing up clownfish (he has one on reeffrontiers.com but maybe there's one on RC as well).
catdoc
Premium Member
I paired my female up twice. The first time, the male was actually the resident clown (only for a week) and she took to him right away. No fighting or bickering at all. The second time was rough. Even though he was much smaller, it was HER territory and she beat him up badly. After about 5 minutes of him being attacked, I pulled him out of the tank. I let him heal up and was about to take him back to the LFS. Another friend who has raised clowns talked me into giving it another try (and more time).
I waited and watched for 15 minutes on that 2nd attempt and it was horrible. She was relentlessly pursuing him, biting him, and wouldn't back off. She chased him from end to end of my 90 and I could hear him hitting the ends of the tank.
I didn't know clownfish could swim that fast! On her last attack run, when she charged and bumped him, he didn't have any more strength left to swim and he just drifted with the bump she gave him. In an instant, the attack was over and she was trying to coax him to her anemone. It was the weirdest thing!! Once she had exhausted him, true love! She had bitten off a third of one of his fins (it completely grew back) and he was in tatters. They've been inseparable ever since, started spawning just a few months later.
It can be a brutal pairing, so pick a very small fish and stand by with a net in case rescue is needed!! Some folks will keep the hopeful male in a specimen container so they get used to each other or provide some in-tank refuge for the little guy to escape to.
I waited and watched for 15 minutes on that 2nd attempt and it was horrible. She was relentlessly pursuing him, biting him, and wouldn't back off. She chased him from end to end of my 90 and I could hear him hitting the ends of the tank.
I didn't know clownfish could swim that fast! On her last attack run, when she charged and bumped him, he didn't have any more strength left to swim and he just drifted with the bump she gave him. In an instant, the attack was over and she was trying to coax him to her anemone. It was the weirdest thing!! Once she had exhausted him, true love! She had bitten off a third of one of his fins (it completely grew back) and he was in tatters. They've been inseparable ever since, started spawning just a few months later.It can be a brutal pairing, so pick a very small fish and stand by with a net in case rescue is needed!! Some folks will keep the hopeful male in a specimen container so they get used to each other or provide some in-tank refuge for the little guy to escape to.
Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
None of that carnage is necessary 
First find the tiniest mate you can. Be patient in this & hold out for the right one for 3 important reasons:
Your ideal quarantine: A 10g on a table placed right up to the front glass of your main tank. Place the cage and the juvenile in the 10g. Try & feed him such that he has to enter the cage to get the food. That way he'll already be comfortable swimming in and out of it.
The quarantine period right in front of the female will:
When it's time to add him to the female's tank ---- add the eggcrate cage as far away as possible from the female's anemone (or territory), but where it is still visible to the female. If visibility means it has to be really close to the female, then just put it out of sight at first.
Then catch the male in a clear drinking glass, measuring cup, etc. (don't net him) and place him in the tank such that he can swim out of the glass straight into the cage. That way he knows where it is.
Then nature should take its course :love2:
Don't remove the cage until the male is allowed to hang out on the anemone during daylight hours. He may be allowed to sleep on the anemone at night before she accepts him during the day.
It may be instant love or it can take several weeks for him to earn his spot.
First find the tiniest mate you can. Be patient in this & hold out for the right one for 3 important reasons:
- It ensures you have a juvenile/male
- The female will be less distrustful of him
- He'll be small enough to fit through the holes of the eggcrate cage you will make
Your ideal quarantine: A 10g on a table placed right up to the front glass of your main tank. Place the cage and the juvenile in the 10g. Try & feed him such that he has to enter the cage to get the food. That way he'll already be comfortable swimming in and out of it.
The quarantine period right in front of the female will:
- help her get used to the sight of him and help him earn her trust.
- Help ensure he doesn't start turning female during quarantine, since there will be interaction between them through the glass
- Acclimate him to the cage, you can even train him to seek refuge there by gently chasing him into it with your hand (though probably not necessary ---they learn pretty fast the hard way inside the tank with the female---still, anything you can do to prepare him in advance is good)
- Accomplishes quarantine and helps the little male strengthen up during this time for the upcoming challenge, which is potentially the fight of his life
When it's time to add him to the female's tank ---- add the eggcrate cage as far away as possible from the female's anemone (or territory), but where it is still visible to the female. If visibility means it has to be really close to the female, then just put it out of sight at first.
Then catch the male in a clear drinking glass, measuring cup, etc. (don't net him) and place him in the tank such that he can swim out of the glass straight into the cage. That way he knows where it is.
Then nature should take its course :love2:
Don't remove the cage until the male is allowed to hang out on the anemone during daylight hours. He may be allowed to sleep on the anemone at night before she accepts him during the day.
It may be instant love or it can take several weeks for him to earn his spot.
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catdoc
Premium Member
I did house the male in a small tank in front of the display for a few days, but didn't think to put his specimen container in the QT tank. They completely ignored each other while he was in the separate tank. When I put him in the smaller container in the display, he immediately swam out and never went back to it.
Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
That's not what I'd expect - what kind of container was it?<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9230820#post9230820 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by catdoc
I did house the male in a small tank in front of the display for a few days, but didn't think to put his specimen container in the QT tank. They completely ignored each other while he was in the separate tank. When I put him in the smaller container in the display, he immediately swam out and never went back to it.
catdoc
Premium Member
A clear acrylic specimen container, about 4x6". I left the lid propped open for him. It may just have been that he wasn't acclimated to it since I didn't have it in the QT tank with him. It's been a while, I don't remember if he had anything to hide in inside of it. Maybe he felt too exposed since it was clear?
catdoc
Premium Member
The container was vented on both ends (long vertical slits) so there should have been plenty of smelling going on. I realize that my post makes this sound like I hadn't researched how to pair them, but I'd read all the threads I could find here at RC and used the methods you recommended (holding tank in front of the display tank, isolation chamber within the display). Really, I'm not a callous, insensitive, uninformed person. My maroon is just a tough gal to please.
edited: Just searched until I found my own post on the pairing. Turns out that I didn't use the vented specimen container with the vents (I must have bought it at a later occasion). So, scent (or lack of it) may have been part of the problem after all.
My maroon is just a tough gal to please.edited: Just searched until I found my own post on the pairing. Turns out that I didn't use the vented specimen container with the vents (I must have bought it at a later occasion). So, scent (or lack of it) may have been part of the problem after all.
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