hoping to pair

[Tazz11]

I'm sharing a couple of pix of my new Maroon clowns I picked up at the LFS last week. I have done some reading and it looks like with some time I should be able to come away with a mated pair. These two were in a tank together with a third at the LFS and never moved too far away from each other. Now that they have been in their new home the larger of the two has hosted quite nicely in my BTA but will not allow the smaller of the two anywhere near it until the lights go out, and in fact will do all she(I'm Assuming) can to push the little guy as far away as possible.

My question is will this behavior ever stop or is this typical for Maroons? The fact that they are together when the lights go out I am assuming is a good thing, I'm just curious if they will ever get to the point where they are friends in public,or is this affair one to be kept a secret?

 

[kimsie]

Based on my experience and from what I've read and talked to others about - when it comes to Maroon's - if you an observe them in a tank together for 15-20 minutes and not see any obvious signs of serious aggression (and one is submitting) you should be fine. Maroons are very serious about their territory's and I would think that they would be showing aggression right away if they weren't happy together.

Good luck on what I hope is to become your new pair!

 

[jetfixr]

I bought a pair of maroons at the LFS. The only 2 fish in the tank and they were hanging out together. I put them in my tank and the female went right to the anemone. I was a little dissappointed because the male went over into a corner behind some rocks and rarely ever came out. It stayed that way for about a month and a half. Then I noticed he would come out of his corner (cautiously) in the morning when there was a bit of light in the tank but the lights had not come on yet. About a week later he was out of his corner and started hanged out about half way between his corner and the anemone with the female in it. Now he make regular visits to the female an they hang out together now and again, they are still not together all the time like a mated pair might be. But we are definately making progress. This whole process has 2 and a half months. Personally, I think she is a bit of a *****, I have no idea why he puts up with her crap, lol.

 

[Mike31154]

I'm surprised your LFS actually had 3 Maroons together in the same tank. I started with a small lone Maroon and when I went to my LFS a few months later looking to add a second to my tank, it took me a while to convince them to let me do it. They said they would fight possibly to the death. You've got a pretty good head start with your pair. I did convince the LFS to sell me a second Maroon since I had done my research and read Joyce D. Wilkerson's book on Clownfishes. This lady knows about clownfish! Anyhow it was a stressfull month before the two finally got along. The new addition was definitely unwelcome for at least several weeks and it's a good thing there were sufficient places to hide. The poor guy not only had to deal with Maroon 1 but also a Blue Devil damselfish that took the odd piece of fin now and then. The Maroons now both host in a BTA, but have yet to spawn. The original Maroon has tripled in size compared to the one added later. From what I've seen and read the time can vary greatly as to when and if they will actually pair up. Again, you look to be well on you're way since they came from the same tank and are already familiar with each other. It it takes more than a month or two, you may need to try with a different one.

 

[Tazz11]

thanks to all three of you I was hoping to hear positive feedback on this issue. I have always wanted a mated pair and have been unable to find a mate for my black Mis-Bared Ocellaris in my main tank. I am not at all concerned with how long it may take for them to become truly mated, I'll let them work that out. For now I'm just happy they are getting along enough to not kill each other. BTW jetfixr I bet if you give it some thought...you know exactly why he puts up with her crap