How to pair maroon clowns

[Tang Salad]

Thanks Angel*Fish-

I'm currently trying to think of what to use to make the safehouse. I haven't been able to find any eggcrate, but I think I can DIY something else. I'm going to try the bottom dome of a soda bottle with lots of hols cut into it.

In the meantime, my lil guy is doing fine today. I still think he's a bit too far away though as the female only rarely checks him out.

 

[tenwhiteduke]

Two things one, you state to "confirm you have a female" How do you do that?

Second, when do you know that the pair is not going to work?

I have my new juvi in a small container in the tank now, I tried to release him this morining the the other one, immediatley charged at him and hit him a few times, so I put the juvi back into the container. Its located inches from the BTA, so I am waiting for another day to try again.

Here is my situation, my larger GS maroon became sick so I had to get it out. I now have a 2 1/5 inch marron in the BTA, and purchased a tiny juvi maybe 3/4 inch. How is this going to work out?????

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9779895#post9779895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tenwhiteduke
Two things one, you state to "confirm you have a female" How do you do that?

Second, when do you know that the pair is not going to work?

I have my new juvi in a small container in the tank now, I tried to release him this morining the the other one, immediatley charged at him and hit him a few times, so I put the juvi back into the container. Its located inches from the BTA, so I am waiting for another day to try again.

the pair will not work if the juvi allready wants to be a female. they will lock mouths and fight.

to confirm you have a female i dont really think is necessary as long as the juvi is sexless and young.

i let them hang out for almost 3 days before i put them in together. also if catching the female is a possibility it really would help to let the juvi move into the nem before he meets the woman.

 

[tenwhiteduke]

ok I will try that Thanks GSMguy

 

[Tang Salad]

A thought just occured to me...

If I use the soda bottle to make the little safehouse, will the edges of the holes be too sharp?

 

[Tang Salad]

Well, I just finished the thing and I'm not impressed. The edges are a bit sharp and the whole structure seems flimsy. I myself wouldn't want to count on it to protect me from a female maroon.

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9780548#post9780548 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tang Salad
Well, I just finished the thing and I'm not impressed. The edges are a bit sharp and the whole structure seems flimsy. I myself wouldn't want to count on it to protect me from a female maroon.

i dont think the hiding place thing really works

for one no clown that has just been introduced to my tank would think to go back into a lil hole after a maroon female starts to attack the male will not be able to decide where it wants to swim it is under the controll of the female at that point.

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9780932#post9780932 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
i dont think the hiding place thing really works

for one no clown that has just been introduced to my tank would think to go back into a lil hole after a maroon female starts to attack the male will not be able to decide where it wants to swim it is under the controll of the female at that point.

IME (only twice) the little male learns quite quickly to swim back to his safe-house. It should be placed where they can see each other, but otherwise as far away as possible

I do agree that if there are just a few holes to go in and out of, the poor fish may not work it out. In both cases I used the eggcrate. And I didn't think of this method myself, it was recommended to me from others who had found it successful

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9778655#post9778655 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a&cbowman
Do you like how my wife spells tank with and "l" (talk) Well, the female is more like 4 inches long and the little male is more like and inch and a half. In the tank that they are in now, they have a huge sebae anemone and the female wont let the little one in it, when the little one tries to host the anemone, she comes over and shoves him out. He does the shivering thing but she still doesnt let him come in. so he just stays swimming on the outside of the anemone never touching it. They have been together in the 175 gallon for about a month, and they have been together in the smaller tank about 3 days. I just have a feeling that they will never pair up, maybe like the female isnt attracted to him or something. At first they both slept in the anemone, but now only the female sleeps in it. Thanx for your help!

Sounds like you have a male . It can take a while for him to be accepted onto the anemone, but my money is on that happening within another month.

And yes, I like the way she spells "tank" :lol: I kept reading that first sentence thinking it was an interesting way to put it Then I figured out it was mistyping

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9782001#post9782001 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Angel*Fish
IME (only twice) the little male learns quite quickly to swim back to his safe-house. It should be placed where he they can see each other, but otherwise as far away as possible

I do agree that if there are just a few holes to go in and out of, the poor fish may not work it out. In both cases I used the eggcrate. And I didn't think of this method myself, it was recommended to me from others who had found it successful

Note: I have zero experience. eggcrate seems lke a viable option, but a sharp plastic botttle sounds scary for the fish.

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9780410#post9780410 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tang Salad
A thought just occured to me...

If I use the soda bottle to make the little safehouse, will the edges of the holes be too sharp?

Could be, but it may be fine -- size is key. Eggcrate can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's - about 7-10 dollars for a huge sheet - they stuff is very handy - you'll likely find other tank uses for it too



What you could do (other than make a box) is use a piece of it to corner off a front corner section of your tank, if your aquascaping allows. Be sure you stick it down into the sand and high enogh over the water line

 

[Tang Salad]

I made a good safehouse yesterday and put it in the specimen container. The GSM liked it, and spent a lot of time swimming in and out of it, and even resting inside it.

So today I decided it was time to release the little guy. I opened the specimen container and placed the safehouse on the sand near the BTAs.

But when I released the little GSM, he swam away to the other end of the tank! He completely ignored the safehouse, the BTAs and the female!

I spent a few minutes trying to corral him back to the safehouse, but he didn't ever enter it.

He's now found a little nook underneath a large tablular Acro.

Should I just leave him alone and let him find the BTAs on his own? Or should I put him back in the specimen box for a few more days?

Thanks!

 

[Angel*Fish]

If he isn't getting physically beaten up by the female, they are on their way to working out a bond. Just wait and watch the progress and keep us posted

I'd leave the "cage" in there a little longer if I wasn't sure they had a preliminary agreement

 

[Tang Salad]

Thanks Angel*Fish...you're up early.

I will definitely leave his cage in there for a while. What worries me now is that he's on the other end of my 110g., completely out of view of the female.

I'm just thinking that when he finally finds the BTAs, the female will have already forgotten ever having seen the little guy before.

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9790628#post9790628 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tang Salad
Thanks Angel*Fish...you're up early.

I will definitely leave his cage in there for a while. What worries me now is that he's on the other end of my 110g., completely out of view of the female.

I'm just thinking that when he finally finds the BTAs, the female will have already forgotten ever having seen the little guy before.

Are you saying you don't think she knows he's in the tank? That would surprise me, but maybe someone else will have knowledge of this and be able to comment. I just don't know, sorry.

That said, my guess is she knows he's in there but has made the first concession toward giving him a chance to woo her by allowing him to hide somewhere in the tank and not kill him. What I'd expect to see next is that he would start making subtle moves toward her, like just being seen for starters, gradually being allowed to get closer over the course of days or weeks. Each time she will chase him back to the area of the tank he's allowed in.

You may see him sleeping near her at night before he's allowed near during the day. They tend to call a truce at night.

He will have a powerful innate drive to get to the BTA's - so assuming they are all in one spot, you can expect that he will work hard to eventually earn her trust.

 

[Angel*Fish]

PS. I think you may be the one who was up early - I stayed up all night :lol: Kinda wish now I hadn't....

 

[Tang Salad]

Thanks Angel*Fish-- so nice of you to wait up all night waiting to hear how my little GSM is doing... :lol:

Sad news, actually. The little guy is now MIA. I can't find him anywhere.

I'm still holding out hope that he's hidden himself in one of the many LR caves or overhangs. It's possible that he's just out of sight.

It seemed strange that he made no attempt to go to the BTAs, especially considering that he spent all his time in the Specimen Box staring out at them.

 

[Tang Salad]

Well despite my best search and rescue efforts, the outlook is not good. I'm starting to fear the worst...

 

[Angel*Fish]

Oh no that's too bad. I hope he turns up.

Keep us posted -

Your comment about me staying up all night literally made me lol, btw

 

[Tang Salad]

Thanks Angel*Fish

I've pretty much given up hope now. There's no sign of the little guy.

An interesting observation, though: Ever since yesterday, my female WSM has been out and about in the tank. She normally stayed very, very close to her 2 BTAs, but today she's been swimming around and into new parts of the tank.