How to tell if 2 are "paired"?

[meskin]

Dumb question #364....

Short of seeing actual clownfish eggs or babies, how do you tell if a pair of true percs are "mated"? I had one in a 93 gallon tank (about 2 inches, nice and plump, very active), and within the past 2 days added another smaller (about 1 inch) true perc to keep it (her?) company. They seem to be getting along fine, swimming around much of the time near each other (but not always), bumping into each other, chasing each other around the tank (usually playfully, etc.). What is the signal that they are permanently "mated" or "paired", for what that's worth? What behavior demonstrates this, and what should I be looking for or doing, if anything? Just curious. Thanks.

 

[GSMguy]

you cant know until there are eggs beyond what they are doing now

 

[tmz]

You may be able to observe nesting behavior with the male frquently cleaning the section of rock on which they plan to spawn. They wmay aslo engage in what is reffered to as prcision swimming side by side which is diiferent from their usual waddle.

 

[phender]

If they swim near each other and don't beat the crud out of each other, then that is as good as it gets without seeing eggs.

 

[reefman13]

Could not have said it better phender

 

[meskin]

Thanks to all. Interesting to me that "paired" clowns could happen so quickly (48 hours), yet they sell on websites for big multiples of what any two individual clowns would command. Not sure I understand why, if "pairing" could happen so easily....
Oh well.

 

[elegance coral]

Anything to make a buck.

 

[phender]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11300347#post11300347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by meskin
Thanks to all. Interesting to me that "paired" clowns could happen so quickly (48 hours), yet they sell on websites for big multiples of what any two individual clowns would command. Not sure I understand why, if "pairing" could happen so easily....
Oh well.

What is really worse is that very few of the "pairs" you see on websites were pairs in the wild. They may have lived in the same anemone (even that is questionable) but they are almost never large enough to have been the breeding pair in the anemone. This is a good thing for clowns in the wild. Collecting beeding pairs is not a great idea even though clowns can move up the ranks pretty quickly to replace them.

It is not a good thing for the unknowing clown fan who doesn't realize he ijust buy to clowns of different sizes and do just as well. The only clowns it is good to buy already paired are maroons. They are notoriously difficult to pair.

 

[tmz]

Generally , if there is a size difference you have helped the dominance debate take a shorcut. It may take quite awhile for them to breed though.Otherwise they will battle some untill one dominates and then take sexes.