I think my clowns are finally ready

[Easily Distracted]

...or they just may be confused.
I have two oscelaris that I got a couple of years apart many years ago in the hopes they would pair up and breed. I added 2 smaller drones about a year ago in hopes of instigating something. The original two grew to what seemed to be a female and a male and paired up years ago but never bred. Within the last few months, the one I assumed to be the male, grew to the size of the female and challenged her. After a few nips to the tail fin and some chasing, one of the two ended up banished to the other side of the tank. If I had to guess, I would say it was the original female that was overthrown. Within a week, the banised one started joining the group during feeding time and then got accepted back to the group with no bullying.
Last night the two of them (equal size) were fanning each other intensely and were defending a specific spot on the wall of the tank. They are now aggresively chasing away the next larger fish, one of the drones who I thought was going to fill the male spot, but leaving the smallest one alone.

Does this sound like typical oscelaris breeding behavior or are my fish living out a tawdry fish soap opera? Are the two possibly living an alternate life style?

 

[saippenu]

Hey ED, it’s hard to say really. I was under the impression that “drones” could not become female if there is already an existing female in close proximity, but that would be in the wild, who knows how rules might change when forced into an aquarium. It is thought that perhaps existing females give off hormones or pheromones that might regulate the growth of nearby juvies, but if that is the case, than the effect should be even more pronounced in the confines of an aquarium…..don’t think anyone knows for sure though.

I have a spawning pair of Ocellaris and if you look up the username that I am using here on the forums, on You tube, you’ll see plenty of videos of all the spawning action in my tanks.

The only thing I don’t have up there is what I call the “Whatoosi” dance that my male does a few days before they actually lay eggs. It is not the same as the submissive sort of seizures that smaller clowns do around larger ones …it is more like an actual dance. He comes to the front corner of the tank, where he seldom hangs out, gets up high in the water column for maximum visibility, points his nose skyward, just below the surface of the water, and wiggles his body like one of those tacky plastic hoola dolls heh. The female generally looks on from the nest area which is across the tank (29 gallon biocube) while he does this. I will try to get it on video but it only lasts a few minutes and by the time I get the camera going he is usually all done with the show.

Another thing that happens just before spawning time in my tank, is that both the male and female scoop up sand in their mouths and swim away from the nest with it, dumping it out about 6 inches away from the nest area. They don’t like having any sand beneath their eggs and although they frequently fan the substrate, when I see them using their mouths like shovels, then I know that spawning is imminent.

I can turn the spawning on and off in my clowns by raising my SG from 1.023 to 1.025 and raising the water temp from 82 degrees up to 84-85. The salinity thing is contrary to public opinion. Most people will tell you to lower salinty as that is what happens during breeding season in the wild. My Occys clearly favor spawning at a higher salinity though.

Hope that helps, but as we all know, they are quirky little creatures and each one is an individual in its habits.

Good luck !