Large wild caught clown, how old?

[Chihuahua6]

I purchased a 4" wild caught tomato clown due to her beautiful coloration. Does anyone have an idea of the growth rate of wild clowns so that I can estimate her age?

 

[Chihuahua6]

Anyone?

 

[Winwood]

It's almost impossible to tell. It all depends on it's situation when it was collected. Clowns can live a long time as a small subordinant if many dominant fish are present. They can also mature quite rapidly if the opposite is the case.

 

[OrionN]

Could be 2 years or 20 years. There is no way to tell.

 

[Chihuahua6]

It's almost impossible to tell. It all depends on it's situation when it was collected. Clowns can live a long time as a small subordinant if many dominant fish are present. They can also mature quite rapidly if the opposite is the case.

Thanks for your input. As I read more and more about how clowns live in the wild and the hierarchy of a group living together I can understand a lot better now. It could have been a female for X amount of years or a sexless for X amount of years that became male or female or......

I am going to treat her as a female and find a small friend for her. I'm hoping to find an ORA Cinnamon Clown (Coral Sea). I love the coloration of these fish.

 

[Winwood]

If its that size and A. Frenatus it most certainly has to be female. Males remain smaller in that species. If A. melanopus it's a little harder to tell as mature individuals remain closer in size. With almost all large clowns it's usually best to treat them as a females and look for a smaller subordinate individual.

 

[Chihuahua6]

Yes it's A. frenatus. I want to find A. melanopus to be her little boyfriend ; )

 

[Chihuahua6]

Here's the best pic I could get. The wire is the thick wire coming from a Mag 5 pump to give you an idea on her size.

 

[Chihuahua6]

 

[Winwood]

Very pretty! Why not get a bright orange juvy frenatus? They look great and you get that neat dimorphism similiar to maroons.

 

[Chihuahua6]

I have considered that since finding a Cinnamon with the coloration I want is not an easy task. I did see a nice bright frenatus at the LFS and considered getting it. I really like the Cinnamons from the Coral Sea though. The colors are beautiful. Decisions decisions.