Maroon Clown - A Move & A Partner

[windlasher]

I have a 90 gal in my office. About a year ago, I put two small maroons in and they got along for a while. I assumed that they would pair but for some reason, they started fighting and one day one of them disappeared before I could deal with it or get rid of one of them. The remaining clown is now about 3 inches.

I will be setting up my 220 this summer and have the following questions.

What are the chances that this one changed to female during the tussle?

If I plan on moving him/her to the 220, is there any chance I could add another smaller male and not have the current one kill it.

Would it work if I add a new smaller one to the 220 and then transfer the current one after a month or two?

I know maroons can be evil so what are my chances?

Thanks

 

[oahureefer]

There is a lot of good info on pairing maroons on here they are harder to pair than most other clowns. Yes your Maroon is female (assuming it has been alone for months by now). I would put everything, and I mean everything you want in your new tank before adding your female maroon. Once she goes in she will establish her territory and get very defensive. The only exception is the SMALL juvenile maroon. I have had quite a few pairs of maroons through the years and the best success I have had in pairing is to add the male at the same time as the female. That way the female does not have an established territory yet. Watch very carefully until they start to sleep together and even then she might still bully him. I would not add the male first unless it's only a few days, they can change to female quickly and you don't want to have two females cuz within minutes you will only have one

 

[oahureefer]

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215098

 

[windlasher]

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215098

Thanks - I did find that after posting. She has been on her own for more than a year so I assumed she is female but just wanted to check.

She has actually been quite cool with new additions in the 90. Having thought about it, I may just keep her in the 90 and buy a small pair from a clutch when I go to stock the 220. Might be easier that way.

 

[oahureefer]

When you say small pair from a clutch I hope you are not planning on getting two maroons that are both juveniles and doing the grow out method. Maroons typically don't do well with that because of the similar size they typically fight to the death or near death. You really need to have one larger female and add a very small juvenile to ensure it's not female as well.

 

[windlasher]

When you say small pair from a clutch I hope you are not planning on getting two maroons that are both juveniles and doing the grow out method. Maroons typically don't do well with that because of the similar size they typically fight to the death or near death. You really need to have one larger female and add a very small juvenile to ensure it's not female as well.

Not sure I will be doing marrons in this case - I don't want to risk it. Makes me wonder why Maroons are so much meaner than other clown species.

My current maroon is a sweetheart (to other NON-clowns)

If I do Maroons, will definitely be an already bonded pair.