Maroon clown Question

[mcgorman]

Hi,

I have a 55 Gallon Marine Tank with a few corals. The corals I have are 3 years old and are huge! Everything is great and I believe I have a very healthy environment. I was recently given a maroon clown from someone who was moving and had to find a home for him. He is great and looks very happy in my tank. I have been doing some reading on these clowns and it seems like they can be aggressive. I would love to get another maroon and have a pair of them. I know that clownfish can change sex to pair up. My question is can I just get a similar sized maroon clown and they will automatically pair up? Or is there a chance they they will not and actually fight because it is this clown's territory? The clown I have now it about 3 and a half to 4 inches long. There is also a hippo tang, hawkfish, and marine betta in the tank.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[CKreef]

you need to get a small 1"- 2" clown to pair up with her but the hawk may be a problem how big is he?

 

[TOURKID]

if the maroon has been by itself for 6 months +.... its actually a SHE.

All juvinials are sexless. If kept alone, it will become male first, then female. (they cannot turn back to male)
If you have a male and a female, the male cannot turn into female unless the female dies.
So assume you have a female. even if its young and still a male, when you add a juvinial it will still be the more dominant one and will become the female


It isent to bad pairing themn up!!! you'll need to get the smallest juvinial that you can find. (1/2 inch or so is the BEST)
quarentine it till you know its healthy.
put it in an observation container, IN the tank, as close to the females territory as you can.

once the female calms down (1 day, 3 days whatever it takes) Let the juvi out.

The female will chase him, bite him, beat him up, and it isent fun to watch. but DONT take the juvi out unless its 80% DEAD... give or take.
Once the juvi startss submitting (violently shaking, kissing her cheekspines) she should give him a break.

Heres my thread when I paired my maroons. It strays off a lil bit, but you'll get the idea.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=855632

If you put in a maroon thats the same size you risk them both being females and one will die...
PM me if you need any help!!

Maggie

 

[mcgorman]

Thanks

The hawk is about 3 inches

Matt

 

[slcw]

Re: Maroon clown Question

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7967977#post7967977 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcgorman
Hi,

I have a 55 Gallon Marine Tank with a few corals. The corals I have are 3 years old and are huge! Everything is great and I believe I have a very healthy environment. I was recently given a maroon clown from someone who was moving and had to find a home for him. He is great and looks very happy in my tank. I have been doing some reading on these clowns and it seems like they can be aggressive. I would love to get another maroon and have a pair of them. I know that clownfish can change sex to pair up. My question is can I just get a similar sized maroon clown and they will automatically pair up? Or is there a chance they they will not and actually fight because it is this clown's territory? The clown I have now it about 3 and a half to 4 inches long. There is also a hippo tang, hawkfish, and marine betta in the tank.

Thanks,

Matt

Matt? the same matt who wants to start an anemone specific tank? oh sorry that is another matt.

Anyway TOURKID has mentioned is a useful guide. Pick the smallest maroon clown.

You can read more on matching maroon clowns from Clownfish book by Joyce Wilkerson.

 

[TOURKID]

joyces book is alright. but she basicly says its really hard, theyre really mean, stuff like that.

I was totally scared to try it. but once i finally did it was pie. the thread i gave you has it all in there

 

[mcgorman]

Thanks everyone.

I did read that thread and found it very helpful. I think I am going to try it following the steps from that thread. Someone was concerned about the hawkfish. Is that going to be a problem? I was also wondering if they would be more likely to breed with an anenome present. Also are there other alternatives (non-living if possible) to an anemone that they can host in. I have seen fake anenomes in stores. Will they work? I would like to find a realistic one maybe.


Matt

 

[TOURKID]

I dont know anything about the hawk fish.
although i REALLY want a flame hawkfish and will get one eventually

I donno about the fake nems. I imagine they would grow algea all over them eventually....
It takes a long time before you might see eggs.... but a clay flower pot, and ceramic tiles are great egg laying grounds. they like the surface to be smooth.

If theres no nem present, they will host somthing eventually.. If you have no coral (frogspawn, mushrooms, hairy mushrooms are common for clowns to host) mine hosted the powerhead until i brought a nem home. then it dove right in.

hairy mushrooms are really simple to keep alive, might want to go that route if you really want them hosting somthing


statistically speaking, supposivy maroons are the most dependent on anemones. but you still dont HAVE to have one.
after 6 months of having your tank, and you get it really stable and completely understand evaporation, salinity, alk, ph, and calcium.... you'll be really for a nem if you still want one.

 

[slcw]

i don't think clown fish needs a host anemone in the aquarium.

 

[1jared1]

I agree with the others, get the smallest maroon you can find to make a pair. I had a big maroon like you and got the smallest one I could find to make a pair and it worked like magic. They never fought even once. About 6 months later they were spawning. Good luck!

 

[mcgorman]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will keep everyone posted on the outcome. I'm going to set up a quarintine tank soon and find a maroon clown.

Matt