Maroon clownfish breeding/is there a way to tell age?

[Rosetherabbit]

Hi!
I'm new to the forum. Hopefully I'm posting in the right place.
TLDR: My new clownfish which according to LFS are adults are fighting/hiding, should I be concerned about
A couple days ago I got a (supposedly) bonded adult pair of maroon clownfish from LFS. The reason I wanted adults was so that I could try breeding them. They aren't my first clownfish, I have another pair (separate from the new clownfish) that are probably not breeding age yet which is why I got an older pair. They came from the same tank at LFS and they said they're adults but I didn't notice until I brought the home they are about the same size :/ (3")
I'm wondering if this is going to be a major issue because sometimes one will attack the other (it's always the same one attacking. She might be ever so slightly bigger). I'd say about half the time when the female attacks, the male flips on his side and does the "seizure" thing. The male spends a lot of time in the corner while the female constantly kicks up sand with her tail. I put the female in a mesh breeder box overnight to give the male some time to actually eat/not be hiding in the corner. When I took back out they were fine for an hour but the male went back to his corner.
I'm wondering if I should give up on any potential breeding due the size and get the female a smaller male. Or get the male a bigger female.
This is probably a dumb question but does size correlate to age with clownfish? They are both about 3." I know it takes time for them to lay eggs and I can wait, but I'd rather not have to wait 2 plus years.
Any advice would be appreciated
Water parameters
0 ammonia/nitrite
20 nitrate
Temperature 78F

 

[andrewkw]

Maroon clownfish are very hard to pair. My female killed her first male and her second male took about 10 tries to get them to tolerate each other. I would try putting the female in an isolation box first and then repairing and go from there.

Mine have been breeding for 15 or so months and it only took a little over a year for them to start laying eggs which is relatively quick for clownfish. I had the female a year prior to this male.

 

[Reefing102]

Also is this LFS a reliable source? Meaning they know what they are doing and are trustworthy? Usually, when I see people trying to pair them, they get a larger and smaller clown as the larger will be female and male will be smaller (as you appear to be aware). I would give yours more time as they may be an established pair but just getting used to the new tank?

 

[Lrood]

Did you have an opportunity to observe their behavior together at the LFS? If they were hanging out together, sharing the same rock (or whatever was their home base at the LFS) without aggression, then it’s likely they are just adjusting to their new environment. Hope they work out ok!