Maroon Clowns??

Yeah I would get the smallest one I could find and maybe put it in a critter keeper inside the tank and watching your current clown's behavior.
 
Kimsie I will take any and all info you have to offer. Does having or not having an anemone effect aggression? Cause I currently don't have one. And trying to find an anemone that is 2 to 3 times in diameter larger than the fishes length isn't easy either. Thank you to everyones help on this matter. And thank you for the compliments.
 
Ok - I'll do all I can! Having an anemone doesn't have anything to do with it... really... but if it were me - I'd get the smaller GSM before you try the anemone. If it were me I wouldn't want it to be something they go to war about, but something they discover together once they're paired...

So - start looking and find the smallest GSM you can - preferable 1/2 the size... This might mean that you have to wait a while...

Then - when you do get it - do the basket trick (have you heard of this). You have to be prepared though - because there's chance that your bigger one won't accept it. So this may be a bit of a process - they are one of the hardest to pair, but good stories happen all the time.
 
What is the basket trick? Well finding a small one (1/2" to 3/4") is a lot easier to find than a much larger one (3" to 4"). Why are maroons so hard to pair? I think they are more interesting fish than perc and ocellaris. IMO. Where on the net can I find more info on them?
 
Hmm - I'll look for info on the net for you - but I got most of my information from the book Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkensen.

Here's the basket trick. Get a strawberry basket or something like that. Essentially you want something that the smaller one can enter and leave at it's will - but that the larger one can't fit into. You can take saran wrap and a rubber band to use as the top if that has larger slits. Essentially - after acclimating - you would put the smaller one in this basket - and introduce it into the tank inside it. That way it has a safe haven that the larger one can't get to it in. This way it can retreat if needed and may allow for an easier acclimation between the two.

As to why the maroons are so hard to pair? They're simply one of the most agressive of all clownfish. The Gold Striped are a bit more mellow than the White Striped. Maroons though unlike most clownfish who simply argue or bicker over who is going to become the female - can sometimes fight it out to the death. Unless one (the smaller) immediately shows submissiveness it can be really ugly. Thats why I say it may happen right away for you with the right precautions - but it also may take a few tries with a few different fish if the larger one just simply won't accept the smaller.

I had a hatchery tell me that if you can watch a pair together for 15 minutes - and not see any aggression - they should be fine. Now - I wouldn't consider this the hard fast rule, but something to consider. What I'm saying is you should know fairly fast after introduction if it's going to work or not. If it doesn't - then return the smaller one for another and try again!

How does this help - and what other questions might I be able to help with?
 
That is very Informative. I guess I better get over to the book store to order that book. I am also going to have to wait to get the little guy for my maroon until I get my tank ready for this new meeting between the two of them. I am going to trade a lot of the fish I have already for a couple of slightly more aggressive to go with them.
 
Great - good call - feel free to PM me anytime with questions and I'll do all I can to help! I'm no expert - but I do have a GSM pair myself and do tons of reading!
 
Kimsie do you have any pics of your gsm's? And how big are they? I know that everyone here suggested to get a smaller gsm. Which I will do. I just missed seeing a large 5-6" gsm at a lfs. I haven't seen a fully grown gsm yet and would like to see one. So I know what to expect.
 
I'll get a pic to send to you - my larger GSM is right about 2 inches - and the smaller is about 1. They're still young though I think - at least they were juvinals when I bought them - wild caught though so that's no real indication on age. I'll see if I can get you pics.
 
dont buy it from teh bookstore...amazon used paperback rocks.

joey said it before--use the money you were about to spend on a new copy on a critter keeper (like the hamster ball or some such) to house your new male.

many people also put the female in it--let the male roam. rearrange your rockwork too, as it helps reduce territorial tendencies.

dont forget you cant use nets on maroons, as their cheek spines are very easily caught.

there is a great sticky on pairing clowns, especially maroons. I would read it twice :)

good luck--great pics btw.

tim
 
Found the sticky. Didn't realize it was in the same forum, my bad. Is there any possibilty to have more than one species of clownfish in the same tank. For example, pair of gsm's, pair of ocellaris, and a pair of clarkii's? I know gsm's and clarkii's can be aggressive. I would like to know if it is possible. I have a pair of clarkii's and a pair of ocellaris together on one side of the tank with no problems. The only reason I was asking because I have read to add the most aggressive fish last in a system to give the more passive fish time to establish themselves in the tank first. Or does this not work for clownfish?
 
I really would recommend against adding another species of clownfish into a tank with maroons unless the tank is very large (200 gal or larger) with rockwork to visually seperate the two species. Maroons can be very difficult to mate with the same species, let alone get along with fish from another clownfish species. I'd anticipate your Clarkiis to grow less tolerant of the Ocellaris clowns as they mature also. I've only seen True Percula and False Percula (Occelaris) mixed with acceptable results on a consistant basis.
 
So for what I understand that the scenario of adding the most aggressive fish last in a system to give the more passive fish time to establish themselves in the tank first. Doesn't apply to clownfish? So I either need to keep the separator in the tank or find a new home for him?
 
Back
Top