My Sea & Reef Phantoms

[kozmic]

Just wanted to start a thread to track progress of my latest additions...

Day one... arrival and temp acclimated for 30 minutes, rotating the bags every ten minutes, followed by a drip acclimation for 1.5 hrs, drip rate going through about three quarts to a gallon of tank water during that time.

 

[kozmic]

Day two. Getting used to their new home.

Some may ask about QT... I believe in QT, but this DT had been fish-less for about four months, and so I took a chance and will observe them in this tank.

 

[kozmic]

Three weeks in...

 

[jah hoeva]

Nice fish. I just got a small one for my ocy.

 

[oh207]

Very nice pair. I have an adult for a year now and just added a juvi a few weeks ago to try and pair them up. So far they are getting along great.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[kozmic]

Thank you (both).

Yeah, I hope these two stay close. They currently get along very well, but they are still young (larger only about one and a half inch, and the other, one and a quarter inch).

Currently I see the larger one doing all the shaking for the smaller... Which seems funny, because the larger is the dominant also. I haven't seen the smaller of the two convulse once... But he does seem to immediately submit to the larger. But again, only with me for three weeks now, so... Maybe the larger one is trying to teach the smaller how to dance.

 

[kozmic]

Three and a half months, the S&R Phantoms I picked up from Cultivated Reef are still doing great.

 

[kozmic]

So, over the last two weeks, I have begun to notice that one is definitely growing faster/larger than the other... not sure if it is just a growth spurt or if they are deciding (or have decided) who will be wearing the skirt. (they have also been bickering quite a bit more, but no damage to fins, etc...)

I am really hoping that their faces fill in, completely black.

Anyhow... still very happy with my phantoms! :thumbsup:

:beer:

 

[DurtyByrd]

Just curious, is the one that was originally a quarter-inch bigger and convulsing, the same one that you suspect is the female now?

I am kind of in the same position. I bought two juvenile clownfish about 8 months ago and they are practically the same size but one is slightly bigger and does all of the shaking. I originally thought the one that shook would be the male but that conflicts with my observation of their size (bigger one is shaking).

 

[kozmic]

Yeah, same one that was originally doing all the shaking...and definitely the more aggressive/assertive of the two. The larger one doesn't convulse as much as the smaller one now, but still does from time to time.

 

[kozmic]

So a couple more weeks have passed, and so there are the updated pics.

You may notice a few nips on the smaller one's fins... he has been a bit of hard head as the larger one is trying to establish dominance... they do not constantly quibble, but every now and then, the larger one feels a need to "check" the smaller... they are swimming together and sleeping together, so I am not too worried about a couple nips here and there... they are both eating very well.

Sorry for the blur... my camera only seemed to want to focus on the glass...

eta: also, you may notice on the lower part of the larger one's face (as compared to the last pics), that the black is starting to fill in more.

 

[Wilrok_1]

The behavior is normal , clowns are born without sex and this behavior is the transition female will be bigger make smaller , if the sleep together they are a bonded pair , face should black all the way with age .

 

[kozmic]

Almost a year later... and I am happy to report the phantoms are doing great! Almost all of their orange is gone and there is a clear distinction between their sizes, and I can only assume that they're a happy couple, since they stay together all day and still sleep together (no egg laying activity yet though).

They have been on small pellet for most of the last six months with a treat of mysis shrimp every now and then (which they love).

 

[kozmic]

Couple better pics.

 

[kozmic]

last two... lol

 

[Irishdolphin]

Nice thread and good to see that all is working out. Looking back at the photos there really didn't seem to be a very large size difference so great that there no real fight over dominance. Love their colours.

 

[kozmic]

Thanks. Yeah, they were both about the same size, but also both juvi's, so I wasn't too worried about them fighting too much...but was ready to separate if needed.

They are from the same clutch, and I don't know how many generations of in-breeding before them, so if they ever do the mating dance, I will have to see how many deformities show up. (They might be first gen for all I know.)

I would plan on raising the fry if they do make eggs though, if only for the challenge of doing so...