Need Age of my 2 Clarkii

[Hodad2]

Hello everyone,
I'm Paul. I'm new to this area of RC. I've been in the hobby for over 15 years, but I have recently developed a desire to keep clownfish. I never wanted because I didn't want to be someone hat was part of the clownfish craze and the "œdesigner" clowns honestly seemed cheap like those people that inject fish with die so the glow for a few months and then die. Not that I'm saying that designer people are necessarily that bad, but I've always been the type of guy who likes stock engines and original parts, "œOG" if you will...LOL.
Anyways my first pair of Clark's were bought around 4-5 mos ago. They've exhibited pairing with the male having a seizure disorder which he exhibited a lot immediately but has died down last two weeks, not sure why. Here's a pic of the two, as I was hoping you all would help me decide on an estimate age.
By the way I also recently got a pair of Maroons, already exhibiting some pairing/dominance behavior already but look very young. I keep them in my refugium.
I also have a pair of Striped Blennies, or at least I think they're a pair, and a pair of cleaner shrimp. Looking for a neon cleaner goby mate, and shark nose cleaner goby mate as well.

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[OurCoralReef]

Need Age of my 2 Clarkii

So you can't tell age from looking at them or size
The seizure behavior is a pairing sign
put two of the same type of clownfish together and they will more than likely Show that type of behavior

Back to age Most clown fish sold in stores are about six to eight months old Breeders don't want to keep them longer then that because every day that they keep them it costs them more money so calculate that plus how much time they were in the store and add 4-5 months you most likely have clownfish that are a year old

 

[OurCoralReef]

Maroon clownfish are a bit different they do have juvenile coloring so you can tell if they are juveniles or adults

 

[Hodad2]

Maroon clownfish are a bit different they do have juvenile coloring so you can tell if they are juveniles or adults

Ok. I will have to look closely at a few pictures of maroons. Yes, I already knew that they were a pair, as I was saying in my previous post, because the male had already been showing signs of that the day I brought them home. Now, what I maybe didn't say i guess is that I actually got them at a Petco and I know the woman that handles the aquatics dept. I told her that I was looking for the oldest PAIR of clowns if she had. She took me right to these guys. So it's good possibility that they could be quite a bit older that just the usual standard amount of time. I'd say 18-24mos....yeah? Well we will see I guess. I'll def keep u informed. And I don't think Petco gets rid of their fish that have been there too long, they just don't order more. No expensive real estate at Petco I'm afraid, haha. This is very interesting. I even have my rotifers stewing as we speak. I wanted to be practiced for that time, if it happens lol.
I guess maybe I should've asked, is there a way that you can tell that a female is carrying eggs/ready to spawn? BESIDES the cleaning of the clutch site...


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[Hodad2]

Ok. I will have to look closely at a few pictures of maroons. Yes, I already knew that they were a pair, as I was saying in my previous post, because the male had already been showing signs of that the day I brought them home. Now, what I maybe didn't say i guess is that I actually got them at a Petco and I know the woman that handles the aquatics dept. I told her that I was looking for the oldest PAIR of clowns if she had. She took me right to these guys. So it's good possibility that they could be quite a bit older that just the usual standard amount of time. I'd say 18-24mos....yeah? Well we will see I guess. I'll def keep u informed. And I don't think Petco gets rid of their fish that have been there too long, they just don't order more. No expensive real estate at Petco I'm afraid, haha. This is very interesting. I even have my rotifers stewing as we speak. I wanted to be practiced for that time, if it happens lol.
I guess maybe I should've asked, is there a way that you can tell that a female is carrying eggs/ready to spawn? BESIDES the cleaning of the clutch site...


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So are gold stripe maroons considered premium?


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[OurCoralReef]

Need Age of my 2 Clarkii

Ok. I will have to look closely at a few pictures of maroons. Yes, I already knew that they were a pair, as I was saying in my previous post, because the male had already been showing signs of that the day I brought them home. Now, what I maybe didn't say i guess is that I actually got them at a Petco and I know the woman that handles the aquatics dept. I told her that I was looking for the oldest PAIR of clowns if she had. She took me right to these guys. So it's good possibility that they could be quite a bit older that just the usual standard amount of time. I'd say 18-24mos....yeah? Well we will see I guess. I'll def keep u informed. And I don't think Petco gets rid of their fish that have been there too long, they just don't order more. No expensive real estate at Petco I'm afraid, haha. This is very interesting. I even have my rotifers stewing as we speak. I wanted to be practiced for that time, if it happens lol.
I guess maybe I should've asked, is there a way that you can tell that a female is carrying eggs/ready to spawn? BESIDES the cleaning of the clutch site...


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Im sorry to say but Petco fish dont last too long in there tanks they usually die of infection
The longest i have seen a fish at Petco is 2 weeks
You should ask Petco how long have they had the last pair for

You are probably premature clownfish don't start breeding until about 2-2 and half years

The way i can tell my fish are about to lay eggs is a extremely fat belly and the night they lay eggs you can see a little tube sticking out both the male and female

 

[Hodad2]

I think your exaggerating and generalizing a we bit. If the fish looks healthy and quarantines ok, what the difference?? Most of fish come from ORA always, even your favorite LFS. Maybe they won't admit it. They aren't famous for they're husbandry, I'll give you that, but I e asked enough questions and know the people at my local one well. It's never been a problem for me. And they've even worked with me in the past with a fish that died within a couple days with receipt. I entirely disagree with you from my standpoint. Do my fish look sick?


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[Hodad2]

What am I being premature about....raising rotifers? Why not? What's the harm? I just made 560$ in three days raising those prematurely. I just meant/stated in my posts that I wasn't expecting them to EMINENTLY SQUEEZE OUT SOME EGGS, I'm trying to get some straight answers, not the whole Petco tangent. Wow, I shuldnt have even said Petco. It's not relevant. I'm talking about behaviors, not the well known stuff that I can read from a book. I'm talking about spawning behavior that people notice who have raised clownfish. Not the twitching behavior that a male shows towards a dominant female...that can go on for their whole lifetime. Just because a set has paired doesn't necessarily mean they will spawn. But there are other, behaviors minor, subtle but show that the pair will spawn soon....not the cleaning, but speaking of that, does THAT even ALWAYS mean that they will lay a clutch? I've seen mine do that all the time. What does that mean? You see?


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[Hodad2]

They have such interesting behavior. And I'm usually a coral guy, lol


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[davocean]

LOTS of misinformation on this post, from lumping all petco's/petco fish and designers into such a generalized statement as if they are all the same or inevitable same outcome, to comparing designers to dye injected fish, totally different.

All fish should be quarantined and assumed carrying disease and observed before intro to display, regardless of where they come from, petco is not a death sentence, and not all petco's are the same just as not all designer breeders are the same either.

Dyed fish have been physically manually altered, a designer originally came from the wild, a natural occurance similar to albino fish/reptiles, and selectively bred, and when done responsibly causes no harm to the fish.

As for age, it's anyone's guess from pics, no one could say for sure.

As for pairing behavior vs spawning behavior, yes this looks different, I'm looking at my picasso pair that are very obviously showing signs of what will be their first spawn, just frisky playfulness that can sometimes be confused w/ aggression as they can be very rambunctious, and you will see them aggressively cleaning a surface in preparation for laying eggs, I'm sure just by my observations I'll be seeing eggs w/in a week.

 

[Drblakjak55]

Why?


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[OurCoralReef]

So i feel you miss-read some of my answers i feel my answers need some clarification ***** please let me know if you have any questions ill be more than glad to give you my opinion

Im sorry to say but Petco fish dont last too long in there tanks they usually die of infection
**** (so if you see a healthy fish there it most probably just arrived in my personal experience, i live in NY and all the petcos i have visited have horrible fish practices, the tank design is flawed (and speaking to multiple managers is required in order to sell saltwater fish in any Petco) fish are full of parasites & infection every time i walk into a Petco, there are some fish that are not sick but it is rare or specific type of fish ie. gobbies that have a stronger tolerance to infection or parasites internal parasites is another conversation)

The longest i have seen a fish at Petco is 2 weeks
******(saying that your fish are around 2 weeks old at the time of purchase if its the fish they had the longest not saying your fish are sick or anything like that)

You should ask Petco how long have they had the last pair for
******(too see if your pair might be older maybe your petco sells fish at a slower rate)

You are probably premature clownfish don't start breeding until about 2-2 and half years
******(I meant that if it was for personal use as most people breed rotis for personal if you are making a business out of breeding them then great the more the better)

The way i can tell my fish are about to lay eggs is a extremely fat belly and the night they lay eggs you can see a little tube sticking out both the male and female
*****(as a person that breeds multiple clownfish i can tell you from personal experience this is how you can tell, my first time my display clownfish laid eggs was about a year after i saw them cleaning and chasing other fish away from there "œhome")

 

[davocean]

I understand Petco's in your area and your experience so far may not be great, and I'm not the poster boy for buying from them or anything, in fact years ago I did avoid them too, and a great many others as well, but then one of our local club members worked at one that was hub specializing in SW, and later I learned they can really vary, depending on who manages that Petco mainly.

I no longer clump them into one for this reason, each are the same to me as any individual LFS

Really no matter where you get your fish you should just assume they come w/ something, and always treat as such, QT before display introduction.

EVERY LFS or vendor has potential for a disease.

I do notice a fat belly as well, but before that is really obvious all clowns I've had clean an area to lay on at least a few days before, that's usually my first sign, but agree it gets pretty obvious to the point you pretty much know they are about to lay today.

And yes, this does come at nearly 2 years, maybe a little sooner if lucky.

 

[Hodad2]

I understand Petco's in your area and your experience so far may not be great, and I'm not the poster boy for buying from them or anything, in fact years ago I did avoid them too, and a great many others as well, but then one of our local club members worked at one that was hub specializing in SW, and later I learned they can really vary, depending on who manages that Petco mainly.

I no longer clump them into one for this reason, each are the same to me as any individual LFS

Really no matter where you get your fish you should just assume they come w/ something, and always treat as such, QT before display introduction.

EVERY LFS or vendor has potential for a disease.

I do notice a fat belly as well, but before that is really obvious all clowns I've had clean an area to lay on at least a few days before, that's usually my first sign, but agree it gets pretty obvious to the point you pretty much know they are about to lay today.

And yes, this does come at nearly 2 years, maybe a little sooner if lucky.

Actually I've gotten all of my fish from Petco because of lack of Other choices. The two SW LFS here over charge by twice as much for the same fish or whatever. The only time I will buy from LFS is if it a species that I can't get at petco. I found out that they order from the same breeders.


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