New Percula in the tank with the old Percula, need advice!

[SputnikNYC]

Hey all

I had a pair of True Percula clowns, one of them died under unknown circumstance, the other still lives in my tank and been in there for about 7-8 months. A week ago i was picking up some Green/Blue Chromis and i've seen this pretty Percula clown with nice coloration and uneven white spots, so got him as well!

My old True Percula hosting an RBTA and after i introduced the new clown, he headed straight for the anemone, of course the old one was doing his little head shake dance, but it didn't bothered new one much, he was trying to get in it the whole day, sometimes he would get really close and touch the tentacles, but eventually back off, after the lights went out, he just left the anemone and found a spot on the bottom away from the anemone!

Ever since that first day the old one acts all territorial, he's not harassing the new one, but kinda controls him and i'm noticing that the new one hangs around in the one spot and NOT very excited about the food! He can bite a few times, but nothing major, mostly spits it back out! Sometimes the old one would pick on him, but not continuously!

Need some advice folks, i wouldn't wanna loose the clown, or starve him to death, i hate when it happens!

P.S. The new clown slightly smaller then the old one!

 

[ange062]

Check out this awesome pairing guide from the FAQ stickied at the top of this forum:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215098

 

[SputnikNYC]

^Thanks for the link

Here's a few images i took with my iPhone, is there a way of describing the sex, can you tell if those are male or female? The one with more Black on his/her body is the old Percula!

 

[2Addicted]

The new fish is an Ocellaris not a percula.

 

[SputnikNYC]

The new fish is an Ocellaris not a percula.

Hmm, it was sold as Percula for some reason, i'm not really good at Clown species...

So, does that mean that they will never get along?

 

[BlueFyre]

No, I have a pair that is a perc with an ocellaris. But there may not be enough size difference. If you want to add a new clown it does best to add a very small one so you know it's not a female. Two females will not get along.

 

[2Addicted]

No, I have a pair that is a perc with an ocellaris. But there may not be enough size difference. If you want to add a new clown it does best to add a very small one so you know it's not a female. Two females will not get along.

+1 I also have a Percula/Ocellaris pair.

 

[SputnikNYC]

Should i give them some time, or exchange/return?

 

[davocean]

The mix of species is fine, it's just hard to say if your old one was or is becoming female.
I would keep them and keep an eye for excessive fin tearing/aggression.

 

[westohooligan]

Was your perc, when it was paired originally, the larger of the 2? I remember reading that a solitary clown will inevitably become female, so adding a larger clown is not usually a good idea. All of my current pairs are mixed species percula/ocellaris pairs.

 

[SputnikNYC]

Was your perc, when it was paired originally, the larger of the 2? I remember reading that a solitary clown will inevitably become female, so adding a larger clown is not usually a good idea. All of my current pairs are mixed species percula/ocellaris pairs.

He was smaller!

 

[Baboo11]

Sounds like you might have two females. You would have better luck exchanging the new one for a small -and likely male - one.

 

[gg1111]

give it time,and you will know if they are both females!!! if one starts to submit (shakes and shivers when charged at) then your ok!!+1 on it being an ocelaris but they do look nice together!!

 

[poorguy]

It may takes sometime for the old one to accept the new one.