New small clown chasing the old biggest one

[elchino_72]

I have read many post on how to pair clowns, and I did exactly what i read. I bought the second fish smaller than the first one I bought. The first week the biggest one was chasing the smallest one. However, since yesterday I have seen the new fish chasing the other. Whats happening ?? Is the small one going to be the female ?

 

[davocean]

Not unless you got a big smaller one!
It's not just one big to one small, the small has to be young enough to not have become a female yet, 1.5" max usually.
It could just be playful chasing, maybe.

 

[ThRoewer]

One possibility could be that the new fish is sick and that that is the reason why the smaller one chases him away.

 

[elchino_72]

The smallest one is the new one.. And he chases the old big one..

 

[ThRoewer]

What are their actual sizes? If for example the smallest is 3 inch and the new 4 you may have two females.

 

[elchino_72]

How would i know it. ??

 

[ThRoewer]

You don't know their sizes?

 

[Amoo]

Two things we need to know here. The kind or suspected kind of clowns and the sizes. For the kinds if you can provide side pictures of each clown we can determine that.

For size stick a tape measure or ruler next to the tank and try to get a good idea. Conversely, if you can get us a pic with something like a quarter or even a ruler as reference in the picture it would help.

 

[davocean]

Pics do wonders if you can post them

 

[DasCamel]

I had an older female clown, around 3 inches submit to the younger clown much smaller and definitely not female yet. She would shiver and submit to the smaller one. 2-3 months later, they are paired up and never leave each others side.

The submission lasted about a week. They never fought or hurt each other. I was very confused at first, every story I read had it reversed.

 

[ThRoewer]

I had an older female clown, around 3 inches submit to the younger clown much smaller and definitely not female yet. She would shiver and submit to the smaller one. 2-3 months later, they are paired up and never leave each others side.

The submission lasted about a week. They never fought or hurt each other. I was very confused at first, every story I read had it reversed.

Who is laying the eggs? Also, what you may interpret as submission may just have been standard mating behavior. The shivering is done by both and by no means a sign of submission on it's own.
Actually the shivering is more a sign of readiness to mate or spawn than submission.

 

[DasCamel]

Who is laying the eggs? Also, what you may interpret as submission may just have been standard mating behavior. The shivering is done by both and by no means a sign of submission on it's own.
Actually the shivering is more a sign of readiness to mate or spawn than submission.

I think the female was definitely ready to mate! That's it. They haven't done the deed yet, I think the younger one will soon be ready for the task. Good to know about it not being submissive but more of a courtship.

I'll post pics one it happens.

 

[Amoo]

I think the female was definitely ready to mate! That's it. They haven't done the deed yet, I think the younger one will soon be ready for the task. Good to know about it not being submissive but more of a courtship.

I'll post pics one it happens.

I wouldn't go tearing your tank apart just yet looking for eggs there Camel. Mine did basically the same thing when they were pairing up. One would shimmy and shake, then the other would. There was clearly a male and clearly a female, but they both did the dance. I wouldn't call it part of the egg laying process at all and would attribute it more to the natural way the bonding plays out.

Now when your female gets a belly the size of a balloon, then it's time to really start paying attention, until then, meh. FWIW my pair didn't have their first clutch until 8 months after I no longer saw the dance.

 

[DasCamel]

Lol yeah. Not in that much of a rush. I'm just happy they are a solid pair and in Mag.

 

[ThRoewer]

Clownfish don't really lay their eggs in a cave.
Usually they prefer a smooth rock surface underneath their anemone.
If you give them a ceramic flowerpot instead of an anemone they will lay their eggs on its inside.
The latter is the better solution if you plan on breeding.

 

[elchino_72]

Sorry for not posting lately.. I will take pics today... They keep fighting, and the biggest one is shaking...

 

[elchino_72]

Here are the 2 pics... the onyx is the biggest one..

 

[Amoo]

oh man yeah not to worry, your "biggest one" still looks quite small to me. Either one of those two could end up being female from what I can tell from the pictures.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I agree with Amoo. It also could be the smaller one has started to turn female from the sounds of it's personality.

 

[elchino_72]

Yeah thanks everyone.. I am just going to keep an eye on them so they don't kill each other