Ocellaris clownfish sex change.

duncantse

duncantse

Fish Advisor
At my LFS, there was a whole tank of about 50 juvenile ocelllaris clownfish. They were all a little bigger than an inch. When do they start changing to females or are some of them already females?
 
I don't know what the exact timeframe is, but I have had pairs in every one of my tanks that I didn't buy as mated pairs. And every pair has yielded a dominant female in a pretty short time.
 
JUst asked my LFS and they said the juvis has been in their tank for 3 weeks. Do you think they changed sex already cause I wanna buy a small one and a little bigger ocellaris so they can pair up in my tank.
 
If you were to get one of the largest and one of the smallest, then you could be pretty confident the small one is definitely still a male and that the largest will become the dominant female (if it hasn't become female already).
 
At a little bigger than an inch they're all male. But like gary said it would probably save a lot of infighting if you got one that was bigger and one that was smaller.
 
so i just have to find the biggest juvi in the tank and a small one then it will likely pair up right?
 
If they're still juvies and all together, chances are that they haven't changed sex but just to make sure you can just get the a big one and a small one. The big one will dominate and change sex eventually.
 
First off, welcome to reef central! I agree with what others have said--get the largest & smallest clowns you can find & hope for the best. It may take awhile, but sit back & enjoy the show. Clownfish have some of the most fascinating behavior in the marine world, IMO...Good luck!
 
One more question, while going to the LFS I'm planning to get more LR or base rock if my LFS has any. I currently have 10-15 lbs of LR. Should I acclimate my pair of clowns in the tank first or add the rock while I put my bag of clowns on the floor? I don't want any ammonia to build up so what is the best option?
 
duncantse said:
One more question, while going to the LFS I'm planning to get more LR or base rock if my LFS has any. I currently have 10-15 lbs of LR. Should I acclimate my pair of clowns in the tank first or add the rock while I put my bag of clowns on the floor? I don't want any ammonia to build up so what is the best option?
Click to expand...

If the rock is not 100% cured and kept submerged in water during the entire transport you will want to either add the rock first and wait 2-4 weeks for it to cure before adding fish or you can add the fish and let the rock cure in a separate container.
 
I guess I'll cure it in another separate container then. If I buy base rock, can I rinse it and put it straight in my tank?
 
At one month old, I doubt that your tank is finished cycling now. Personally, I'd wait a few more weeks before adding the clowns. Add a pinch of flake fishfood daily & the new live rock instead. If it's not completely cured, you'll probably experience a slight ammonia spike. When that happens, do a 15% water change, then add the clowns. You should plan on about one lb. of rock per gallon of tank.
 
Im pretty sure that my tank has finished cycleing. My results read ammonia:0 nitrite:0 and nitrate:10. also, i have added 4 turbo snails in my tank and they are doing great.
 
You can add the live rocks first, because there will be some die-offs after the transportation from the LPS to your tank and it might add extra bio-load to your system. IMO I'd say add the live rocks and then wait at least a week or two, to see if there is any ammonia spike, if you don't get any readings go ahead and add the clowns.
 
duncantse said:
Im pretty sure that my tank has finished cycleing. My results read ammonia:0 nitrite:0 and nitrate:10. also, i have added 4 turbo snails in my tank and they are doing great.
Click to expand...

IMO, do at least a 10 or 15% water change to get those nitrates down as close to zero, too. Inverts can tolerate 'new tank syndrome' better than fish. I'd still wait at least 2 wks before adding any fish. How long ago did you lose the other clown & damsel? It really doesn't sound like your tank is finished cycling...
 
I lose the clown and damsel because of ich. Put them in QT, forgot to do a wwatch change then ammonia and nitrite got too high and then they died
 
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