Ocellaris sex change - How long does it take?

[Ardeus]

Hi,

I have a couple of ocellaris (orange male and black and white female) and they were happy for a few years.

A couple of months ago I got their first anemones (2 BTA's) and they took to them immediatly.

Then I got a dwarf angel and although he stressed the couple of ocellaris a bit, things were ok for a few weeks.



One day I woke up and I found the female ocellaris cornered at the top of the tank with both the centropyge and the male ocellaris taking turns to harass her.

I don't know who started it, but I removed the centropyge.

The male ocellaris kept harassing the female and he wouldn't allow her back in the anemones. But day by day, she managed to get closer and closer.

Yesterday I changed some corals position and it served as a reset on their pecking order.

At night, an hour before the lights went out, they started an ugly fight and the female regained the upper hand... I thought that everything was coming back to order, because after that, he was submissive and she wasn't being nasty to him.

Today, he decided to resist again and he doesn't let her in the anemone.

Is it possible he already changed to a female? How long does the process take? Can he possible in the middle? What happens in these situations?

 

[Ardeus]

Since she has a better temper than him, would it help to let her alone in the the tank so she can claim the anemones back and then re introduce him (if indeed he is still a male)?

 

[Ardeus]

Said and done.

He's now in a large transparent container where he can see the anemones. The female already moved to the anemones.

I'm going to let him stay there all day, looking at the female in the anemones to see if he gets the idea that that place it's hers. I hope this will also boost her confidence.

 

[eclown]

They look a bit similar in size. If so, that's odd to me. Usually the female is around 20% larger than the dominant male. And he is 20% larger than the rest of the herd.
The 20% is not an actual,, just a round about from what I've seen and read.
Are they as close in size as they look in the pic?

 

[Ardeus]

No, I think it's the perspective, she's really around 20% bigger than him. But she used to be 100% bigger, speaking in terms of weight or volume.

I kept him in the container for 3 hours or so and then released him. He now respects her and she's nice to him. She doesn't let him get too close to the anemones, but I hope they are on the right track now.

This all happened around the time that there was a really bad weather on the island 1 month ago.

There was a fish store that was completely submerged... I wonder what happened to the fish when the water level went to the ceiling.

 

[clownman77]

it would usely take about a year the most

 

[eclown]

Put the little guy in a time out and bam!...behavior. Good call. It seems that maybe the angel is just a bit too much harmony. Maybe they will learn to live together.

It's not the fish I wonder about when the water level goes to the ceiling...it's the other critters :^)

 

[Ardeus]

Those all other critters died, along with almost 50 people.

Two weeks ago, I took the angel to another fishstore and he's waiting for a new owner.

Today things seem to continue on the good way. But not all signs are good.

She allows him to be close, but he can't touch the anemones. He's allowed to be half an inch from them, no more.

But yesterday, they locked jaws for half a second.

When she moves towards him, he just moves away a bit, he doesn't offer his belly or quiver.

On the other hand she is not mean at all to him, and even when she pushes him away, she's gentle.