Pairing Clownfish

[JHardman]

You should be OK, give them a little time and keep an eye on his damage level.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

My female black perc has spent the last few days just laying around inside her colt coral. She is literally just laying there atop the colts large central stalk and branches, snuggles with it ocassionally, but doesn't move much.
She appears to be fine when I stick my hand in there (to make sure she is still alive), but she is not swimming around much. The male is out and about all the time but also swims into the colt and lays there with her. The last two feedings she would not come out to feed. This is what worried me the most.
The pair normally swim throughout the tank.
Is this normal behavior for her? Could she just be settling in or is she possibly sick? Could this be a precursor for egg laying?
I have not had mated clowns before this, so this is all new to me.
Tank parameters are all withing norms and no new additions that would stress her out.
Thanks for the opinions/advice.
_________________
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you" Gandalf

 

[Atticus]

sonofgaladriel,
Welcome to Reef Central!!! Wish I could do the cool Welcome logo... How long have you had your pair? If they were recently purchased or another fish recently added without QT you might have a sick fish. Is there any white stringy feces or heavy breathing that you witnessed?

 

[want2reef]

I have a 1" black saddleback I have had for about 3 months now.

My question is, can I add 2" Saddleback I have located, or should I get one the same size?


Kevin.

 

[JHardman]

I have a 1" black saddleback I have had for about 3 months now.

My question is, can I add 2" Saddleback I have located, or should I get one the same size?


Kevin.

Is your current fish WC or CB? If CB how old is the fish?

 

[want2reef]

I wish I could tell ya. The store I got "it" from couldn't tell me.

I can tell ya one thing, "it" loves my LTA!

Kevin.

 

[JHardman]

I wish I could tell ya. The store I got "it" from couldn't tell me.

I can tell ya one thing, "it" loves my LTA!

Kevin.

I think we can safely assume the fish is WC then. That being the case there is no way to tell the age of the fish, so again we can safely assume that it is old enough to have and change sex.

You should assume that the fish you have now is a female and find a small fish to try to pair it with.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

re:female black perc concern

re:female black perc concern

Atticus- She shows no signs of being ill. She has started eating again, but will not venture more than a few inches from the colt coral host. She continues to lay utop the main stalk and branches but will chase away fish that come near her.
I am glad that she is eating again, but she will not leave the vicinity of the colt for the food, whereas before she would swim the tank to grab food.
I have given her a thorough inspection and there are no signs of infection, parasites, loss of weight, or shallow breathing.
I have not seen any egg deposits either.

 

[Atticus]

I doubt you will see egg depositing as these clowns are fairly difficult to get to spawn. I think you are just seeing the hosting behavior.

 

[Rare Angels]

Does anyone have a compilation on pairing/spawning behaivoir that are specific to certain clowns? I have heard that some Skunks have a different way of showing submission, etc

It would be great if there was special information like this out there.

 

[JHardman]

Skunks... Well they tend to have more or less the same behaviors as other complexes. Where the difference lays is that the skunks can not quite make the quiver like other species. IMO that is from their incredible flexibility.

What I see with my skunks...

1) Dominate fish attacks.

2) Submissive fish takes up a perpendicular position to the dominate fish.

3) The submissive fish turns it's belly towards to the dominate fish.

4) The dominate fish goes more or less vertical and stops.

Pretty much the same as other species, except no real quiver. Sometime I see something that looks like they are trying to quiver, but it never really comes out as one.

 

[saltydawg24]

awesome art. i 'am p/u my pair soon from my local fish store.
thanx for the info.
saltydwag24

 

[johnbooko]

i finally got my pair of WC GSM's. the female is huge! i would say 6-7 inches. the male is about 1.5 inches and they say its a GS but its mis-barred with thin white bars. i have seen some mis-barred white stripes turn into gold stripes but that is not my issue. i was just curious as to whether the sexual maturity of the male would be noticeable by the stripes. the size difference is so dramatic i cant even imagine them laying eggs. its like a 900 lb wife with a 90 lb husband that only drinks prune juice. they are definately a bonded pair but if they are or ever were a mating pair is questionable. i know she is sexualy mature just what about the guy wearing the pants? thanks again for your brilliance.

john booko

 

[johnbooko]

One more thing john!

i was reading some of your old posts and i noticed you said something about a season change stimulating a spawn (possibly).
i was just curious what temp you used to simulate winter. i am guessing around 78 and then raising to 82 but you are the man and i was just checking. thanks again

john booko

 

[JHardman]

i finally got my pair of WC GSM's. the female is huge! i would say 6-7 inches. the male is about 1.5 inches and they say its a GS but its mis-barred with thin white bars. i have seen some mis-barred white stripes turn into gold stripes but that is not my issue. i was just curious as to whether the sexual maturity of the male would be noticeable by the stripes. the size difference is so dramatic i cant even imagine them laying eggs. its like a 900 lb wife with a 90 lb husband that only drinks prune juice. they are definately a bonded pair but if they are or ever were a mating pair is questionable. i know she is sexualy mature just what about the guy wearing the pants? thanks again for your brilliance.

john booko

Chances are really good that you have a white stripe male. It is unlikely to see one come in WC that is still white in the bars.

Yes he could very well be mature. I have had spawning males smaller than that. They were absolutely worthless at tending the nest, but they got the most important part of their job done.

IME GSM are pretty easy to get spawning. Generally you mess with temp with difficult spawners. If I was you, I would...

1) Feed to saturation 3+ times a day with a good varied diet.

2) Photo period with night light of 12-13 hours.

3) Water temp at ~82Ã"šÃ‚°F

4) Wait 4-6 months for signs of cleaning. If you don't see any cleaning by this point, then start adding BBS and/or Cyclop-eeze in the AM and PM.

 

[johnbooko]

awesome! thanks! i have really watched your stuff and its been very interesting and i saw that you have some video clips. do you have any clips of your GSM's. maybe some of them cleaning or even spawning? i think that would be very interesting. i know there is a vid of some other fish spawning in the faq but i think it would be helpful to set up a link for just clips, and i havent seen any of two cleaning. im sure its pretty obvious what it looks like but those clips can really inspire a person in this hobby i believe. thanks for your help.

john booko

 

[Atticus]

When they are seriously cleaning you can obviously tell. They will be side by side mouthing the nest site. You will notice it more in the first hour the lights come on and the last couple hours before the lights go off with they spuratically cleaning alone throughout the day. They will really kick it in the day\night before they lay a clutch.

 

[johnbooko]

i know what cleaning looks like but i was just saying how having a faq with just videos in it would be cool. my last post was very unclear. i am going to definately get some vids posted when it actually happens. i just think it would be helpful to everyone.

thanks
john booko

 

[BondUniverse]

I just bought 2 ORA Maroon Clowns, about 1" or less from head to base of tail. They have been fighting for the past 3 days now. I had one anenome when I introduced them, and just yesterday bought a BTA thinking that maybe one would take to each, but the fighting hasn't stopped. Is there any chance that they will pair up, or do I need to seperate them?

 

[JHardman]

I just bought 2 ORA Maroon Clowns, about 1" or less from head to base of tail. They have been fighting for the past 3 days now. I had one anenome when I introduced them, and just yesterday bought a BTA thinking that maybe one would take to each, but the fighting hasn't stopped. Is there any chance that they will pair up, or do I need to seperate them?

It is possible they will pair, but it is VERY unlikely. It is much more likely they will fight to the point that one or both die. You will need to try to follow the pairing guide lines I outline for maroons. You need one large and one small fish.