Pairing my Maroons

[dfm34]

Hi all

I just picked a small ( 1/4") Maroon to try and pair up with my Lg (3") maroon. I placed the small Maroon into a container and placed it next to my BTA. The Lg maroon made a few aggressive moves towards the container the small maroon was immediately submissive. The large clown has since left the container alone, it has been about an hour. I assume this is a good sign but my question is how long should I wait before I release the small maroon?

Thanks

 

[dfm34]

A quick correction the sm clown is approx 1 1/4" Sorry for the typo. And the small one has been in the container in the tank over night and all seams peaceful. About how long should I wait to release the sm maroon.

Thanks

 

[jtreefdweller]

It's not really a matter of time, it's really a hit or miss. I would release the small one and if it starts getting beat up remove him as soon as possible.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13586696#post13586696 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jtreefdweller
It's not really a matter of time, it's really a hit or miss. I would release the small one and if it starts getting beat up remove him as soon as possible.

when i 1st introduced my smaller perc to the bigger, they fought incessantly for hours till i was forced to take the smaller one out. i ended up putting it in my large fishnet & then hanging it in the water overnite.....that gave them proximity w/out being able to fight. i released the smaller one back into the tank the next day & they have gotten along great ever since

 

[skyrne_isk]

having a large size differential as possible is the best advantage to start with when pairing maroons. The next biggest concern is to have a tank large enough so the little maroon can get away. Having a BTA for the larger female maroon will help keep her "anchored" to a specific spot in the aquarium - she won't likely want to stray too far from her host to chase the male. The first time I paired up maroons on the first ry (meaning the male didn't get the beating of his life) was when I just dumped in a little maroon into a 180 that had a female maroon and BTA. the male's ability to get away from the female was key to her eventually accepting him. Now on another occasion, I dropped a different 1.5" male maroon into 40G breeder with a 3" female hosting in a BTA and the male went straight into the BTA and the female immediately started protecting him. Go figure.

 

[Mike31154]

You've got a good sized tank and your resident is hosting in a BTA, so you should be able to release the male. He's got plenty of avenues of escape. As posted, it could be hit or miss but the fact that the resident is no longer aggressive towards the juvenile in the container bodes well for a successful pairing.

 

[Mikigo]

I lost my male maroon. Just added another juv of about 3/4". The female accepted him without any issue. She is about 4". No aggression what so ever. I agree with the bigger the size difference will increase your chances. Good luck.

 

[chowberg]

I signed on to create a thread on the same topic. I love reefcentral.

I have a maroon about 3 inches I put in a few days ago and I purchased a smaller maroon today. I misjudged the size and the smaller one is only about half an inch to an inch shorter. I do not have an anenome in the tank. I was going put the smaller one in a tupperware with holes in it. Is this a lost cause? Should I just leave the smaller maroon in the sump? Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[skyrne_isk]

i would give you 10 to 1 that it will not end well. they're both too large, too similarly sized, both likely female.

 

[Mike31154]

Risky yes, but not out of the question. My current pairing evolved from two Maroons close to the same size, although both were less than 3 inches for sure. The resident was hosting in a BTA at the time and it took close to a month for them to get sorted out. The new addition spent a lot of time cruising near the surface out of harms way. There were a number of scuffles but no serious injuries.

I'd say it's worth a try with the tupperware container just to see how they react. You can always take the new one back if it looks like it may not submit.

 

[Premnas]

I must agree, the larger the size difference, the better chance of a pairing.

 

[chowberg]

still trying, but no luck. people weren't kidding when they said maroons are mean. thanks for all your help guys, i'll let everyone know if they pair

 

[glenns]

I started out with a 1" tank raised Maroon clown from PetCo of all places. a few months later I bought a 3 - 4 inch Maroon from my LFS. For a few weeks, she bullied the original Maroon a little. Fortunately the small clown was able to hide. Now they seem to have accepted one another. The smaller one now has a more reddish color that before. I'm thinking that one is now a male. The two still don't seem to hang out together. But I have caught the female visiting the male's paly's at night. She does not appear to be attacking him. I've also noticed the male fanning out sand at the base of his paly rock. But they don't stay together. I'm guessing they have not paired.