Pining

[JMorris271]

We lost a Picasso clown 3 days ago due to faulty heater and low Oxygen.
Is pining a typical reaction when a newly mated clown looses its mate?
The other fish are all over the tank and eating fine.
I have since added a power head instead of air stones and put in a Jager heater.
Thanks.

 

[Sk8r]

I don't think you could quite equate it to human grief, but perhaps the confusion part of it, searching for the lost mate. The problem now is, if it is the female you lost, this one will likely have to transition if you get another. I suspect (but ask someone who knows this species better) it would be safer to get an immature replacement rather than chance gender determination.

 

[JMorris271]

This one is about an inch. Sill fairly young.Might be better to wait a few months?
I had been under the impression that to pine was an applicable term to use for this kind of behavior. Never would I equate the death of a fish to some humans. Now a dog some and humans might be different. Thank you for the correction.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You should be fine getting an inch or sub inch clownfish now. Since yours is so small it's unlikely that it's turned female yet. Even if it has the new inch or sub inch coming from a tank full of others will likely not be sexed yet. They all start out as non sexed male that won't breed until paired with a female. In choosing a pair of these small clowns one will become female due to only having two fish together and they will pair. USUALLY