Price for a pair of clownfish? (might be selling)

[X_flamingo_X]

Hi, i'm new to the forums and this is a question I really need answered lol.

I have a 30 gallon that was set up mainly for seahorses. In the end it turned out housing one Hippocampus Reidi, and two clownfish ( pair, false-percula clownfish ). One was taken in because I had to get rid of the ten gallon it was in (had the first clown one for about over 2 years), and the second was given to me for for free from someone my mom works with. She was getting rid of her saltwater tank and I took everything in it including the clown which is about 6-7 years old, and the coral banded shrimp ( now in our 55).

After being placed in the tank they instantly formed a pair. Lately they've been doing short "courtings", but never fully going through with it. Since they now have a "little buddy" to play with they're hyper as can be, which is not good for my seahorse. They just eat too much ( about a cube or two of mysis which is supposed to be for the seahorse) and are too active which freaks the seahorse out at times. And today I even caught one take a small nip at the end of it's tail while it was swimming at the top of the water.

Overall, they need to go. The only way I can keep them is if I can somehow sell the clarkii clown in our 55 (it's ugly and mean) and place them in there. If not I'd like to sell them to one of the lfs's around here. They're just to nuts to keep with mellow fish and my seahorse just seems to be a little stressed, it hides more than usual. I'd like to get more (seeing seahorses, pipefish, etc. are my favorite sw fish and are mainly what i'd like to keep) but I'm kind of stuck with them being in there. I also need the money for a future indoor pond i'm doing in November so this might help out a little.

How much would a pair of false percula clownfish go for these days? i've seen up to 50-60 dollars in the higher priced sites, but I doubt I should sell them for that much. 30-40 bucks okay? The only thing i'm worried about is the fact that they aren't "proven breeders", would this hurt the money amount in things?

THanks in advance and thanks for reading this long post. I just wanted to let you know as much as possible, these two fish are both somewhat old, one of them being one of my first saltwater fish I bought a few years ago, and i'd like the best for them and also don't want to be ripped off.

 

[OrionN]

If you have one Ocellaris alone for 2 years, it is most likely a female by now. The other Ocellaris also alone for 5 years, it is also a female. I don't think you have a breeding apair because they are both female. I don't think you can sell them as a pair. My LFS sale a pair of Percula or Ocellaris for 60 dollars.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

you can sell them as a pair, just not a mated pair

even if there both females, males whatever. there still a pair if they get along.

if they are nice, someone will pay whatever price you ask......

if you are concerned about there well-being, just make sure they go to a more experienced clown hobbyist/reefer.

 

[X_flamingo_X]

Thanks, I was kind of confused on the whole thing. I asked a few other people and they all told me that they would change sexes and become a pair.

Lol I guess i'll try selling them to a place about an hour away from here. They mainly have saltwater fish and I trust them 100 percent, hopefully I can get up there.

I would keep them, don't get me wrong, but I just can't worry about them at the moment.

Thanks for responding quickly, lol I tried finding the thread again today and it was on the third page already .

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

yes, they are correct, eventually two clownfish will prob. change sex and become a pair, but it still doesnt mean they will become a mated pair. evironmental conditions on the owners part is also a determining variable.

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7970912#post7970912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by embryoguy
yes, they are correct, eventually two clownfish will prob. change sex and become a pair, but it still doesnt mean they will become a mated pair. evironmental conditions on the owners part is also a determining variable.

Interesting information. I have never heard of a clownfish that can "go back" from being a female. Got any references?

 

[55semireef]

All clownfish females are the result of males undergoing a sex change, or protandric hermaphrodites as they are called. In most host anemones a small harem of clownfish are present. Generally, this harem contains a single female, a single male, and several juvenile fish. The female is the most dominant member of the harem, and her constant attention to the harem ensures that the male does not develop into a female. When the female becomes absent from the harem, the male will assume the role of the female. Once a female, the fish cannot revert back to male. Both the male and female inhibit the sex change tendency of the juveniles. This phenomenon is often referred to as "psychophysical castration." When the male undergoes sex change and becomes a female, the juveniles will battle to determine who the most dominant member is. The winner will then grow testicles and become a male. These sex changes will occur in less than one month. In some instances, immigrating fish may disrupt this natural hierarchy. Some species (A. clarkii) have been noted to roam over 500 feet in search of another host anemone. In these cases, males and females may get thrown out of their host anemone by a stronger individual that left their original host anemone. Generally, these migrating specimens were displaced from their previous anemone in similar fashion. Juveniles will also migrate to nearby host anemones in hopes of moving up in the pecking order. In rare situations, juveniles may skip over the step of becoming a male, instead maturing from a juvenile into a female. This may occur if a male and female are not present in the host anemone, or a roaming juvenile is more dominant than the present female and male.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/hcs3/index.php

 

[skinpuppi]

From my readings in most Clownfish books you will see that there is evidedence of some clown species able to change sex back to male. Here is one of my favorite reads.

Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clownfish by Frank Hoff

 

[OrionN]

All the books on clownfish I read indicated that the development of clownfish from juv. to male the female is one way. There is no going back.

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7971296#post7971296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skinpuppi
From my readings in most Clownfish books you will see that there is evidedence of some clown species able to change sex back to male. Here is one of my favorite reads.

Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clownfish by Frank Hoff

Got any references. Yes you can talk but show me. I gave you mine.

 

[skinpuppi]

I just did.

Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clownfish by Frank Hoff


Sorry I can't give you the page number. The book is being borrowed right now.

 

[55semireef]

Must have skipped that. I still have a hard time believe your reference. Yes they may have claimed succeess that a female has gone back to a male.

 

[skinpuppi]

The info in the book is from 3 Breeding facilities that where heavily documented in many facets of the process.

 

[55semireef]

Interesting.

 

[skinpuppi]

By process, I meant like it says in the title Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of the fish. Not specifically the process of changing sex. I reread my post and thought it may have sounded misleading. I believe it document 4 or so species that they could confirm were able to change back and a few others they believe can go back to male.

 

[Anemone]

All of the information that I have read (both from breeders here and from multiple published sources) indicate that the transformation is one-way - immature juvenile to male to female. I'd be very interested if anyone had any credible information to the contrary.

And I'm not saying it's not possible - the amount we don't know about the inhabitants on the reef far outwieghs what we do know. It's just that clowns are one of the most successfully bred captive marine ornamental species, and the conventional wisdom seems to be that the change is one way.

Kevin

 

[55semireef]

Re: Price for a pair of clownfish? (might be selling)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7954267#post7954267 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by X_flamingo_X
Hi, i'm new to the forums and this is a question I really need answered lol.

I have a 30 gallon that was set up mainly for seahorses. In the end it turned out housing one Hippocampus Reidi, and two clownfish ( pair, false-percula clownfish ). One was taken in because I had to get rid of the ten gallon it was in (had the first clown one for about over 2 years), and the second was given to me for for free from someone my mom works with. She was getting rid of her saltwater tank and I took everything in it including the clown which is about 6-7 years old, and the coral banded shrimp ( now in our 55).

After being placed in the tank they instantly formed a pair. Lately they've been doing short "courtings", but never fully going through with it. Since they now have a "little buddy" to play with they're hyper as can be, which is not good for my seahorse. They just eat too much ( about a cube or two of mysis which is supposed to be for the seahorse) and are too active which freaks the seahorse out at times. And today I even caught one take a small nip at the end of it's tail while it was swimming at the top of the water.

Overall, they need to go. The only way I can keep them is if I can somehow sell the clarkii clown in our 55 (it's ugly and mean) and place them in there. If not I'd like to sell them to one of the lfs's around here. They're just to nuts to keep with mellow fish and my seahorse just seems to be a little stressed, it hides more than usual. I'd like to get more (seeing seahorses, pipefish, etc. are my favorite sw fish and are mainly what i'd like to keep) but I'm kind of stuck with them being in there. I also need the money for a future indoor pond i'm doing in November so this might help out a little.

How much would a pair of false percula clownfish go for these days? i've seen up to 50-60 dollars in the higher priced sites, but I doubt I should sell them for that much. 30-40 bucks okay? The only thing i'm worried about is the fact that they aren't "proven breeders", would this hurt the money amount in things?

THanks in advance and thanks for reading this long post. I just wanted to let you know as much as possible, these two fish are both somewhat old, one of them being one of my first saltwater fish I bought a few years ago, and i'd like the best for them and also don't want to be ripped off.

Some pictures might help solve this.

 

[Rwojick]

I believe it was documented in the clownfish issue of coral mag about clarkii clowns. However, it doeses not state if it was a behavioral or sexual transformation. I could just be the behaviors that changed.
Rob

 

[clord]

Joyce's clownfish book says clarkii can go back and fourth.

 

[X_flamingo_X]

Ok, well this thread got a little..off track, but it's a good read nontheless. I'll try getting some pics if I can find my camera. They're speedy little buggers so it may take a while to get a good pic lol.