Question about Clowns bonding

[fearyaks]

Hi, I have two Occy's in my second tank that have been together for about a year... one clearly female, the other clearly male.

They co-exist 100% fine but they definitely don't seem bonded. They don't sleep near each other, they don't hang out near each other... I don't even see the female try to dominate the male. They just... 'live' together.

Is this typical behavior with captive bred clowns? Since we seem to be selecting for physical traits versus behavioral do they just 'lack instinct'?

Thanks very much in advance for any advice!

 

[davocean]

Many do this especially at first.
Do they have a host nem?
Often that brings them together more, and as they mature and spawn they usually become pretty much insepperable.
It takes SO long to breed out an animals instincts, I really don't think WC or TB makes a huge difference.

 

[fearyaks]

Thanks Davo! It's a great question, in fact I figured I'd give the anemone a shot to encourage them so I picked up a BTA this weekend. Perhaps that will encourage them.

My other pair (in my other tank) bonded pretty quickly in QT without one so I wasn't sure it was 'required'.


I'll update this thread with my findings (hopefully) in a few weeks.

 

[ThRoewer]

Them not hanging out together is not normal. Usually two clowns of the same species will stay close to each other during the day and sleep at a minimum near each other at night.

How large are the clowns?
How big is their tank?
Do they have an anemone or some surrogate like a coral, a ceramic flowerpot,..?
Are they alone or are there other fish with them?

 

[davocean]

Actually I disagree w/ that comment.
When my picasso's were young they bonded quickly, but there was a period when the female would go off exploring tank for a while, often leaving the male sitting in their frogspawn(that was their host for some time)
Perhaps the female was seeking a more preferable host.
This lasted a month or more, and like OP I was semi concerned, but they came back to being tight.
I've seen and read this similar situation many times on here.
You do not have to have a nem for a host, frogspawn or hammer or similar may substitute, but either way a nesting area helps increase that bond and keeps them together.
If you do choose a nem I would try to have a natural host nem/clown match for best results.

 

[ThRoewer]

Going on an exploration trip and then coming back to the other is something entirely different than going their own ways all the time.
The first case is normal, especially when they have no anemone, the second case shows they are not interested in each other, which is something I have never had so far.

 

[dbl]

This is a timely topic for me personally. Not claiming to be an expert on clowns (or anything aquaria for that matter) but I've had a pair of tank-bread Snowflakes for a little over 10 months. I guess technically they "œbonded" some time ago, but became a "œmated" pair this weekend, evidenced by their first batch of eggs.

I too was worried they were lacking the instinct and were avoiding their "œspecial cuddle", but I guess even the tank-bread species can find love. It seems silly to get excited over something so perfectly natural; but, that fact it happened in my living room, is pretty amazing.

 

[davocean]

Going on an exploration trip and then coming back to the other is something entirely different than going their own ways all the time.

Well I know in at least my case that explorational period was lengthy, more often away than together by far, 6' tank, at opposite end often.
Then came the day they started spawning, from there they were never apart, w/ or w/out a sea anemone host.

 

[Amoo]

I'm with Dave here and would call this perfectly normal behavior. My Picassos did the same thing. 6' tank, 3 host nems (1 on each side, third in middle) and they would often times sleep in different nems. Now that they are a mated pair Dad never moves more then 12" from the spawning location (center nem, thank heavens) and mom checks the other two a few times a day. They both sleep in the center nem every night now.

 

[ThRoewer]

Well, with 3 anemones in a 6 ft tank I'm not surprised about such a behavior.

 

[Amoo]

For some additional reassurance on this topic, Dad in my tank is actively guarding eggs under the center anemone. When lights came on this morning at 10am, Mom was in the far left nem sleeping, Dad was guarding the eggs. Mom finally decided to roll out of bed at 10:40 which is why I'm typing this at 10:41 and finally meander over to the middle nem. I think she would have stopped at Starbucks on her way if she could have. She certainly is in no hurry.

 

[ThRoewer]

For some additional reassurance on this topic, Dad in my tank is actively guarding eggs under the center anemone. When lights came on this morning at 10am, Mom was in the far left nem sleeping, Dad was guarding the eggs. Mom finally decided to roll out of bed at 10:40 which is why I'm typing this at 10:41 and finally meander over to the middle nem. I think she would have stopped at Starbucks on her way if she could have. She certainly is in no hurry.

Maybe if there would be other males available she would also have an affair or two on the side...