OK so I read the Clownfish pairing FAQ's but I have a question....I DID have a pair of true Perculas until this evening - the larger of the two (I am assuming the Female) got sucked into the intake of my skimmers powerhead and perished. So now I am left with the smaller of the two (I am assuming the Male). My question is obviously I would like to replace this fish so should I go for a larger Clown than the one I have ? The one I have left is kind of small so if possible I wouldn't want to get a new one even smaller than him....Thanks in advance !
Replacing a paired clownfish ?
- Thread starter Alexxn
- Start date
redvipe2010
In Memoriam
How small is the one you have now? And have you protected the intake so this doesn't happen again?
I was in the process of setting up a hospital tank and then I couldn't find her anywhere...
Flighty
Premium Member
I would assume they were both sick and set up the hospital tank for the remaining clown. Clowns are very prone to coming home from the store with illnesses, so it may be a good time to get that other clown and do the QT for both of them.
It is a slightly riskier option (exposing the third clown to whatever made the first die and exposing the second to whatever the third may have) but it is a much better option than getting a third clown now and having this all happen in your main tank.
It is a slightly riskier option (exposing the third clown to whatever made the first die and exposing the second to whatever the third may have) but it is a much better option than getting a third clown now and having this all happen in your main tank.
Tunjee
New member
So whats the answer to your question? Do you have to get a smaller clown? I dont know. Here's my theory....add a small gender neutral clown, the existing male turns into a female because it's dominant over the new little clown. The new clown then turns into a male. I am in the exact same situation as you at the moment. I have a little male who lost his female a few weeks ago. I"m not sure what to do. Also would a true perc pair with a false?
Find a store with a tank full of immature tank raised clowns. Make sure not to get the one being beat up or the one doing the beating, the rest should be neutral. It doesn't matter what yours is, it will likely be the female in the end. You just have to get through the territorial issue. Get a clear plastic box, make some holes. Put the new fish in the box in the tank. After aggression subsides move the box to where the old clown sleeps. Again after attacks and aggressive posturing stops release the fish. I have two pairs, one took two days the other 5 weeks.
Tunjee
New member
My little male perc is very aggresive. He attacks anything yellow I put into the tank. My algae scraper has a yellow blade attached to it and he goes absolutely nuts chargeing at it ramming it full speed. He will not however attack the immitation clownfish algae clip which is orange and not bright yellow like the scraper. Cant wait to see how he will behave when I add a juvi gender neutral tank raised perc. I think I'll try the fish in box thing first. Thanks.
Slakker, no it is not necessary, it really depends how territorial the original fish is. What it does do, is you do not have to try to save a fish with a net if things go bad.
I once had a fake perc female of 4yrs, grab a 1.5" juvenile by the belly in its mouth and rush it across the tank, 4 times in a row. Took hours to fish it out. Follwed with what I wrote and all was well. I just hate trying to catch things in my tank.
I once had a fake perc female of 4yrs, grab a 1.5" juvenile by the belly in its mouth and rush it across the tank, 4 times in a row. Took hours to fish it out. Follwed with what I wrote and all was well. I just hate trying to catch things in my tank.
Tunjee
New member
I added a new juvenile false perc yesterday. Used a clear speciman container with some holes drilled in it and hung it on the inside of the tank. The male never did anything bad towards the new fish. Waited about an hour and went ahead and let the new perc go. It got rammed quite a few times for the first hour than things settled down and the new fish is now tolerated within the tank and even allowed to go near the feeder ring. The new perc shakes and shivers beside the existing male and the male looks at him and shakes and shivers as well. It's some form of communication. I think it may be a bowing down to the other kind of move. Like when a dog lays down on it's side or back when a more dominant dog comes over. So far so good. If all goes as planned the existing male should turn into a female and the new perc should change into a male.
55semireef
Moved On
Based off from what I have read, it can take within as little as a month to several depending on the species and enviroment the clownfish are in generally speaking. Alexxn, personally, I would not get a bigger female. Your male outlasted your female and deserves to move up in the heirarchy. Get a juvenile clown of the same species and put it in your quarantine with your male. This will allow them to associate themselves in a unfamiliar territory allowing them to free themselves off of parasites or any type of bacterial infections that caused the female clown to be weak. Once you put your clowns back in the display, there will be more aggression since its a shift of territory that your male clown will recognize.
Just my 2 cents.
