Sex Change ?

[H.reidi.MN]

How long before a lone male usually will go female? I had a pair of ocillaris and when i came back from my honeymoon the larger female was dead in qt? Left the male alone. Well i just got a slightly larger in size Darwin i want to pair him with and im hoping he hasn't turned female. The darwin is larger... But i could still have 2 females which would suck. male has been alone about a month..

Thanks

 

[Ambition]

It is usually best to just add a smaller/juvenile clown to a larger one to form a pair. The time it takes for a male to change female varies on many factors, many based on the environment. I read that the change can happen or begin to happen in as little as two weeks to more than a month.

 

[H.reidi.MN]

Well hopefully they are destined for one another. I'll give it a go and keep a close eye. If they don't pair I don't have a need for them separate unless I wait and get a smaller juv for each individual later on.

 

[H.reidi.MN]

Well put the smaller normal oci in after lights out last night. Today they seem to be pairing up just fine

 

[dc]

Mine were real close in size and they did fine until I put in an anemone. There was some serious fighting after that for awhile, I was sure I'd be pulling one out. Then one day the made up their minds to get along and one turned into the female. I assumed they were fighting for dominance.

 

[OrionN]

I got two pairs of adult A. percula. All were in great condition, (breeding condition). I switch things around. Sold one of the female, pair one female with another male. I put the two males together and they laying eggs within 6 months.
So IME, adult male can change sex and start to lay eggs within 6 months.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

I lost my female Black Onyx Snowflake for no reason after QT and being in the DT for about 6 months. Totally unexplained death.

Anyway, when I was considering purchasing a new clown, Bob from iBlueWater told me that without a female, the male can begin to become female in as little as 9 days. He indicated that normally it occurs between 9 and 45 days.

Oddly enough, over the weekend, I bought another male who is in QT right now. He is a juvenile and only about 1/2" long, so I don't think he is sexually mature enough to begin changing sex....yet. Hopefully he doesn't become sexually mature for at least 4 weeks so I can get him through the QT process.