Skunk clownfish - Pairing different species?

[Vincero]

Hi guys,

I woke up to something really sad today. Yesterday I bought an absolutely beautiful pair of pink skunks and added them to my tank. (Large female, wonderfully small male).

Well, I found the female dried up on my carpet this morning. I have no idea how she made it out because I keep a mesh lid on my aquarium at all times. --
I can only assume that something scared her and she jumped with enough force to lift the aluminum frame from its ledge.

I feel very upset by this, because I feel like I'm doing everything properly and to really high standards.

I'm contemplating finding another skunk clown, but they seem quite rare over here in NZ. (They weren't cheap, either).

I've found an orange skunk for sale and would like to know if it would pair with the pink one? It is about twice his size, so about 2.5 inches.

My tank is a 20 gallon nano. No other fish...

Cheers.

 

[Vincero]

This is a picture of them in the shop. (I didn't buy the nem).

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Looks like the female was a Fiji Sunkist Pink Skunk, a great morph of A. Perideraion.
If I were you I'd order another pink skunk for the surviving male. Blue Zoo Aquatics and NY Aquatic should have them available.

 

[Vincero]

Looks like the female was a Fiji Sunkist Pink Skunk, a great morph of A. Perideraion.
If I were you I'd order another pink skunk for the surviving male. Blue Zoo Aquatics and NY Aquatic should have them available.

Would love to... but I live in New Zealand .

 

[Vincero]

Options appear to be very limited. Once place has an orange skunk for sale and may have pinks for sale at an unspecified date in the future.

So my options are:

1) Keep the male alone
2) Order a larger orange skunk and see if they pair
3) Wait for pink skunks to become available

They were absolutely beautiful. (The male still is...) Gutted.

 

[Vincero]

Another question -- can I expect my male to change into a female now and grow larger? Or does there need to be another clown in the tank for this to happen?

 

[ThRoewer]

Another question -- can I expect my male to change into a female now and grow larger? Or does there need to be another clown in the tank for this to happen?

From all I could find in scientific literature they need the interaction with another of their kind to change sex, particularly the aggression.
So while it is certainly possible that the male at some point changes to be female, even on its own, it seems rather unlikely this would happen quickly.
So I think you have some time to find another female.

 

[Vincero]

Thanks for the info. I guess it might be best to wait for a pink skunk then, rather than risking another variety?

 

[Uncle99]

Had a 2" female die leaving me only the male 3/4"
In the following 4 months that male grew quickly in size, literally doubled.
Added a 3/4" junvenile at 6 months, same species, same colour patterns
Immediately bonded and they have been together ever since, now 2 years down the road.
The female is now 2.75" and the male stays at 1"
My opinion is that a male will change to female even if there is no others,

 

[OrionN]

I would wait for another pink skunk. I would add a small one unless you find one quickly.
That is a nice anemone, look more like a Magnifica in that picture than BTA. I would get him in a heartbeat if here is here in Corpus Christi (the anemone).
Good luck

 

[Vincero]

I would wait for another pink skunk. I would add a small one unless you find one quickly.
That is a nice anemone, look more like a Magnifica in that picture than BTA. I would get him in a heartbeat if here is here in Corpus Christi (the anemone).
Good luck

I agree that the anemone is a magnifica. Originally, I wanted to buy all three, but the LFS wanted to keep them as a display.

Sadly, the anemone ended up shredded when the owner introduced it to a display tank (walked into a power head after he thought it had settled). That's why he offered me the clowns. I can't help but feel this group of organisms should have stayed in the ocean.

The shop has a nice purple magnifica in their main display tank.