success rate of pairing two same sized Nigripes

[Ron Popeil]

I have a lone A. nigripes about 2 inches long. Definitely female. I ordered another nigripes and specified I needed it small to hopefully ensure it would be male. Unfortunately a very similarly sized nigripes arrived. ugh.

After I get this new one through some QT, am I looking at a doomed situation? Has anyone else tried to pair two same sized nigripes and had it work?

I know their temperament and im not optimistic, but am hoping for some encouraging input.

As a side, note, nigripes from bluezooaquatics arrive healthy and eating, albeit very shy.

 

[Dan]

That's a tough one. Take it slow. The probablilities are not in your favor, but since you have it, might as well try. Do the eggcrate divider and all that stuff. Good luck.

Dan

 

[Winwood]

Jordan that female you have was in captivity for six months before I got it and then another month with me. My guess it's presence in captivity played a part in speeding up it's sexual transformation. Furthermore, I would say it would be a rather small female if it was living in the wild, even for a smaller species like nigripes. I would say a similarly sized individual recently extracted from the wild has a good chance of being male. If I remember that girl is pretty honery and she does have the home field advantage, so I would say there's a fair possibility u may end up with a nice pair. Best of luck!

 

[Ron Popeil]

fingers crossed. the new one is so shy right now! ill let you know how it goes in a week or so...

 

[David Thomson]

You will know right away if it will work or not! These fish, though very shy are TOUGH! My female took on a full sized female cinnamon clown with no problem. No problems with the submissive male though.

If it does not work out, let me know. I have a batch of them in grow out right now.

 

[dalilgriffith]

You will know right away if it will work or not! These fish, though very shy are TOUGH! My female took on a full sized female cinnamon clown with no problem. No problems with the submissive male though.

If it does not work out, let me know. I have a batch of them in grow out right now.

Maybe he will have two pairs lol

 

[WDLV]

Jordan, I don't think there's anything I'm gonna tell you that you don't already know. So, I'll leave it at "best of luck!"

 

[Ron Popeil]

well, i think colt (winwood) got it right.

i debated several methods for introducing this new nigripes to my existing female.
i decided to place the new fish in a shallow round plastic container. clear and with several holes drilled all over it, i placed inside a small rose bubble tip, the fish, and hooked it to my magnetic algae scraper. this i placed right up in the nearest magnifica, i turned off the halides and T5s and let everyone just adjust over night.

the next 36 hours i kept the halides off and only the T5s on their regular photoperiod. i spent several minutes through out this time hiding from view and peering into the tank to see how my existing female would take seeing another nigripes this close to her home.

she hardly noticed.

the other clownfish just hugged the little rose anemone and didnt seem bothered either. there was only one instance where they made eye contact and the new fish seemed to give a little reverse tail flick and that was it. my optimism grew as my females aggression seemed nonexistent.

so this morning, after seeing no adverse behavior, my impulsiveness decided to release the new fish into the magnificas. the fish went inside and buried itself, while my female seemed completely uninterested (contrary to when i added five SA captive bred nigripes and she immediately went crazy chasing and corralling them into the lower corner of the tank.)

an hour later i came down to check on them again, making sure to check the floors first. i completely expected to see a beaten, ragged nigripes on my carpet, chased from the tank. but, much to my surprise and endless delight the new fish was clearly in the open, snagging food drifting by the magnificas. my female would swim by unconcerned. the longer i watched, the more behavior i saw as they actually interacted: some submissive body jolts from the new fish and some rock cleaning from the female.

spectacular!

so as of this writing, it looks like colt was right. my current female was a small because of how long she had been alone. the new fish was most likely already a male. so....now to wait for some eggs. or a change of heart from my female....

 

[Winwood]

I'm glad it seems to be working out! Hope to see some pics of the new couple soon!

 

[Ron Popeil]

well fifteen days after i put the two fish together....they have spawned! a small nest of bright red eggs. ill let a few more nests get laid, and then ill try to get a tile in there.

 

[dalilgriffith]

Did the male fertilize them

 

[Winwood]

Sweeeeet! How about a pic or two!

 

[Ron Popeil]

unfortunately i wasnt present for the spawn, nor did i get to see them do any pre nest cleaning. but she was unmistakably swollen with eggs this morning and by this afternoon there was a nest...i guess ill know for sure in a few more days.

 

[Ron Popeil]

 

[dalilgriffith]

Ill adopt two Always wanted some but I do not trust the big box stores to care for them properly before shipment.

 

[Winwood]

Wow! Man, you couldn't of ended up with a better matched male! Congratulations Jordan, I bet you are just school girl gitty! Lol

 

[WDLV]

Well congrats on that. Here's to hoping they were fertilized.

 

[dalilgriffith]

Watch to see what the male does with the eggs. If he isnt fanning them, forget it.

 

[Jamie1210]

wow, congratulations on the spawn! My question is: 15 days later after introduction there were eggs?? Thats so crazy! I thought it usually took clowns at least a year after introduction to spawn ... Is this common to have it occur 2 weeks after introduction?

 

[WDLV]

Well no but it's also unusual to see the female spawning in the tank by herself.