Trying to create a Pair

[Featherdusters]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11039034#post11039034 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryan_paskadi
I just reread some clown info and I was totally wrong... they start off nuetral and then the big one becomes female and next biggest male....Males can switch to females but females cannot go back to males.

Still......how do you sex them?

You don't know their true sex until you actually see them breed (watch which one lays the egg and which one fertilizes).

However people use size, behavior and other factors that help guess.

For example, my female had been in a system by herself for two years and a decent size (2.7"). She also demonstrated aggressive behavior. All common traits of a female.

 

[Slakker]

I guess it's true that you can't really know for sure until they spawn, but if all is peaceful and one has taken on the dominant role, it's probably a pretty safe assumption that you've got a male/female pair.

However, I'm not willing to dissect my pair to find out

 

[Featherdusters]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11040265#post11040265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
I guess it's true that you can't really know for sure until they spawn, but if all is peaceful and one has taken on the dominant role, it's probably a pretty safe assumption that you've got a male/female pair.

However, I'm not willing to dissect my pair to find out

lol I agree. Usually people don't need to know for sure unless they are selling a proven breeding pair or trying to specifically sell a male or female.

Update:

I believe a dominant clown has started to appear. Luckily this one doesn't seem to be a bully. But will test each clown once in a while. They all still like to be around and sleep by each other. No stress, sickness or other problems have been observed.

Here are some really bad pictures of the cute group twitch. It amazing that they stay so close to each other even though my tank is pretty large.

 

[ryan_paskadi]

It should be fine to keep all 4....2 will just stay sexually imature.

 

[Slakker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11046784#post11046784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryan_paskadi
It should be fine to keep all 4....2 will just stay sexually imature.

Those two will likely harass the others to death. So no, it's usually not fine to keep all 4.