Aaarrrggg
New member
How long do clowns normally take a pair up? Is there a cut off point where if it hasn’t happened it won’t?
I’ve had my fem B&W occ since Dec ’06. She was large and alone in the LFS display tank so I don’t know how old she is, but I assumed she was a female at the start. I introduced a little B&W juvi occ a month or so later (they were out of stock for ages.) Things seemed to be going well, they hung about and slept together with some occasional chasing. When the tank was 6mths old I bought a gorgeous RBTA from a local reefer. The female took about a mth to brave diving in…that’s when the problems started!
She became v aggressive towards the poor lil male… chasing him about the waters surface and making him stay in the opposite corner. I’d hoped they had just had a falling out and would patch things up, but one morning I realised he’d vanished.
A few months later I picked up a new B&W juvi occ. Fearful of losing another I introduced him in a fry net and released him into the tank after lights out. There was a little bit of chasing the first night and the next day, but not as much as there had been at the end with the previous clown. It’s been about 4-5mths since then and she tolerates him, but will often chase him away if he comes too close to her or the RBTA… or if someone looks in the tank and she thinks it’s feeding time. He seems to want to be close to her, and tries to follow only to be chased away. He sleeps on the gravel at the other end of the tank, sneaking over to the nem in the morning to try and cuddle when she’s half awake.
I hoped the situation might be improving the other day when I spotted her in the RBTA with him next to it. She looked like she was beckoning him into it, but he ended up swimming away and things returned to normal. He’s stayed small and has never chased her back, so I assume he is a ‘he’.
Is it possible they are a pair and she just subscribes to the ‘treat ‘em mean’ policy… or will it never work?
I’ve heard some people like to buy several clowns and keep the pair that develop, does that mean sometimes they just don’t fancy each other?
I’ve read that the completely B&W clowns are from Australia, whereas he is a UK tank bred one with an orange nose. I was under the impression that as long as they are both occ this wouldn’t be a problem, but maybe she’s doesn’t like his English accent?
For the brief moments when she does allow him to swim by her side they look so lovely together… I want to have a happy couple like everyone else seems to have!
Any ideas?
Here are some pics of the not so happy couples...
1st male (RIP) with the female:
Female with RBTA:
2nd male with the female:
2nd male trying to follow the female:
I’ve had my fem B&W occ since Dec ’06. She was large and alone in the LFS display tank so I don’t know how old she is, but I assumed she was a female at the start. I introduced a little B&W juvi occ a month or so later (they were out of stock for ages.) Things seemed to be going well, they hung about and slept together with some occasional chasing. When the tank was 6mths old I bought a gorgeous RBTA from a local reefer. The female took about a mth to brave diving in…that’s when the problems started!
She became v aggressive towards the poor lil male… chasing him about the waters surface and making him stay in the opposite corner. I’d hoped they had just had a falling out and would patch things up, but one morning I realised he’d vanished.
A few months later I picked up a new B&W juvi occ. Fearful of losing another I introduced him in a fry net and released him into the tank after lights out. There was a little bit of chasing the first night and the next day, but not as much as there had been at the end with the previous clown. It’s been about 4-5mths since then and she tolerates him, but will often chase him away if he comes too close to her or the RBTA… or if someone looks in the tank and she thinks it’s feeding time. He seems to want to be close to her, and tries to follow only to be chased away. He sleeps on the gravel at the other end of the tank, sneaking over to the nem in the morning to try and cuddle when she’s half awake.
I hoped the situation might be improving the other day when I spotted her in the RBTA with him next to it. She looked like she was beckoning him into it, but he ended up swimming away and things returned to normal. He’s stayed small and has never chased her back, so I assume he is a ‘he’.
Is it possible they are a pair and she just subscribes to the ‘treat ‘em mean’ policy… or will it never work?
I’ve heard some people like to buy several clowns and keep the pair that develop, does that mean sometimes they just don’t fancy each other?
I’ve read that the completely B&W clowns are from Australia, whereas he is a UK tank bred one with an orange nose. I was under the impression that as long as they are both occ this wouldn’t be a problem, but maybe she’s doesn’t like his English accent?
For the brief moments when she does allow him to swim by her side they look so lovely together… I want to have a happy couple like everyone else seems to have!
Any ideas?Here are some pics of the not so happy couples...
1st male (RIP) with the female:
Female with RBTA:
2nd male with the female:
2nd male trying to follow the female:
