Will female clown take a new mate?

[Capt_Cully]

If my male clown doesn't make it, he's looking kind of rough, will my female pair up with a new introduced mate?

What's best way to increase odds? Adolescent fish?

 

[NirvanaFan]

yup. You should have the best success with a small fish. A juvenile from the LFS that is in a tank with a bunch of other fish should work.

What kind of clown?

 

[Capt_Cully]

false perc

 

[NirvanaFan]

yeah, that should work. They are among the easier of the clownfish to pair up.

 

[Newreeflady]

How are you sure you've got a male there right now? Did he just come from a tank where he was paired with a female? If he's been sep'd for a while he might be a she.

If it is a male, then you might QT the female and let the male establish in the tank for a few weeks then re-introduce the female.

-a

 

[toddmh]

is it not in most clowns the female is quite a bit larger than the male ??

 

[NirvanaFan]

depends on the clown species. Sometimes ocellaris clowns are somewhat close. And in skunk clowns, they are almost the same size.

 

[Newreeflady]

is it not in most clowns the female is quite a bit larger than the male ??

Yes, my female ocellaris is quite large. However, if you had a male and he was removed to his own tank and became female, s/he still might take a bit to reach full size potential. In this case, it is female, but still might appear to us to be male. And, of course, the dominant female will not accept the submissive female and will kill it. It is best to get a juvenile to pair with your female to be sure it has not reached female stage. That, or if you had a male paired with a different female and then didn't give the male a chance to change sex, he could be moved in with the new female.

-A

 

[tmz]

I lost the male in a pair of ocellaris during the October storm several years ago. I introduced a small juvenile. They've been doing well for several years and mate frequently.
The female is noticeably larger.

From my readings, I understand that in nature a pair will often tolerate a 3rd fish of the same species which will be kept on the fringes of their territory. If the male in the pair dies ,the outsider will fill in . If the female in the pair dies, the male in the pair will become a female and the outsider will pair up as the male.Males can morph to females at any time but not vice versa.I 've thought about trying a third fish but since the pair is doing well; I haven't.

 

[NirvanaFan]

You are right Tom. Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites. They start off unsexed or as submissive males and go up the "chain" as needed. They can't go back though. Once a female, always a female.

I wouldn't try a third clownfish in a tank. Even in a large system, they can't get away from the pair if needed. An 8 or 10 foot tank could probably work, and a 6 foot may, but a 4 foot tank would probably mean death for the clown. Skunks and ocellaris may be fine, but all the other clowns can wreak terror on the odd man out.