Will my Clarkii ever pair up?

[pperez]

I don't get it. I had bought them about the same size. One has grown bigger which i take it to be the female. Is it true that the female's tail in clarkii will turn white? I read that on Joyce's book. My bigger one's tail seems to be yellow with the usual white band at the base.

Now the smaller one does the shivers and always retreats when charged. She chases him a bit then gives up, he follows her as to tease her. Sometimes he goes in to the anemone for a bit but she eventually chases him away. I have also seen her quiver at the same time as him. Sometimes he bites as the rocks as if he's trying real hard. They normally stay pretty close to each other without fighting, but here and there she seems to reinforce her dominance by chasing him.

My concern is that this is the furthest they will get and that she will never truly accept him. Is this a possibility?..Or with time they will eventually settle down. That's what i am hoping for.

Thanks.

 

[NewBeReef627]

Just give it time. They will pair. It sounds like they are almost there. It took my tomatoes about 1 yr to finally host my anemone together.

Lori

 

[SEAFLOWERS]

That to me is normal behavior. I had a mated pair of Clarkis for a long time(they spawned every ten days without failure)When they weren't making babies the female would always exercise her dominance, ie. chasing the male around the tank and out of the anemone and alot of othe crazy behavior.IMO as long as she is not trying to hurt the male than they are ok. Let me ask you a question after the lights go out are they together in or around the anemone?

 

[pperez]

I have a total of 4 RBTA's close to each other. Sometimes during the day the male would try and go into the furthest one. During all that quivering, she sometimes lets him in for like seconds, then keeps him away. At night he sometimes sleeps in the same anemone too. But keep in mind that this is not the biggest one, he hasn't ventured to that one yet.

I mean she has accepted him in the tank, otherwise he would be dead. There's not much fighting, just the occassional chases which stops. It's like they play tag. She chases, stops, he follows, retreats, etc.

I just thought that once they pair that she would allow him into the anemones regardless of whether they are breeding or not.

Can anyone confirm the Tail color theory. Does it turn white in females?

Also why does she also quiver at the same time?

Thanks.

 

[msman825]

great thread, I have a pair just like them.my little one cant get close to my 8 inch bubble anemone. he sleeps up top of her though, they been doing that dance for about a month now

 

[msman825]

bump, mine are the same. white with a yellowish tint. shes around 3 inches, he is about 1and half. they was the same size when i got them 2years ago she killed a velvet damsel that i could not get out of tank, and a korean angel also

 

[pperez]

Oh wow, you have an aggresive one.

Both my clowns have yellowish tails. The only white part is at the base. According to Joyce Wilkerson, it often changes to white as she matures. So there's the answer.

I guess one of these days i'll be surprised. Can't wait. They better get their act together, lol.

 

[msman825]

how big is your clowns, pperez

 

[pperez]

She's about 2 1/2" and he's 1 1/2".

 

[msman825]

about like mine sounds like. cool clowns. i'm trying to find a pair of black Oiss Clowns and rose anemone for a 75 tank. that has no fish. just corals and 100++ rock in it

 

[ezhoops]

All is very typical clarki behavior, females can be a little rough on their boys.

how bout some pics of your clarki, here are mine

 

[stykthyn]

sounds like they are still kind of young, give them some more time and all will be well, mine spawn every 12 days. took them 2 years to get there tthough

 

[pperez]

Here she is!

 

[dantodd]

sounds like you're on the way. Mine were together for about a year and just started laying eggs three weeks ago.

 

[andyjd]

Found the bigger of my two dead yesterday morning no idea what happened and they were both asleep in the BTA when i went to bed.

Whats the rules for buying another...try and buy a bigger one than the one I have, or smaller or same size.

thanks

Andy

 

[ezhoops]

just wanted to add this

 

[pperez]

Sorry for your loss, that sucks. I wonder what happened. Being that you lost the female, i would either replace it with another female or try getting a smaller one and seeing which one changes sex first. i could be wrong, hopefully others will advise. But do it quick before your's changes. HTH