Clownfish at LFS

[jk_s124]

So I recently lost the male of my clownfish pair. I had a 1 1/2 to 2 year old perc and a 1 year old Ocellaris. My smaller ocellareris jumped into the back chamber of my biocube 29 and didn't make it. I have since learned from my mistake and made a fish guard protecting my other fish from the same fate. I'm now looking to replace my ocellaris. My son and I went last week to our LFS and picked out 2 good looking smaller, but not too small ocellaris clownfish. My family and I stopped back tonight and I talked to the employee of the store who is in charge of ordering the saltwater fish. He said that the two we are interested in have been at the store since July. If this is true, should I have any concern about these fish having transitioned into females? One was in a tank with a saphire damsel and the other was with several very young clownfish.

 

[MarinaP]

Yes, you should be concerned.

 

[James M]

You would need to find a smaller clown than the on you have now

 

[jk_s124]

Yes, you should be concerned.

Any way to tell?

 

[James M]

Femal is the bigger one and the male is smaller

 

[jk_s124]

You would need to find a smaller clown than the on you have now

The two we are looking at would be smaller than our presumed female percula.

 

[MarinaP]

Any way to tell?

Not at this point. Changes are mostly internal and hormonal.

 

[James M]

The two we are looking at would be smaller than our presumed female percula.

You should only have 2 clowns in a bio cube

 

[jk_s124]

I don't think my wording in my original post was clear. We picked two clown fish to observe for a few weeks before buying. We are trying to find a smaller male to pair with our female percula. The concern is after finding out how long these two clown fish have been at the store, is there a good chance that they have transitioned to female? I'm trying to avoid buying another female.

 

[jk_s124]

I'm looking to buy only one more clownfish.

 

[MarinaP]

I unterstood you the first time.
Dont buy cb clowns from your lfs, find a dedicated breeder. There will be significantly less chance of an illness or ending up with a male transitioning to a female.