clownfish pairing experts

Qasimja · Sep 18, 2019

so last week i attempted to get my tomato clown a mate she immediately went after him and tore his caudal fin so i had to pull him and put him back into the QT so i got an isolation box and im attempting to reintroduce him again i put him into the box this morning every few minutes she stares at him in the isolation box goes upto the box attempts to bite or go at the box then goes back to a distance

what sort of behavior should i be looking for from the male before i release him back i understand this may not work at all or it may take a while my lfs said they would take him back for store credit if i wanted but i wanted to make 1 more attempt

the tank is 72x18x28 the female clown i have now has been in the tank for a month her tankmates are a coral beauty and a one spot foxface shes not aggressive to any of my other fish

Cell · Sep 18, 2019

You could try flipping their positions.

foxt · Sep 18, 2019

Tomato clowns are mean. More so the females. This may not work out.

Normally, when I have had clowns pair (never tried to pair tomato clowns, but the process is the same), the female gets aggressive towards the male, sometimes very aggressive, and will keep on it until the male submits. There are clear submissive movements that the male will make. Sometimes the female has taken it to the point where I think the male is a goner, but then the female backs off and the male has learned his place in life.

In your case, it could be the female trying to establish dominance, or it could just be the normal tomato aggression. That female may push the male (are you sure it's a male?) over the edge, not letting up at all. I could be wrong, but I don't think time in the acclimation box for either of them is going to settle things; they are either going to work it out, or the little one will be killed. Trick will be knowing when to step in and call the attempt off ....

Qasimja · Sep 18, 2019

foxt said:
Tomato clowns are mean. More so the females. This may not work out.

Yea im aware this may not work at all but i figured i would give it a shot before i returned it to the lfs

foxt · Sep 18, 2019

Good luck, maybe they'll work it out quickly.

chizerbunoi · Sep 21, 2019

I actually think you have another female. Watch to see if the one in the box submits and performs the dance. Or better, return it if you can and get one that is 1/3 to 1/2 the size.

sabeypets · Sep 21, 2019

put the original bigger one in the box for a couple of weeks, let the smaller new addition out to get familiar with newsurroundings, two days before reintroducing them quit feeding the one in the box.

Qasimja · Sep 21, 2019

chizerbunoi said:
I actually think you have another female. Watch to see if the one in the box submits and performs the dance. Or better, return it if you can and get one that is 1/3 to 1/2 the size.

you might be right if but if they were two females would one female attack to other or would they attack each other? thats what happened when i first attempted it the bigger one attacked the smaller one and grabbed his fins tore them up

chizerbunoi · Sep 21, 2019

If there was a male then he would perform the shake dance and submit frequently. Then the female will decide if she accepts him or not. If it’s two female, they might both fight if they are both aggressive. But the smaller one might not if the other female is more dominant.

My pair of Amphiprion frenatus are not much smaller than each other. The coloration is not as nice as yours when I introduced them as juvenile. But i found that the male turns orange when not breeding (pic 1/2). Pic 3 is when I paired them. Then he gets his black colours again when they are spawning (video).

I’m not saying that it’s in your case, but that was my experience with coloration. And your male in the breeder box has vivid colours like a typical female. Juveniles that I see don’t have the black covering their entire body.