Clownfish Pairing Help??

underthereef

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Hi All,

I got my first Clownfish pair last weekend! A Gladiator/DaVinci and standard Ocellaris. :)

The Gladiator is slightly larger at about 1.5-1.75 inches and the standard ocellaris is about 1.25-1.5. There is probably a 1/4 inch size differential between them they are pretty close in size. I've done plenty of reading about clownfish but now that I have these two I'd like to hear what other people have to say based on their experiences on the behavior I am seeing out of them. Lol.

The Gladiator is larger but VERY chill. It mainly just swims in place bobbing its head and doing the beautiful exaggerated body wag. Eats the food that floats by it and doesn't seem to mind or care about the other clown. The standard clown is extremely hyper and zips all around the tank at 100 MPH. Lol. It seems much more aggressive and full of energy. It sometimes darts at the Gladiator but then stops when it gets to it and turns around. Either that or the Gladiator makes a quick dodge and that's it. The standard is also barely interested in food but still has eaten. When I put my hand or net in the tank the Gladiator doesn't really care and the standard goes from cocky to super scared and gets all submissive at me and does a little scarred sideways wiggle.. It's kind of cute. Lol.

But what I'm confused about is which one might be the female? The Gladiator is larger but so calm and the standard is slightly smaller but seems more dominant. But is the standard really just an insecure male running wild and the Gladiator a calm confident female already? Or is it possible that the Gladiator is a male and the smaller standard is the female? Does that ever happen? I've been told it'll always be the larger and more dominant one. So in my case it seems contradictory. I'm also a little worried it could be two females? Did I get them too big? Or are they probably both still neutral at their size? I realize now I probably should've gotten a smaller standard one to ensure the Gladiator is a female but the standard was so beautiful I snagged it. Lol.
 
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fishguy242

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hi, looks like the larger is a divinchi/gladiator strain,
most likely will become the female
sounds like normal clown behavior so far.
what you need to watch for is her going after the regular O ... ;):)
 
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underthereef

underthereef

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hi, looks like the larger is a divinchi/gladiator strain,
most likely will become the female
sounds like normal clown behavior so far.
what you need to watch for is her going after the regular O ... ;):)
Oh it does seem more like a Glatiator! Thanks!

Okay cool! I am going for the Gladiator to be the female. Lol. But I started getting worried when the regular clown started seeming like the more dominant one, but wasn't sure if it was actually rooted in the insecurity of being a male or juvenile still and not real dominance. Lol
 

Dbichler

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To become a bonded pair it takes time. You can’t predict 100% which one will become female. The dominant one will become female regardless of size unless one’s already female under 2” unlikely. In my experience 6 months to a year together to bond and 2 years to 5 years to mate. Haven’t had any spawn smaller than 2.75” or so. Just watch for aggression in the next couple months if it gets too bad just separate them for several days and try once more if doesn’t work try another small clown
 

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