Considering purchasing two adult wild caught Madagascar clowns, Amphiprion latifasciatus. Advice?

[Seancj]

Hello all! I'm considering purchasing two adult wild caught Madagascar clowns, Amphiprion latifasciatus. From photos and video, they both appear to be females of similar size. The seller has them in the same display tank and they appear to be getting along for a couple of weeks now.
Is it a bad idea to buy two that are so close in size and both likely female?
Will the eventual sub dominant one that turns male develop that attractive long lyre tail typically seen on younger smaller males? As of now, neither has the extended lyre tail.
They appear to be about 5 inches long. Would this make them potentially quite old? Should I look/wait for a younger pair to get the most for my money? That could be a while.
Lastly, I have an 80 gallon shallow, wide, tank filled almost rim to rim with large Magnfica anemones. I know that this is not their natural host, but do you think they would take to the Magnifica?
Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[KrisReef]

Two large females doesn't sound like a viable pair for spawning, and if they are not spawning I wonder if they are past menopause, if that's even a thing with older fish? I have more questions that you did.

Why would someone import two old clowns? Perhaps the shipper just threw them in the box to fill up space? I do thing larger females are more fecund as they grow they should produce more eggs, but again, can they get too old to contribute to the gene pool?

Lets call this a bump.

 

[Acanthurus12]

My understanding is clownfish are solely protoandrous hermaphrodites and clownfish hermaphroditism is limited to male to female sex change. Has anyone experienced female to male sex change in clownfish? I have not seen this documented, but I have not really looked into it either.

 

[MyLittleReef]

When you get into the world of larger clowns species, the male and female can be almost the same size. I am not familiar with the Madagascar clowns but this is true for the chrysopterus.

What anemones does the seller have in the tank now?

 

[Seancj]

When you get into the world of larger clowns species, the male and female can be almost the same size. I am not familiar with the Madagascar clowns but this is true for the chrysopterus.

What anemones does the seller have in the tank now?

Thank you for the reply! There is no anemone in the tank now, just some rock decor for some hiding space. Your typical fish set up at a fish store. It's possible this is a pair, but the seller isn't certain and not representing them as a pair.

 

[Seancj]

My understanding is clownfish are solely protoandrous hermaphrodites and clownfish hermaphroditism is limited to male to female sex change. Has anyone experienced female to male sex change in clownfish? I have not seen this documented, but I have not really looked into it either.

In my ignorance, I had just assumed the sex change could go either way. I've had anthias and Watanabe angels change from female to male and assumed clowns would do the same.

 

[garygb]

If the two clowns are a pair, there should be the normal dominance hierarchy of female/male clownfish. Clearly the female being the boss, but no outright damage to the male. A quick video of the two fish interacting should be enough to tell whether it's a pair or not.

From my understanding, once clownfish become females, there's no going back. As far as aging out of spawning, my maroon female is getting close to 15 years and still produces eggs and acts just as spry as she ever did. I have a female perc that's over 12 and spawns regularly. Maybe at some point they get too old, but I think they are viable breeders for many years.

As far as whether they would take to mags, I don't know. BTAs and merten's are their natural hosts. Most clarkii complex aren't too picky, so maybe, but all bets are off since it's not a natural host.

 

[twentyleagues]

In my ignorance, I had just assumed the sex change could go either way. I've had anthias and Watanabe angels change from female to male and assumed clowns would do the same.

Clowns start as males and go female. Anthias and the Japanese angels start female and turn male so its opposite. As far as I have seen and know the change is permanent once complete