Looking for advice on pairing maroons

[flor4faun4]

Hi! New to this app but not new to saltwater fish. I have a 2-3 year old gold nugget maroon clown, who's over 4". She's very established in her 60gal reef tank. I just bought a very little gold nugget maroon (maybe 1" max in size). The baby is in QT for now, but when that time is up, I plan on putting it in a breeder box for a few days in the main tank and see how they react.

Is there an issue with adding the baby to the females established tank? Would it have been better to take the female out? I heard they're notoriously difficult to pair, but i never had any issues with ocellaris/percula pairing. The female maroon i have is much nicer than the stories i see on here. She never bit me and just swims away when i put my hand in the tank near her favorite anemone.

If you have any other tips/experience with pairing an established maroon, i'd love to hear. thanks!!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@OrionN Can give you some good advice!

 

[MiltonMMLN]

The size difference you have is ideal for pairing, but maroons are still unpredictable — even “calm” ones can get aggressive fast.
I think breeder box is the right call; leave them in sight of each other for several days (or more), watch her body language, and only release at night after a good feeding.
Have plenty of hiding spots and be ready to separate if she goes after the juvenile relentlessly.
Patience is key - pairing can take days or weeks.

 

[exnisstech]

The size difference you have is ideal for pairing, but maroons are still unpredictable — even “calm” ones can get aggressive fast.
I think breeder box is the right call; leave them in sight of each other for several days (or more), watch her body language, and only release at night after a good feeding.
Have plenty of hiding spots and be ready to separate if she goes after the juvenile relentlessly.
Patience is key - pairing can take days or weeks.

This petty much what I did. I think the acclimation box is key. I was able to pair my female twice after her first mate died. I'll never add two maroons the same size and and let them sort it out.

OP your female may change personality once they are paired and spawning. Mine claimed half of a 6ft tank. She would even rip coral off her rocks when I tried to glue some down.

 

[OrionN]

Pairing marone clowns, the sure way is to separate the two on introduction for several weeks. Basically put the smaller one in a container so that he can be seen but not beat up for at lease 2 weeks, maybe more before removing the barrier. This work essentially 100% of the time.
So plan to keep his little butt in there longer or else he will have it bite off.

 

[californiarob]

It does depend on how long the larger possible female Marron- biaculeatus (i still call them Premnus.Biaculeatus) has been in the tank you are pairing them.
I prefer if the larger clown has been established in the main tank to move both at the same time to a new tank and let them acclimate to each other, keep it low lit.
Its better than waking up one day and finding your new possible male on the floor or dead from panic and tearing down a tank to get him out if hes hiding. I have been breading this species for over 3 decades are by far my favorite clownfish species.

 

[flor4faun4]

Pairing marone clowns, the sure way is to separate the two on introduction for several weeks. Basically put the smaller one in a container so that he can be seen but not beat up for at lease 2 weeks, maybe more before removing the barrier. This work essentially 100% of the time.
So plan to keep his little butt in there longer or else he will have it bite off.

Okay thank you! And just confirming, i can keep female in the main display? She's been in this exact tank for 3-4 months now.

 

[flor4faun4]

It does depend on how long the larger possible female Marron- biaculeatus (i still call them Premnus.Biaculeatus) has been in the tank you are pairing them.
I prefer if the larger clown has been established in the main tank to move both at the same time to a new tank and let them acclimate to each other, keep it low lit.
Its better than waking up one day and finding your new possible male on the floor or dead from panic and tearing down a tank to get him out if hes hiding. I have been breading this species for over 3 decades are by far my favorite clownfish species.

Been in there for 3-4 months now!

 

[Largeangels]

Best is to add small and large together at the same time or large to small but in your case like stated above use container for at least 2 weeks like OrionN stated.

Maroon males often stay very small compared to the female. Even after 10 years or more while the female grows.

 

[californiarob]

Been in there for 3-4 months now!

if you are not willing to get the larger possible female out of main tank thne maybe use the container method... just be prepared to tear down tank to get your new smaller possible male out if it goes wrong.

 

[Largeangels]

Add some PVC pipe that fits the little one so it can hide in if she really starts chasing him when you’re not there.

 

[flor4faun4]

Update on this situation. They've been doing well together and share anemones

 

[Staghorn]

I had the same situation years ago with a very large female maroon. I guess I was lucky but I added a very small male(juvenile?) to the aquarium without a prolonged introduction or isolation, The large female swam right up to him, he cowered for a second and they were a pair ever after. By the way, she was aggressive before adding that guy, but afterward when they had clutches of eggs, she would draw blood on every bite. I hated that fish.Lol.

 

[flor4faun4]

I had the same situation years ago with a very large female maroon. I guess I was lucky but I added a very small male(juvenile?) to the aquarium without a prolonged introduction or isolation, The large female swam right up to him, he cowered for a second and they were a pair ever after. By the way, she was aggressive before adding that guy, but afterward when they had clutches of eggs, she would draw blood on every bite. I hated that fish.Lol.

Yeah i'm lucky with my female- she tries to defend her territory but then just gets too scared and swims away. This baby maroon is pretty agressive though and attacks my glove. They're the only inhabitents in this tank so i dont mind if they get too mean together.