Maroon Clownfish Pairing Help

[fugetaboutit05]

Recently added 2 Maroon CF to 380G display. Nem had been added 1 week prior so still
moving frequently around left side of tank attempting to find its comfort zone with tank flow and lighting.

The larger of the 2 is about 3.5" to almost 4" and the the smaller is about half her size.
Now i say "her" because of the size difference but it's not definitive that they were both of opposite sex when i picked them up. When they were at the LFS they were together for about a week or so with no issues that's why I chose them together. They were bagged together and added to community together directly above the nem.

Clowns inspected the nem but have so far remained disinterested.

Elapsed time has been 11 days since above mentioned critters have been together.

All behavior seemed neutral, both the nem and the clowns were eating and healthy. At night the clowns would stay together in the same corner of the tank until morning. Neither has shown any interest or territorial behavior towards the nem. At night the pair will go into the very top corner of the aquarium. I have witnessed attempted bonding behavior from the smaller "male" several times a day with the female being accepting at times and aggressively non compliant other times. This morning I wake up and the male is gone. Like gone gone. The entire community is behaving normally. But this fish had disappeared.

So, now concluding that the smaller of the 2 has passed on either due to the larger clown killing it overnight or, it's one of those things that happens where a fish just gives up the ghost for no apparent reason and is now so far under the aquascape it has become a food source for the crabs.

I wanted a pair, I understand I chose arguably the most difficult breed of clowns.

Can another clown be added at this stage being the larger of the 2 is still under 2 weeks established?

Is it more likely that the "female" killed the other or that it died off its own doing?

Outside of size and behavioral tendencies, do I have a way of determining qender of the remaining clown?

 

[Peace River]

Because clownfish can transition from male to female, regardless of the current state of the existing clown, if you add another clown about half of the size then the current clown will become a female if it hasn't already. As far as getting them to pair, adding another small maroon and using an acclimation box is good place to start. Rearranging the rock work and/or adding additional temporary hiding spots are another way to help the process. Some females won't tolerate any other clowns ever and some accept a smaller clown almost immediately, however I have found that most of the time it is somewhere in between. My current pair of maroons paired easily and have been laying eggs like clockwork for over a year. They were easier and are more consistent than any of my current oscellaris. This is all part of the mystery, magic, and frustration of clownfish. Good luck!

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Thank you, I appreciate the response so I figured I'd give an update.

Kept looking for signs of the lost maroon, no luck, went back to the lfs and explained what happened they were no help as always lol

Decided to pick up another maroon that was even smaller than the one lost which puts it at just under 1/3 the size of the female. Additionally, I saw a new nem that I really liked the coloration and body on so I decided to pick that up as well and bag them together to give the little guy a head start.

Finish product :

After acclimation and adding to display, the "female" went straight away to the newly added nem, wanted nothing to do with the newly added "partner". Not for lack of trying on his part either. She almost immediately became territorial with the space around the new nem. Not allowing the smaller new addition near it. He wound up finding the original nem and immediately forming up with it.

The end result is I have 2 maroon clowns and two nems both paired up individually and on opposite sides of an 8' DT.... Not what I wanted but they seem content lol.

 

[exnisstech]

I've paired maroons 3 times with success. It's takes quite a while but I have never lost a male when introducing them individually. I buy a female if possible, if not a male and wait untill it turns female. I like to keep the single fish in the tank for at least 6 months. A nem really helps as maroons love them but not required. Come to think of it I don't think I have ever kept clowns without nems. Oh well. Once she is settled I go out and find the smallest baby maroon clown I can and buy it. Then home and into the acclimation box, after qt of course if you do that. The female should have territory established by now so I place the acclimation box out of her territory and see if she shows interest. I gradually move the little guy closer everyday. Don't rush it. Once you get him into her territory leave him in the box for a few days. I then I cross my fingers and let the little guy out. She'll attack and hopefully he'll do his little submission dance and hopefully she'll accept him without beeting him up too bad. Disclaimer: This has worked for me but there are no guarantee that she won't kill him. Personally I won't introduce 2 at once and hope one changes. I did that once with a pair of lightnings and it was non stop battle untill one was dead.

This is how I have successfully paired maroons. You have a fairly large female so I would proceed by getting a tiny one to assure its male as described above.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

I appreciate the info, and the steps you took that worked. I sort of took the same approach when adding the new additions yesterday, just in a much shorter time lapse and the addition of the new nem in the process.

My only issue with adding a very small fish, regardless of the type or species is this is an established system with a semi aggressive to aggressive tempermant including 3 predators. 1 of which is a golden head Moray that's almost 2' long. I was honestly slightly nervous about how big this new guy is because it could go either way for him with that particular eel.

So, if this doesn't work I'm done pairing up the maroon. I can't go any smaller, it would just be an expensive live meal at that point.

I was thinking of going bigger, there was a full size maroon in a tank with 2 triggers at the lfs but I don't want a war which is what I'm thinking would happen. She was in that tank for a reason and I'm not trying to put the community through that kind of process. Additionally i am fairly certain I would fail at that particular attempt lol.

I'm fine with my current situation, the new guy bonded overnight with the large sebea on the opposite side of the tank so he's doing well and the female took to the other nem mid way so they seem to have figured it out. Over time they may come together, but if not, they seem content.

 

[Cell]

I would try and pair the clowns in a smaller tank first.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

I was going to do this, but I just broke down that system recently after going through the process with an Achilles I added to the tank recently. I put it up specifically for that tang to add him to the DT. The maroon clowns were not part of that plan initially. I really didn't have the time to put it back up.

They came a few days after the Achilles and that system got put away until the next "special" addition.

I knew the bio filters could handle them being added so soon after adding the tang with no real spike in params so I felt pretty confident.

Admittedly i should have had a more specific plan for them, but I've had clowns before successfully so I was a little over confident with these guys lol...

Plus I won't lie, all my attention has been on the Achilles and making sure I get ahead of anything that even remotely looks like a problem.

I am hopeful for these 2, it seems to have worked itself out in the short span. Long term will be the true story. I'm expecting changes but it's a good little community so I don't forsee any real problems. Especially now that both maroon have bonded with a nem.