Newbie Clownfish ID

[EricR]

Newbie clownfish questions (video below):
*He's small, about 1", and been in the established 37 gallon tank for about 3 weeks.
1. Please help ID -- is this an Ocellaris?
2. To buy a friend now, I assume I need to get another small one the same size but does it have to be the same species (if I'm not hoping for any breeding, just to get along)?
3. Feeding twice a day, usually marine flakes but occasionally jellyfish food (dried plankton) that he seems to love -- is this about right? (Tank also has a small bi-color blenny but the clown is more aggressive and gets whatever he wants).
4. In the video, you can see that the clown seems like it's "working" a lot. Just wondering if this is OK. (At night he rests and feeding he's fast and no problem getting to whatever he wants).

*if wondering about the tank at all, here's my intro post that pretty much describes how I got here:

Hello - Newbie - Inverts Only (So Far)

Howdy,,, new to aquariums and found this site. Cool! I’m seeing discussions like, “running a QT, waiting on new DT, diatom and some GHA” …so far, my thoughts are What the heck? Also thought I accidentally redirected to NASA when I found something about “CO2 scrubbers.” Anyway, learning a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Sharkbait19]

Video isn’t working...
Do you have pics of the fish?
Same size or smaller is good for adding. One will turn female and be dominant over the other.
They do swim weird with heavy tail motions, nothing to worry about there as long as it is upright and acting normal (for a clown). It calms down when they get bigger.

 

[EricR]

Thanks -- video is .mov from iPhone so I'll have to see if I have a converter (to I guess .mp4)

Do clowns need to be same species to get along (without breeding)?

Here's a couple of pictures for ID help:

 

[mjh712]

It appears to be a Darwin Clown (Ocellaris). As long as you get another Ocellaris you should be fine. Just try and get one that's a different size, so there's minimal fighting for dominance.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Looks to be a black Darwin, or maybe a really colored up mocha (mine goes black most of the time).
They are all the same species, just color variants of the occelaris clownfish. Other clownfish species include percula, clarkii, tomato, and maroon. All can hybridize if I am correct.
No harm in mixing strains of occelaris (if you wanted an orange one to pair with it it is okay, very common this way). Much like mixing dog breeds it is often good for bloodlines and is how new ones are made. (A mocha is a Darwin x occy originally if I am correct).
They will pair regardless of breed, but I wouldn’t call it getting along. If you know of American cichlid pairs and how rough they can be on each other, it isn’t much different with clowns (though typically less violent).

 

[EricR]

Thanks all,,, been wavering on maybe getting one more clownfish but now I'm thinking probably not.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thanks all,,, been wavering on maybe getting one more clownfish but now I'm thinking probably not.

I would do it. They are so much more fun in pairs.

 

[EricR]

I would do it. They are so much more fun in pairs.

I hear ya.
My reservations are:
-- The little clown is getting along well with the bicolor blenny I have (the only other "fish" in the tank). They hang out and kind of mimic each other's behavior. I'd hate to disrupt the dynamic.
-- Really only bought the clown (first "fish") because my daughters really liked him. If the new clown bullied the little guy (like,,, uh,,, to death), that'd be a bummer.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I hear ya.
My reservations are:
-- The little clown is getting along well with the bicolor blenny I have (the only other "fish" in the tank). They hang out and kind of mimic each other's behavior. I'd hate to disrupt the dynamic.
-- Really only bought the clown (first "fish") because my daughters really liked him. If the new clown bullied the little guy (like,,, uh,,, to death), that'd be a bummer.

I understand.
The bigger one is always the mean female, getting a smaller clown would keep the new one from abusing the small one, but always a possibility.
The blenny dynamic probably wouldn’t be there any more, or at least as much. The pair would only really associate with each other, so if you wanted to keep that I wouldn’t get the pair.
Plenty of other fish in the sea!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Although larger generally female, not always mean but rather dominant. Some traits of a female in the clownfish world - size does matter. But, it's not what you think. For clownfish, the females are larger than the males. So if you have a large clownfish or a clownfish that has been alone for a long period of time, chances are that it is a female.
Female clownfish are much more dominant than their male counterparts. They greedily try to eat most of the food that gets into the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They will often aggressively protect their "home", whether that be an anemone, a nesting site, a clay pot or the entire fish tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its spot, you most likely have a female clownfish.
The other thing that makes sexing Ocellaris Clownfish difficult is that they can become male and then female. This means that a juvenile clownfish can turn into a male, and the same clownfish can later change sexes to become a female. Once they become female they cannot change back to male.
This is how the social hierarchy works for clownfish: There is one dominant female clownfish, partnered with a male, who is the next most dominant fish. The female is larger (often much larger) than the male. Next are non-mating males and juveniles. They are usually smaller still than the dominant male. If the male mate were to die, the next dominant male would become the mate (if the female accepts him). If the female were to die, then the dominant male would change to female and the next male in line would become the mate, but there is no guarantee they will pair off or mate.

 

[EricR]

I understand.
The bigger one is always the mean female, getting a smaller clown would keep the new one from abusing the small one, but always a possibility.
The blenny dynamic probably wouldn’t be there any more, or at least as much. The pair would only really associate with each other, so if you wanted to keep that I wouldn’t get the pair.
Plenty of other fish in the sea!

Thanks all for the advice and info. Last clown thoughts (for now) so any opinions/info appreciated:

If I decide to wait and not add another clown now. It's likely that this lone clown will eventually become female, correct? If so, roughly how long should I expect that to take?

If above is true then, down the road (once the clown is probably female), would I then be able to add a juvenile clown to possibly become the paired male or would that not work after the adult female has been single for a long period of time?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thanks all for the advice and info. Last clown thoughts (for now) so any opinions/info appreciated:

If I decide to wait and not add another clown now. It's likely that this lone clown will eventually become female, correct? If so, roughly how long should I expect that to take?

If above is true then, down the road (once the clown is probably female), would I then be able to add a juvenile clown to possibly become the paired male or would that not work after the adult female has been single for a long period of time?

I believe it takes a few weeks. Getting a juvie should be safe unless you have a particularly aggressive clownfish.