Pairing clownfish

[snyderman99]

Hey!
I had 2 clownfish I thought were going to be a good pair but one ended up killing the other:( and the lone clownfish also ended up dying. does anyone know a good way to pair clownfish with a high success rate? I’m not looking to pair them to breed per se but I don’t want them to fight. Any thought? Thank you!

 

[edsbeaker]

Hi,
I’ve had the most luck starting out with 2 really young clowns of roughly the same size. As they grow, one will transition to female and be the dominate fish. There will probably be some squabbling, but this will typically end with 2 clowns that get along in the tank.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I get them small when they are less than an inch, then I let them sort it out. So far this has always worked for me.

 

[ReefingCera]

This is helpful. Thanks for sharing.

 

[exnisstech]

Im not a fan of just adding two and letting then figure it out. I know it's what most people do but I hate watching fish fight and it can lead to the death of one as shown. My current pair of black ocellaris I picked out the largest in the group and added it first then a few days later I added the smallest one out of a group from a different store. I'm not a fan of adding two from the same clutch. The whole in breeding thing feels wrong to me even tho I'm not actually breeding. I can be strange.
With larger more aggressive clowns like maroons ive had good luck growing one out to be a female then adding a little male later using an acclimation box. I paired my last maroon female twice this way after her first mate died.

 

[ReefingCera]

I never thought about avoiding same clutch pairs or introducing them with a size difference from different stores. Definitely taking notes for when I try pairing again.

 

[CookieM]

Some vendors sell them paired, so that may be a good route

 

[alex shi]

The greater the difference in size between the two, the easier it is to pair.

 

[CookieM]

I think the easiest way is to buy them paired. A little more expensive, but worth it imo