Pairing off clownfish

[WilRams]

I have been looking for a pair of snowflake clownfish for both my tanks. I had a decent sized store credit at a LFS and they happened to have a group of 4. I picked them all up last night and they are in QT. Of course they are now showing aggression, flashing and you know...clown things.

I have an acclimation box I want to put a pair in and leave the other pair in the tank. Once they go through QT I will move the pairs into their perspective tanks. My question is how do I decide which ones to put together? They are all pretty much equally sized. 2 of them are just a tiny bit smaller then the other 2. They all seem to be sparring off or flashing at each other. What should I be looking for to pick who goes with who?

 

[oodan]

Generally the bigger fish is female the smaller is male

 

[Bunnee911]

The male will usually submit by shimmying. Watch them and learn who is who. With 4 together, look for one female (bully). When you separate into pairs, then you will get the 2nd female.