What are the chances of pairing an orang and black Ocellaris clowns?

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

That's the thing, I'm not sure how and why it happened, the only certainty is that it happened twice to the same fish that was replaced.

If it was stressed or sick I would have noticed odd activity levels or reduced feeding, even reduced colour due to stress. I'm working from home these days so I spend alot of time with the tank... it makes a good procrastination tool... lol

I feed them fresh frozen clams with fish nutrition drops to help keep them healthy and build their immune system.

Theres definitely no contaminants as I make sure all surfaces in the room are wiped with damp cloth no chemical sprays in the air. Ph is constantly 8.15.

That's why I'm at a loss and writing on the forum to get some views.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

I really hope I can just put it down as bad luck... the 2nd b&w died on Fri 13th if that's any consolation.

The recently added bicolour blenny (almost 2 weeks) took his time hiding in various holes and caves, but is now out and about swimming openly, fully coloured up and hanging out with the orange clown. He has even started coming to the surface to feed. He still picks on the snails if they get too close to him.

 

[mort]

Compared with other marine fish, clowns aren't great swimmers as they don't really need to be living in and around the same anemone their whole life. As you have captive bred clowns they can take some time to build up their swimming muscles because they are often grown up in lower flow grow out tanks and shops sales tank don't have strong flow. So I think that its is possible that the powerhead did suck the clown in unfortunately.

From looking at the picture of your clowns I still don't think it would have been aggression. They do begin to show dominance at that age but they still look young to be pairing, so it won't be relentless aggression. You will probably never know why the clown died. I think you've been unlucky and I'd probably leave the tank to settle for a month or two before you think of replacing it.

 

[Silly clownfish]

If she is really that old I would not count on her breeding as they are only soposed to live to be 20 and once past her prime things stop working

Yes, she is really that old - got her in June 1998. There is a reason I keep a fish tank journal. I’m not trying to breed them, just wanted to give her a friend. After losing a flame hawk that she had shared a tank with for over 19 years (jumped), she became a lot less active, seemed like what we would call depressed in a human. Getting another flame hawk did not help. At least she seems to enjoy hanging out with the new little tyke. May rename her as Cougar

 

[Zionas]

What would the estimated age of a Clown that’s 5-6cm? The black and whites at my LFS come in larger than the orange ones. Would one that’s 5-6cm (2-2.5”) pretty much be a confirmed female?