Clownfish juveniles

knorsk · 12-28-2007, 12:24 AM

So I read that all clownfish are males when they are born and then eventually you have the dominant male and a female and weaker males. My question is if you purchase two juvenile percula clownfish and have them in the same tank will one eventually turn female and the other stay a male and become a mated pair or not necessarily?

Tommy3492 · 12-28-2007, 12:30 AM

ive read that there is a high percentage chance of one becoming dominate, what im going to do is just get 2 clownfish and have one a little bigger, not necesairly a mated pair, but just one bigger, which my theroy is the bigger will be come more dominate leading to the sex change and maybe even breeding.

knorsk · 12-28-2007, 12:34 AM

yeah that's what I'm in the process of I have a 1.5 inch percula and another that is closer to 2 inches and I'm just hoping for a sex change in one of the fish.

Tommy Gun · 12-28-2007, 01:07 AM

Hey knorsk!

I agree with Tommy in that it is hard to pick out a male and female clownfish when they are young, but if one is larger than the rest, there is some chance that it is a female (meaning I am not sure how accurate that would really be). However, even though it really is best to find/buy a mated pair (which is easier to see when they are a bit older because they will pair off separate from others in a group), there are some good odds that buying two juvenile clownfish will lead to you having a male and a female since this sex change is typically done on an as-needed basis (i.e. all the clownfish are males, so one or more might change). In fact, I am 99% sure that if the most dominant female is lost for some reason, a male will then change sex; even if it is later on in life (which is unlike FW Livebearers who can supposedly change sex as juveniles, but will then remain male or female for the rest of their lives....if I remember correctly anyways).

While I can't really say that I have asked around, nor really put much effort into finding out if this is 'normal' or not, I used to have two pairs of clownfish (one pair being Ocellaris, and the other Percula clowns) in my tank but due to some bonehead moves on my part, I lost one of each....and now I have what appears to be a mated pair of mismatched clownfish that are hosting in the same anemone, and it is the Percula clown that is much larger than the Ocellaris.