clown grouping

[so-smrt]

you always see clowns in pairs, but can 3 or 4 host to one anemone? i had 2 one died and most of the time you see them for sale as pairs. btw i am referring to true perculas.

[Shark_Bait]

I have seen 5 or 6 in an anemone in the wild, but not so much in the home tank. It might have something to do with anemone size.

[GaryP]

You may see two in a tank together but they are rarely "paired." What we see at LFS are mainly immature fish and not old enough to be "going steady." I think they are held two in a tank is more marketing then anything else. People are morelikely to buy two fish if they think they are a pair.

As clowns mature, the dominant or larger fish goes through a sexual metamorphosis and changes into a female fish. They are all born as males. The female grows quickly. Once this occurs they can become a "pair."

I had 6 oscellaris in a tank at one time. There was 1 female and 5 males and 3 LTA.

[Shark_Bait]

Wow... I may regret this but I think I get to correct Gary :w00t . Clownfish are born sexless. If they live as a community there will be 1 female and 1 male and the others will be... ummmm fish. Doesn't make sense to me either but I'm sure I read that in some reference book (I'm looking through my libary as I type). The female "picks on" the male to keep him in line and the male "picks on" the others to keep them from developing a sex keeping the female for himself :skeezy . This is why it is dificult to add new clownfish to a tank with established clownfish.

I'm still looking for the reference and I'll put it up when I find it.


And if you see them for sale as pairs they are way more expensive as they are supposed to be a breeding pair as that is the only true way to know if they are a pair. If they are just hanging out together, then well that's what there doing just hanging out. Especially if they are close to the same size as the female is always the largest of the group, and not just "well this one looks bigger" but almost twice the size.

[GaryP]

Rob,

I have been known to be wrong occasionally. Post the link. Let's see it. -

[Shark_Bait]

OK no link but to re-type:

Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites, meaning they are hatched as sexually immature fry. Based on signals from their environment and being physically mature (12–24 months) they will either remain sexually immature, change into a male or change into a male then female. A group of clownfish is always built into a hierarchy of this type, with the female (the largest and most aggressive) at the top. The change from juvenile to male, and male to female is irreversible.

So not sexless as I said but sexually immature.

[so-smrt]

cool so if i the one i have is new and doesnt heve an anemone i should be ok to buy 2+ anemone here huh

[GaryP]

You have to have a good magnifying glass to tell which is which. :)