Mated Pairs?

[SeattleFishGirl]

I see many of you talk about your mated pairs of fish, especially clowns. I was curious how they become mates? Did you buy them at the same time? Would it be possible for us to get a male for our Maroon Clown, pretty sure it's a female as it is pretty large compared to the pictures of males I've seen. Is there a chance they won't pair up and just war with each other over territory?
I also wanted ask these questions for my new upcoming FOWLR tank. I would like to get a pair of Puffers, but not sure how to go about making sure they will "hook up." Any expereince or suggestions on how to get a pair of fish to mate is appreciated!

 

[Alice]

Boy, I don't have a clue on pairing up puffers.

When it comes to mating, some fish when they come to the right age won't care about specific conditions as long as the chemistry is right. I know several people with pairs of Mandarins that didn't start mating until they added moon lights.

Adding a mate for your Maroon might be very touchy; Maroons are aggressive. Your best chance of success is probably to add one much smaller than yours and hope to heck yours doesn't beat the new arrival to death. You can help avoid this by putting the new fish in a breeder cage for an introductory period, removing your original fish to a holding tank while the new clown settles in or try the standard method of rearranging the rockwork to throw your original clown's sense of territory off a bit, making sure you add the new fish after a big feeding and when the lights are off...and then praying. Or a combo of all of the above.

Pairing up new clowns is failry easy, though may take a while for results. Buy two of them close to the same size when they are smaller and let nature take its' course.

Alice

 

[SeattleFishGirl]

Alice,

Thanks for the advice! We've had our Maroon for 14 months and it is VERY protective of it's territory, a good sized Rose Bubble-Tipped Anenome AND a huge Colt Coral. When we got the Clown we didn't have an anenome so it took up residence in the Colt. We got the Anenome about 6 months later, so now the Clown is protecting both homes from all the other fish!

 

[Solov]

I just mated pair of Ocellaris clowns yesterday. I have a large one for about 7 months and recently decided to get her a pair.

She was VERY calm fish by herself even Damsel couldn't piss her off easily, but the second I added new little fellow into the tank the Corrida began. I had no idea she could be so aggressive! She chased poor guy non stop nipping and hitting him for like 10minutes. Then I turned on the lights, they stopped for a few minutes looking at each other and then began the chase again. Large clown was going meaner and meaner, so fish net went in (I wasn't catching them, just separated and didn't let them get close for about 5 min).

Surprisingly enough (I was very worried for outcome at that moment) during this time larger clown's initial rush ended and when I removed the net, actual "mating dance" began. Large guy was charging at small and he was smart enough to start his shivering dance after a few charges. Even then it took half day to convince Larger clown that it's okay to have a mate. She was watching him from 2 inch distance whole that time .

And now they are happily (well at least calmly) swim together.

So considering Maroons are much more agressive, I think breeder cage is a must, also have fish net ready when you'll try to actually introduce them to each other.

 

[MtnDewMan]

Most clowns are relatively easy to pair when one is very large and the other very small. Maroons however can be the exception. They are VERY aggressive. Even if one is very large and the other very small. The pairing ritual is very aggressive with them. To the point sometimes of causing death.

I have a pair, I was thinking they were real good together when I first got them as juveniles. They were tiny, about the same size. They did great for 3 weeks, then wam, one attacked and attacked and attacked and attacked the other one. For about 2 or 3 months. It was non-stop. The submissive one was definately worn down. After about 3 months, they finally were okay together, the dominant one had won the battle of the sexes and they are now a pair and are in great shape.

Like I said, with Maroons, they can be a very difficult breed to pair up, sometimes leading to something you don't want to see. But the best bet I think is what was said, the new one has to be pretty small to have a chance I think

 

[uwscotch]

Good luck with the pairing of the maroon clowns. I agree with what everyone has said. Maroon are pretty difficult to pair up. You need to introduce an extremely small HEALTHY fish to the established clown. Once the large one realizes it can kill it, it seems to quite. The worst part of the whole procedure is watching it. In my mind, i think it is absolutely horrible and I always want to intervene. Fortunately, it rarely results in death unless the little one is unhealthy to begin with. It may loose a couple of fins but that seems to be the worst of it.

Good luck