Buying new clownfish, best picking choice?

[The_Paradox]

What I stated is a known fact

While in time the female will be bigger, that does not always apply to unknown fish from mixed stock. It is very possible to have a smaller female and larger male in fish from a local store. Guess I’ll rephrase, more opinions is usually not a bad thing.

 

[D-Nak]

There are a lot of variables here, as has been previously discussed. I'l try to break down a few of them.

1. Will the LFS have wild fish, that tend to be larger?
If so, they may already be sexed--meaning already females and males, and some may have even formed bonds. This is what you must keep in mind: once a female, always a female. However, males can change to females. This is obviously important when selecting two clownfish. In this case, you may see fish already paired off, with the smaller of the two usually being the male.

2. Will the LFS have captive bred fish, that have come from the same clutch?
If so, oftentimes these are too small (under 1") to be sexed. You may even see them swimming in a school or ball, and this typically means no dominance has been asserted yet, so there probably isn't a female in the bunch, and you can select your two favorite fish and go from there. You may see some fighting as one eventually asserts dominance and becomes a female, but this is completely normal.

3. Is one route easier than the other?
Not really, They both have their pluses and minuses. The main reason is that fish have personalities. Some are grumpy. Some are super laid back. Unless you spend hours at the LFS observing all of the fish, it'll be hard to pick up on their individual personalities. You may end up selecting an established pair and when you bring them home, they start fighting. A new home causes stress that may result in bickering (as is life). You may end up picking up two juveniles and when you dump them in your tank, they completely ignore each other. On the other hand, that established pair may live in bliss and never leave each other, and the same goes for the juveniles that instantly form a bond after they are introduced to your tank.

Long story short--just do what you feel is right and go from there. If you run into problems, just post and we'll provide solutions.

 

[TX_REEF]

I have always gone with 1 visibly larger than the other and never had any (serious) fighting during the dominance establishment process.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

There are a lot of variables here, as has been previously discussed. I'l try to break down a few of them.

1. Will the LFS have wild fish, that tend to be larger?
If so, they may already be sexed--meaning already females and males, and some may have even formed bonds. This is what you must keep in mind: once a female, always a female. However, males can change to females. This is obviously important when selecting two clownfish. In this case, you may see fish already paired off, with the smaller of the two usually being the male.

2. Will the LFS have captive bred fish, that have come from the same clutch?
If so, oftentimes these are too small (under 1") to be sexed. You may even see them swimming in a school or ball, and this typically means no dominance has been asserted yet, so there probably isn't a female in the bunch, and you can select your two favorite fish and go from there. You may see some fighting as one eventually asserts dominance and becomes a female, but this is completely normal.

3. Is one route easier than the other?
Not really, They both have their pluses and minuses. The main reason is that fish have personalities. Some are grumpy. Some are super laid back. Unless you spend hours at the LFS observing all of the fish, it'll be hard to pick up on their individual personalities. You may end up selecting an established pair and when you bring them home, they start fighting. A new home causes stress that may result in bickering (as is life). You may end up picking up two juveniles and when you dump them in your tank, they completely ignore each other. On the other hand, that established pair may live in bliss and never leave each other, and the same goes for the juveniles that instantly form a bond after they are introduced to your tank.

Long story short--just do what you feel is right and go from there. If you run into problems, just post and we'll provide solutions.

Thank you so much for this huge response, this is the info i was looking for!

 

[D-Nak]

I have always gone with 1 visibly larger than the other and never had any (serious) fighting during the dominance establishment process.

This works most of the time, unless two females are accidentally chosen.

I have a few breeding pairs, and one of my female Picassos is smaller than many of my other males. If I put her together with another larger fish (most likely a female) they'd probably fight until I separate them.

 

[TX_REEF]

This works most of the time, unless two females are accidentally chosen.

I have a few breeding pairs, and one of my female Picassos is smaller than many of my other males. If I put her together with another larger fish (most likely a female) they'd probably fight until I separate them.

it's a good point, I have only ever bought juveniles so haven't run into that issue. Only exception are the maroon clowns in my frag tank, but they were already an established pair.

 

[jtf74]

Probably not what you want to hear but I bought one. Waited 3-4 years in which it turned female and bought a much smaller clown. No issues, instant acceptance. Mine are maroons for what its worth.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello,

i'm going to get myself a pair of clownfish (Amphiprion Occelaris) next monday.
But my question to you clownfish experts is: what is the best picking choice i can make to decrease the chance of them fighting?
Should i choose 2 small ones identical size or should i choose 1 bigger & 1 smaller?
i'm going to a LFS so a confirmed couple is gonna be tough to get i think.

Thank you for your expertise!

Buy Tank raised and place existing clown in acclimation box for a week to get best introduction without aggression

 

[SaltyЯeeferNC]

Hello,

i'm going to get myself a pair of clownfish (Amphiprion Occelaris) next monday.
But my question to you clownfish experts is: what is the best picking choice i can make to decrease the chance of them fighting?
Should i choose 2 small ones identical size or should i choose 1 bigger & 1 smaller?
i'm going to a LFS so a confirmed couple is gonna be tough to get i think.

Thank you for your expertise!

When I originally purchased mine they were just wee babies. Honestly getting them young would be my go to method. So yeah get two of identical size. Mentioned by several already once they figure out who's who in the pecking order they'll do fine.

Mine are currently about 4 years old both nipped at each other until one submitted to the other. Now, they are two peas in a pod. Noticed my female is started to get a little territorial to the point I can't get my hand in the tank to do much of anything. Water changes usually spook them enough to get some cleaning done.

 

[exnisstech]

I'm with @jtf74 in I always buy one and wait untill im confident it has transitioned to female then I add the smallest male I can find. I've had 100% success doing it this way. I have had them fight to the death adding two at once. I like to wait a year or so but most folks don't want to wait. JME

EDIT : you can't really buy a pair of clown unless they are already bonded / mated.

 

[Falreef]

Get a harem variety of 6 or more, start as very small.

 

[SueAubu]

Just asking a clown fish basic that I never knew until I tried to put different clowns together....

Do you know that young clowns are not sexed until the "mate"... Meaning pair off and duke it out to figure out which is going to be the female? (Then, if one of the pair dies, the other may go through it all again and possibly change sexes?)

If you already knew that, sorry. I didn't. Understanding that basic fact may help these responses make more sense. The "fighting" is natural and part of the process.

It wasn't until, out of a group of 4, 2 paired off, and the fighting took a deadly turn. Separation required.

 

[SueAubu]

Mine are currently about 4 years old both nipped at each other until one submitted to the other. Now, they are two peas in a pod. Noticed my female is started to get a little territorial to the point I can't get my hand in the tank to do much of anything. Water changes usually spook them enough to get some cleaning done.

Yup! And what fingers Mrs. Clown doesn't get, my lemon damsel munches on!

 

[SaltyЯeeferNC]

Yup! And what fingers Mrs. Clown doesn't get, my lemon damsel munches on!

So aggravating! As i mentioned above water changes are about the only time I can get in there. Cause they push to the back corner of the tank until I'm finished.

 

[kdx7214]

One thing to avoid is getting them with drastically different sizes. The biggest ones are female and they are viciously territorial. I had one that was an awesome fish as a juvenile and male, but turned into the nastiest biting fish I'd ever seen as a female.

 

[garygb]

If you can observe a group of clowns, you will probably be able to see the dominant, larger fish that is either in the process of becoming female or has become female. You will also be able to see smaller, more skittish fish that are almost certainly still males. If you have that opportunity, get the most dominant and the most passive fishes and you might not have much aggression. The male will submissively shimmy and the dominant fish will accept his submissiveness without killing him. Having multiple anemones to hide in is always nice. Unfortunately, natural hosts for ocellaris are gigantea and magnificas, which is a whole other discussion. Often ocellaris will take to BTAs or even leather corals, but all bets are off. They may not.

As far as separation, having that option as a back up, is a good idea.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hello,

i'm going to get myself a pair of clownfish (Amphiprion Occelaris) next monday.
But my question to you clownfish experts is: what is the best picking choice i can make to decrease the chance of them fighting?
Should i choose 2 small ones identical size or should i choose 1 bigger & 1 smaller?
i'm going to a LFS so a confirmed couple is gonna be tough to get i think.

Thank you for your expertise!

One bigger and one half the size. They will still probably fight but it will go smoother that way as the smaller one will realize it needs to submit to the bigger one. I have 4 pairs of clowns currently, one pair being a maroon