Should I Get Another Clownfish?

[JillB]

My 100 gallon tank is 9 months old. My first fish were a pair of snowflake clownfish in late March. Since then I have added a Cardinal fish, a flame angel, a foxface and a lemon damsel. I quarantine EVERYTHING that goes into my DT. Inexplicably, a week ago, the female clownfish died. No ich, no velvet no aggression of any kind in the tank. Everyone else is fine...no signs of any issues. I doubt I'll ever know why but that is not my question here. I feel so badly for the little male...he and the female were absolutely inseparable. I know I'm projecting but when he swims around now, I swear he's looking for his buddy. So here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to get another snowflake clown to pair with him? I know it would have to be significantly larger or smaller for this to work at all. My guess is I'd be unable to find a large snowflake, so it would have to be a juvenile. If I did get one that was much smaller, would my male turn into the female?

2. Should I just get over it and move on....I have more fish on my wish list.

I'd love to hear if anyone has tried this and how it turned out. I don't want to spark any fighting in my very peaceful tank.

Thanks

 

[AmazingYocool]

My 100 gallon tank is 9 months old. My first fish were a pair of snowflake clownfish in late March. Since then I have added a Cardinal fish, a flame angel, a foxface and a lemon damsel. I quarantine EVERYTHING that goes into my DT. Inexplicably, a week ago, the female clownfish died. No ich, no velvet no aggression of any kind in the tank. Everyone else is fine...no signs of any issues. I doubt I'll ever know why but that is not my question here. I feel so badly for the little male...he and the female were absolutely inseparable. I know I'm projecting but when he swims around now, I swear he's looking for his buddy. So here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to get another snowflake clown to pair with him? I know it would have to be significantly larger or smaller for this to work at all. My guess is I'd be unable to find a large snowflake, so it would have to be a juvenile. If I did get one that was much smaller, would my male turn into the female?

2. Should I just get over it and move on....I have more fish on my wish list.

I'd love to hear if anyone has tried this and how it turned out. I don't want to spark any fighting in my very peaceful tank.

Thanks

it is possible. Its just much harder with a pre established clown. ive done it and it worked, others have and it hasent worked. would I try? yeah. Worst case scenario you can move it back to the QT. just be aware that the clown might not want to pair.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I don't have an answer, but am following just so I know the answer. I have 2 percula clowns that are inseparable, and would like to know just in case.

 

[exnisstech]

If it were me l would just wait a while until the current clown transitions to female then add a small male. Everything I've read says a single clown will always change to female. IMO the chances of getting a small male are better than getting one that may or may not be female. I don't know for a fact but I've read it can take 9 months to a year for one to transition to female. It seems like a long time to some but for me it's worth the wait to avoid having to watch fish fight and establish dominance and possibly loosing one in the process. I'm not a fan of adding two males and letting them work it out. Watching fish fight takes the pleasure out of it for me.

EDIT : If you had lost the male I would not hesitate to add another now. I have done that before.

EDIT : As @Vinaka_vakalevu mentioned below the female could choose not to accept the male. I've found an acclimation box to help but there is no guarantee.

 

[JillB]

What great advice! I wasn't sure whether the male would transition but if that happens, I think you're right that I can easily add a small male. In the meantime, I'll add something from my wish list.

Thank you!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

If it were me l would just wait a while until the current clown transitions to female then add a small male. Everything I've read says a single clown will always change to female. IMO the chances of getting a small male are better than getting one that may or may not be female. I don't know for a fact but I've read it can take 9 months to a year for one to transition to female. It seems like a long time to some but for me it's worth the wait to avoid having to watch fish fight and establish dominance and possibly loosing one in the process. I'm not a fan of adding two males and letting them work it out. Watching fish fight takes the pleasure out of it for me.

EDIT : If you had lost the male I would not hesitate to add another now. I have done that before.

This sounds like some very well thought out, wise advice to me.

 

[Reeferbadness]

If it were me l would just wait a while until the current clown transitions to female then add a small male. Everything I've read says a single clown will always change to female. IMO the chances of getting a small male are better than getting one that may or may not be female. I don't know for a fact but I've read it can take 9 months to a year for one to transition to female. It seems like a long time to some but for me it's worth the wait to avoid having to watch fish fight and establish dominance and possibly loosing one in the process. I'm not a fan of adding two males and letting them work it out. Watching fish fight takes the pleasure out of it for me.

EDIT : If you had lost the male I would not hesitate to add another now. I have done that before.

Following. I also lost 1 of a pair and have been looking to add another one. Will try and add a smaller (likely male) and see what happens.

 

[exnisstech]

Following. I also lost 1 of a pair and have been looking to add another one. Will try and add a smaller (likely male) and see what happens.

Did you loose the male or female?

 

[Reeferbadness]

Did you loose the male or female?

honestly, i can't remember.... they are 5 year old Ocellaris clowns.... i think the remaining one is female but am not sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocellaris_clownfish​

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

honestly, i can't remember.... they are 5 year old Ocellaris clowns.... i think the remaining one is female but am not sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocellaris_clownfish​

The size difference between a 5yr old female and a 5yr old male would be noticeable. That female would be sizably larger than the male.

What great advice! I wasn't sure whether the male would transition but if that happens, I think you're right that I can easily add a small male. In the meantime, I'll add something from my wish list.

Thank you!

There is no guarantee that a female will accept a new mate when introduced no matter what the size and in most cases a larger established territorial female is more prone to aggression towards a mate (established or new). Any clown can be come aggressive, Not all do.

 

[exnisstech]

The size difference between a 5yr old female and a 5yr old male would be noticeable. That female would be sizably larger than the male.




There is no guarantee that a female will accept a new mate when introduced no matter what the size and in most cases a larger established territorial female is more prone to aggression towards a mate (established or new). Any clown can be come aggressive, Not all do.

Thanks. In my reply above I forgot to mention using an acclimation box when introducing a male with an established female can increase the odds. I've paired maroons this way and they can be difficult to pair. But there's no guarantee

 

[kevgib67]

I had a similar scenario happen just under two years ago. The remaining clown was the obvious male. I immediately added a larger clown, 1/2” bigger, and the two are inseparable. Maybe I just got lucky.

 

[TX_REEF]

Sorry for your loss! I would add a new, significantly smaller clown. The existing clown should become dominant and transition to female.

 

[Peair]

My 100 gallon tank is 9 months old. My first fish were a pair of snowflake clownfish in late March. Since then I have added a Cardinal fish, a flame angel, a foxface and a lemon damsel. I quarantine EVERYTHING that goes into my DT. Inexplicably, a week ago, the female clownfish died. No ich, no velvet no aggression of any kind in the tank. Everyone else is fine...no signs of any issues. I doubt I'll ever know why but that is not my question here. I feel so badly for the little male...he and the female were absolutely inseparable. I know I'm projecting but when he swims around now, I swear he's looking for his buddy. So here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to get another snowflake clown to pair with him? I know it would have to be significantly larger or smaller for this to work at all. My guess is I'd be unable to find a large snowflake, so it would have to be a juvenile. If I did get one that was much smaller, would my male turn into the female?

2. Should I just get over it and move on....I have more fish on my wish list.

I'd love to hear if anyone has tried this and how it turned out. I don't want to spark any fighting in my very peaceful tank.

Thanks

It's difficult to have a pair now, you can try, but you have to keep an eye on them all the time because one might kill the other one off, if you see picking remove one right away to another tank.

 

[Dbichler]

If your tank is only 9 months old assuming you bought the clowns as juveniles(small) highly unlikely they were even sexually mature at around 1.5-2 years before this happens if they were juveniles you will have a greater chance than say a male that’s 3 years old.

 

[Texas_Aquaman]

I also lost one of a very established pair of clown fish. My LFS advised that if I added another clown to make sure it was smaller. I did this and the larger, established clown bullied the smaller clown for a couple days…..but now they are best buddies. Glad I did it.