aherna96 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Hi all, so I've been wanting to get my clown fish a mate for a while now, but for various circumstances I have not gotten around to it. I know it can be quite challenging adding a second clown when the first has been established for a while. I think it might be particularly iffy with my female, seeing as she helped kill her previous partner while they were both in quarantine (he also seemed to be a bit sick). I do have a contingency plan when adding the new fish to my display, which mainly includes getting an acclimation box so she can't hurt him too much. My main dilemma is on how to keep a new clown from sexually maturing while he is in qt. I plan on getting as small a fish as i can (a local lfs has access to a local breeder). I plan on doing a 6 week quarantine, which from what i've read, might be long enough to have a clown sexually mature. Are there any methods you guys have tried and had success? I was thinking on sticking an image of a large clown fish to the glass, but I'm unsure on how successful this would be. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment
WhiteVelvetStarfish Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Have you considered doing less qt time and focusing more on rearranging the tank when you add the second clown? This can help to void the sense of “ownership” that your current clown feels towards the tank as the territory will appear new. I had a troublesome clown for a period of time and this ended up doing to trick to get her to accept a new buddy. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
WhiteVelvetStarfish Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I’ve also seen some people suggest picking up a clown that is smaller but spent time in a tank with a larger dominant female. This could also make it easier for him to back off and accept his role. 1 Quote Link to comment
aherna96 Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 34 minutes ago, dasoxx said: I’ve also seen some people suggest picking up a clown that is smaller but spent time in a tank with a larger dominant female. This could also make it easier for him to back off and accept his role. I had not thought of many of your points. I am pretty adamant about the quarantine period when buying from an lfs, but I will keep an eye out with local hobbyists, i would be willing to do shorter qt's when buying from somebody who looks like they take care of their tank. I will probably end up placing an acclimation box, and just before releasing him I will move around the rock work to confuse my female. Thanks for your advice, gave me a few options I had not even considered. 😀 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I added a clown after 7 months, they paired off right away. The clowns I added within 4 days apart ended up divorced. 😊 Every situation is different, each fish is different. It doesn't take weeks for clowns sexual maturity to occur. There is more involved I. Its sexual maturity. I wouldn't cut qt time, not worth risking your other clowns health. 1 Quote Link to comment
aherna96 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 22 hours ago, Clown79 said: I added a clown after 7 months, they paired off right away. The clowns I added within 4 days apart ended up divorced. 😊 Every situation is different, each fish is different. It doesn't take weeks for clowns sexual maturity to occur. There is more involved I. Its sexual maturity. I wouldn't cut qt time, not worth risking your other clowns health. I'm glad to hear that you had success with your clowns. There are so many stories online about people having trouble adding a second clown to their established one. I do think people are more likely to post when they have a problem, rather than when everything is running smooth, and their fish are getting along. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 If it is one of those super tiny juvies... it should not mature fast enough in the QT. I am talking about those boogers that come in at 1/2 to 1 inches. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 14 minutes ago, Tamberav said: If it is one of those super tiny juvies... it should not mature fast enough in the QT. I am talking about those boogers that come in at 1/2 to 1 inches. I have 2 of those boogers. They're still tiny but have finally began doing the twitchy-jerky dance starting yesterday. I think the issue with pairing depends on the fish involved. Each fish is different and reacts differently in the presence of another. With sexual maturity, if it's super tiny as Tam said, I wouldn't worry too much. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
aherna96 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 2 hours ago, Tamberav said: If it is one of those super tiny juvies... it should not mature fast enough in the QT. I am talking about those boogers that come in at 1/2 to 1 inches. Next time I'm at my lfs, I'll ask the owner to pick out one of those for me. Not sure how often he goes to the breeder, but i think it's the best bet. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment
aherna96 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said: I have 2 of those boogers. They're still tiny but have finally began doing the twitchy-jerky dance starting yesterday. I think the issue with pairing depends on the fish involved. Each fish is different and reacts differently in the presence of another. With sexual maturity, if it's super tiny as Tam said, I wouldn't worry too much. I think the main issue with her previous parter was that they were quite similar in size. She might feel more comfortable with a fish that she feels will not challenge her. We'll see how she goes. Thanks for the help! 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, aherna96 said: I think the main issue with her previous parter was that they were quite similar in size. She might feel more comfortable with a fish that she feels will not challenge her. We'll see how she goes. Thanks for the help! Ah, I see. Best of luck! If you have more questions, just ask and someone in the forum will help out. 1 Quote Link to comment
richnyc Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I got it from a hobbiest who was breeding locally so I knew the age of my clown. He was tiny 1 Quote Link to comment
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