Chances of clowns not pairing?

[NaturallyKait]

We had 2 regular clowns in our evo and had to separate them after a couple of months because they started battling to the death. My 4 year old is still really upset about only having one clownfish now. The one we kept was the less aggressive of the two, but both were pretty intent on battling to be female. What are the chances if we get a little baby clown that we’ll end up having the same problem? Our LFS has a few that are significantly smaller than our current clown and I keep debating trying again. 

[Gravity]

I don’t know if it’s a sure thing but sounds like you got the right idea. A smaller clown will pose less threat and should pair better. It’s recommended to place one in a container (breeder/isolation box) to get past the initial aggression. 
 

I had similar sized clowns and it didn’t workout. Will try to pair again with a smaller one in three weeks if everything goes good with quarantine. 

[Thrassian Atoll]

A long time ago I got 2 Picasso’s.  The larger one chased the smaller one until it died.  Those were the only 2 fish I had at that point in my Biocube.  I never tried to more than one clown at a time after that.

[NaturallyKait]

35 minutes ago, Gravity said:

I don’t know if it’s a sure thing but sounds like you got the right idea. A smaller clown will pose less threat and should pair better. It’s recommended to place one in a container (breeder/isolation box) to get past the initial aggression. 
 

I had similar sized clowns and it didn’t workout. Will try to pair again with a smaller one in three weeks if everything goes good with quarantine. 

Yeah the two we started with were similar sizes and I think that was part of our problem. They got along for the first few months but then suddenly, battle to the death. 

[j.falk]

50/50 chance.

[MrObscura]

Yea, they might have already both been female. 

 

Key is getting 2 young ones that haven't matured yet and letting them grow and develop together. 

 

Or if you already have on make sure the second is very young and that way more likely to accept the submissive male role. And therefore more likely to be accepted by the original fish. Though this way seems to be hit or miss. 

[NaturallyKait]

1 hour ago, MrObscura said:

Yea, they might have already both been female. 

 

Key is getting 2 young ones that haven't matured yet and letting them grow and develop together. 

 

Or if you already have on make sure the second is very young and that way more likely to accept the submissive male role. And therefore more likely to be accepted by the original fish. Though this way seems to be hit or miss. 

Yeah the one I have now is probably almost an inch bigger than the ones at the LFS. I can’t decide if it’s worth a try or not. 

[MrObscura]

If you do try I'd go with a really small baby, it'll give you the best shot. 

 

The current fish will be less likely to harass it when introduced and as it matures it'll be more likely to become a male the older fish will accept.