Clown Fish

[threeiron]

I have two tank raised clown fish that have started to make their home in a frogspawn coral. What is the likelihood that the clownfish will spawn?

[DeskJockey]

well its likely that they are still adolescents so they're going to go through the bickering & B*tching stage. It could be 6 months or 3 years until they spawn. If you REALLY want to know more go buy Clownfishes by Joyce D. Wilkerson its a very good read =)

[MKramer]

Given that they're tank-raised, there were probably only a few months old when you bought them. The earliest I've ever heard of ocellaris spawning is 9 months old, and those are generally false spawns.

 

Depending on whether or not you WANT them to spawn, you can try to improve (or reduce) the odds. As DeskJockey said, the best reference on this stuff is Joyce Wilkerson's book. Generally, if a clown pair is about to spawn in a nano, I would try to prevent it unless you're prepared to deal with the larvae. The number that hatch overnight can really make a mess of a small tank when they start getting sucked into powerheads, eaten, etc.. If you can't prevent the spawn, you can remove the eggs before hatching, but it's a little more difficult if you didn't get them to lay their clutch on a convienently removable item.