Pairing?

cook77

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Just bought two Midnight Clownfish. They have showed all the signs. So I went ahead and bought a pot. They guard it and swim around the edges. If one swims around the tank, one will stay at the pot. But there is not fry. Do I think of this as they're just hosting or are they trying to find a spot for fry? I'm new to this. So all information is great.

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wkscott

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Ocellaris clownfish pair very easily, even the tiniest ones will do this. How large are the clowns? If you just got them, I'm guessing that they are still juveniles and both are still male. A mature female will be quite a bit larger than the male. If your clowns are about the same size, they won't be ready to breed for a while.
 
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cook77

cook77

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Ocellaris clownfish pair very easily, even the tiniest ones will do this. How large are the clowns? If you just got them, I'm guessing that they are still juveniles and both are still male. A mature female will be quite a bit larger than the male. If your clowns are about the same size, they won't be ready to breed for a while.

They're probably inch and a half maybe two. Both about the same size.
 

wkscott

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At under 2 inches, they are both males. One of them is going to grow faster than the other and become a female. She'll be ready when she is about 3 inches but this could take another year of maturing. As in all of nature, younger animals have been known to have babies before they are ready.

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Setting up dominance can happen at almost any stage of the clowns' development and this dominance can change as the 2 fish grow.

There are 2 terms that can be used here, bonding and pairing.
1. Bonding. This happens even with baby clowns. If you have 2 juvenile males, they become best friends and hang out together. They're just best buds but one is usually a little more dominate than the other. This bond is not permanent. Add a 3rd clown and the dynamics of the trio can change quickly.

If you allow the 2 that have bonded to mature together, without other clowns around, one of them will most likely become a female and they may breed. This is not guaranteed however. They may just remain best friends and never cross the line.

2. Pairing. The fish are thinking about breeding. Usually the 2 fish have bonded for a while first, but this is not always so. A new fish could swim up and it could be a case of love at first sight.
 
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