Hey everyone, need advice regarding adding a juvenile clownfish with a much larger clownfish. I had a pair of ocellaris clownfish for a year and a half, unfortunately the male one died due to ich. Now I am thinking of adding a juvenile clownfish to my current clownfish but she will be much bigger compared to the juvenile, she must be around 2-2.5inches. Will it be ok?
Adding clownfish
- Thread starter gm875
- Start date
Well since I will be setting up a new tank, my current tank has become a quarantine for the clown, she’s never had any symptoms of ich during the breakout so I’m just observing her at the moment. Previously I had blue chromis and the male clown which were affected and died. So she’s the only fish at the moment. Once the new tank is ready and cycled, I want to transfer her over and then add another clown
RBLLL
New Member
Hi there. Your established and larger clown will be the female once a smaller clownfish is added. The new one, being smaller will become the male. Clownfish are born gender nuetral which is quite a bonus when you lose one. We lost one also and that is how we learned this. The larger one may initially bully the new, smaller one but if they can get over it they will mate, each in their roles. Very important however to purchase good, healthy stock from a reputable vendor. Have fun and good luck!
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
not quite true. All clown fish are born male. The largest turns female. Once that change happens it is irreversible. Any singly kept clown will be a female. It is important that any new clown be small and ideally from a group containing larger fish to ensure it is still a male. You have a chance adding a new male oscelaris or percula to an existing female of the same species. It is very unlikely to be successful with any other species of clown.