are they mated?

[marinefish]

i have two maroon clown each about 1 inch in size. they had tried to fight each other to death the first week they were introduce to the tank. they were introduce to the tank about two weeks apart. but now they no longer fight but sometimes swim together and vibrate their bodies a lot and digs a lot of holes in my sand. i am trying to figure out if they have mated (mated pair). when i put a mirror next to the wall of my tank, they both race to it and attacks their own immages but not each other. is this a sure sign that they are a mated pair. they hvae been in the tank together for a couple of months now. can any one help me on this question?

 

[marinefish]

the clown mention above are gold strip maroon clowns.

 

[marinefish]

anyone?

 

[slothy]

just give them some time, when one start getting big and the other stays small... pretty much a giving then.. other than that i dunno, of any other way

 

[david s]

I was told they are all born males and when they pair one will grow biger and turn female is this wrong ??? lol at least thats what I thought

 

[shadow678]

That is correct, all are born the same ---. The dominant of the pair or group will change to female in the abscence of a female, and will be the breeding female of the pair. Clownfish are sexually dimorphic, and this insures the survival of the sepcies. If they were not, the chances of a male and female meeting in nature and being able to breed successfully and raising the offspring would be dramatically reduced, whereas the ability to change --- when necessary insures that making a mated pair is much more likely. You said they were both 1", so they are still young to be mating, but given that they have accepted each other and are cohabitating peacefully will make it much more likely that they will mate later on, but not a guarantee. I would just be happy that they will tolerate each other, then if they mate later, terrific!