Couple Questions 4 Bang

[frozenice]

I know u know alot about mating clownfish. And i have a few questions for you.
1. How big of a tank do you need to mate 2 True percs?
2. Can you have other fish in the tank?
3. Do you need an anemone?
4.Throw in anymore info you know that i need to know to mate them.
Thanks Frozen

 

[bang guy]

1. At least a 10 gallon but 20 would be best.
2. Community fish will be fine but you'll need a bigger tank.
3. They do better without an Anemone in my experience.
4. They need something to claim as a home like a clay pot, etc. My Ocellaris pair use a rock covered with mushrooms.

 

[frozenice]

k thanks for the info. will they live in my blue striped shrooms? And i have a 29 reef with other fish in it. Will they be fine in that?

 

[bang guy]

They have minds of their own so I can't say if they'll find home in your mushrooms. The 29 sounds fine as long as you have community fish and it's not overstocked.

 

[frozenice]

one last question for you. Is it hard to mate them in a tank. And how long before they feel comfortable in my tank.

 

[bang guy]

It's not difficult to mate them. They should feel comfortable in 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[frozenice]

ok, thank you for all your help i went to 2 of my lfs's today. One didnt have any percs, and the other had like 5 true percs but they werent doing to well. Any way i forgot to ask you if you could tell the difference between a male and female true perc. I know the female is bigger, but how do you know that the perc you got isn't a large male and the smaller one is a baby male. Will the larger one turn female? Thanks.

 

[zap800]

ok from what i have read about clowns is that if you have a school of them there will be a dominate fish and that will be the female.the next one will be the male, and all the others will be male. when the dominate female dies the dominate male will turn female and one of the other fish will became the dominate male. and so on till there are no more fish. this is a matriarcle society with clear bounderies.
but thats my $.02

 

[frozenice]

ok thanks zap, but what if i end up getting 2 females and no male. Will one turn male or will they fight till the other is dead?

 

[frozenice]

Anybody......

 

[giraffemaster]

Zap is right, but this is in the wild. Most of the fish you will get from the store are juvenile meaning they aren't male or female yet.
If I was wanting to get a pair of clowns I would buy one and take him home. Let him get bigger and then go back to the store after a few weeks/months. Buy one that is smaller than the one you have in the tank and if you're lucky they will pair off. The large one will become the female and the male will be the smaller one.
This is what worked for me. It may work for you.

 

[bang guy]

Ditto.