Need some advise on pairing GS maroon.

[birdmom]

Hello,
I have been looking all over the net but nothing seems to fit my situation.
As always, things never go the way you intend them to & I now have a dilemma.
I have had my Gold stripe maroon & an Ocellaris in my main display tank for almost 6mo. During that time the Ocellaris has grown to almost 3 inches while my GSM has stayed around 1 ½ inch.
I originally planned on separating them both into two separate tanks this week & attempt to pair them with their respective species. I also intended to return only the GSM pair back into the main display.
My dilemma is this, the new GSM that arrived last week is a little larger than my original. At the moment I have them both in a separate tank with a divider to separate them. My original GSM is showing strong hint of yellow in the stipes but is very small.
My questions are as follows:
1) Is it possible that my original GSM is male from being Housed with the Ocellaris for so long.
(Would that be the cause of lack of growth?)
2) just because the new one is larger does that automatically mean that it may be female.
(ordered online "tank raised" & assume that it was housed with multiple fish)
3) what is the best thing to do in this situation?
Thanks for any help someone can give!
Birdmom

 

[lion_crazz]

I am not the greatest when it comes to pairing clownfish, but I will give this post a bump for you, regardless.

 

[xdave]

1) No, clownfish do not mature until 2 years so yours technically is not a male but simply an immature specimen. They also will not become either male or female based on the presence of a fish they can't mate with.
2) As mentioned, the new one is immature, not a male or female. It is possible that either one may become the female and the other will become male when they mature.
3) I don't see any problem here. If you keep the 2 maroons in a tank separate from the perc, they will very likely become a pair.
The idea of getting 2 of slightly different sizes to insure a pair really only has relevance if they are raised in the same tank. The smallest from one tank may be bigger than the largest from another. This procedure is really not necessary, the clownfish at the store are seldom of mature breeding age. They may appear to be pairing off but most animals play that way.

 

[birdmom]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I am not the greatest when it comes to pairing clownfish, but I will give this post a bump for you, regardless.
thank You! How does one bump a post? Will it bump from a reply?
I am a computer Geek but never have gotten the hang of these message boards..

 

[birdmom]

Originally Posted by xDave
1) No, clownfish do not mature until 2 years so yours technically is not a male but simply an immature specimen. They also will not become either male or female based on the presence of a fish they can't mate with.
2) As mentioned, the new one is immature, not a male or female. It is possible that either one may become the female and the other will become male when they mature.
3) I don't see any problem here. If you keep the 2 maroons in a tank separate from the perc, they will very likely become a pair.
The idea of getting 2 of slightly different sizes to insure a pair really only has relevance if they are raised in the same tank. The smallest from one tank may be bigger than the largest from another. This procedure is really not necessary, the clownfish at the store are seldom of mature breeding age. They may appear to be pairing off but most animals play that way.
Thanks for the reply,
I am confused on one thing though. I have read both 1 year to maturity & some say 2 yrs. How do you really know?
After 3weeks I have finally made some progress in keeping them together in the same tank. I really thought it would go better because initially the original M Clown did the submissive shake to the new clown. I assume that when the new one showed no sign of dominance the power changed? The new clown has taken a beating over the last few weeks.
I had hoped moving my original from the large tank to a smaller tank where the new clown had established territory would be the best way to do it. I actually resorted to taking out the divider & the original clown spent most of its time in a small hang on fuge the last week. Let it out 1-2hrs a day or until he had harassed the new clown to near death.. The last 48hrs they have both been free in the tank & the original has finally stopped taking actual bites..
Anyone have ideas how to make this go better? One thing I have found useful is to turn off the pumps & feed them live brine once a day. Seems to distract them enough to forget to fight..
Thanks

 

[birdmom]

one month later...
I am still experiencing aggression problems with the original GSM clown..
(yes, if anyone asks... it is the one pictured on another post)
I allowed both clowns to roam freely about the new tank together the last week.. I was forced to put a divider in the tank to separate them again yesterday before the new addition was battered to death...
I intend to give the new clown a few days to recover before I try again. But I wonder if I should give it up?? I know that putting the original GSM back into the main tank is NOT an option..
Anyone have some advise???
Thanks!

 

[yerboy]

I added 2 GS maroons to my tank yesterday and woke up this morning to find the smaller of the 2 had almost all of his fins eaten off by the other. I had to pull it out and put it in my other tank for fear of him getting killed. Would it even be worth it to try and put him back and see if they pair or should i just return one to my LFS.

 

[mscarpena]

If you want to pair GS Maroons you need to get one that is about 4-5 inches and pair it with one that is about 1-2 inches. GS are the most agressive clowns and the most difficult to pair up. The pair that you have will probably never get along and if left together could kill each other. Even putting a small one with a large one is risky. Your best to buy them as pairs. The large one is most likely a female and the new one you bought Who knows. Good luck and let me know if I can help any further. If your Ocellaris and Percula were getting along you probably should have left them.