Sexual maturity of Clowns

[keenste]

Good morning all,

Anyone know how to tell if ocellaris clowns have matured. Just wondering if there is any concrete way to tell if your clowns are sexually mature or if you have to wait to find out.

I have 3 clowns together 1 large(I assume female) and 1 med(assume male) and 1 small clown.. the problem is I had two pairs the first pair suffered a loss, which that pair entailed the lg female and her buddy...the second pair had the med and the smaller clown..since the death of the male in the first pair they all just hang out together with the lg female bossing everyone around.

Any info is much appreciated. Thanks!

sk

[TomRep]

Most clowns are considered sexually mature (able to lay eggs) when a truly formed bond forms between the male and female. You can tell this by both parts goiong to each other and doing the body shake thing. Some species can be as soon as 6 months, others may take up to a year. However, sexually mature and actually laying eggs are two totally different things. Good luck!
Tom

[papagimp]

What you'll end up with is one dominate female, one dominate male, and one sexually immature male. And as far as how to tell, ya got me. Once they start displaying the right attitude. You'll probably see the female and one male hanging out more than the 3rd fish out. Maybe even see them "jiggling" at each other. Not sure what else to call that little dance they do.

fwiw, if you have a pair and one dies, just get another juvinile, in all likely hood, the larger male will covert to female as clowns are hermaphrodites like that, and the newest little male will turn into a sexually mature male. You will only have ONE sexually mature male within a group of clowns. And once they convert, they don't change back. A female stays female for the rest of her life, a sexually mature male will stay sexually mature male or change to female, but will not go back to being a normal grunt male. And the grunts, well, that all depends on how the other two do, or they stay grunts. Most tanks are not large enough for a group of clowns like this so we usually just see a single pair interacting.

There are exceptions to this rule though, but more often that not, this is the case. My last pair was about 6 months old when I noticed the male/female hanging out more and more and hosting together.

fwiw, I'm refering to Percula's and Ocellaris here, I'm not overly familar with the other species since this two are what I have kept.

[TomRep]

What is this, automotive techs are the only ones who know about clownfish sexual maturity?! lol
tom

[Paintbug]

i have 2 false percs that i bought when they were tiny about 2 years ago, and they still dont lay eggs. bums!

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9748090#post9748090 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TomRep
What is this, automotive techs are the only ones who know about clownfish sexual maturity?! lol
tom

It's not just auto techs, paintball techs too!! LOL.
Cars, paintball guns, clownfish, it's all the same to us, :D

[TomRep]

Lol! Hey paintbug, stability is the key. Some clowns can be together forever and never spawn. However, this is rarely the case. Just takes a lot of patients and stability, stability, stability!
Tom

[Paintbug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9748207#post9748207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TomRep
Lol! Hey paintbug, stability is the key. Some clowns can be together forever and never spawn. However, this is rarely the case. Just takes a lot of patients and stability, stability, stability!
Tom

i think they just like being boys LOL

[Amphiprion]

They have a very high fecundity rate in the wild, so it would be my guess that around 1 year (give or take) is enough to be fully mature.

[papagimp]

I would tend to agree with Amphiprion comments, the longest I've ever owned a confirmed pair was about a year and they had still not spawned for me when I sold em off. Got a new black and white pair, still waiting on them to grow up.

[keenste]

thanks for all the good insight. fwiw they are already doing their little "dance" the med clown turns a bit sideways and vibrates quickly for a few seconds and then they go about their business. Its quite fun to watch. Thanks again!

steve