Pictures of my new Maroon clowns

[sirjohn]

Thought I'd share some pictures of my new gold-striped maroon clowns. They seemed to have taken to each other quite well, and quite quickly. I think the big female is the passive kind.


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc283/miamijaaz/HangingaroundtheHouseandtheNewFI-2.jpg


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc283/miamijaaz/HangingaroundtheHouseandtheNewFI-1.jpg


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc283/miamijaaz/HangingaroundtheHouseandtheNewFI-3.jpg


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc283/miamijaaz/HangingaroundtheHouseandtheNewFISH0.jpg

[shouldabenacowboy]

Nice looking pair :D

[dfm34]

very nice I am looking for a pair did you get them on line?

[sirjohn]

Thanks for the comments guys.

dfm, I bought them at a LFS that just happened to have the right sizes. They were not paired when I bought them; fortunately, they took to each other very well right away. I searched but I could not find any paired GSMs online.

[sirjohn]

Oh, a question to the clown experts, since I've never kept a GSM pair before. The male has retreated to the rear corner of the tank and just hangs out back there all day. Tank is a 92 gal. corner.

At first, the big female stayed next to the rocks in the front of the tank, like in the pictures, but in time has joined the male in the rear corner of the tank. I have not seen the female attack the male, and the male shows no signs of being attacked. They are now both back there for most of the day and sleep together in the same place during the night. They even wait back there for the food to float to them, which it inevitably does.

Is this behavior temporary? Will they eventually venture around the tank? There are no other fish, corals, or anemones (yet) in the tank.

There is a decent amount of flow in the tank, particularly in the front half. Could they be drawn to the rear corner of the tank because the flow is less back there?

Any help would be appreciated.

[dfm34]

Sirjohn thanks for the info, I will keep checking the lfs glad the pairing worked for you. good luck

[flamehawkfish]

Sir John,

Nice looking pair of clownfish.

To answer your question, yes, your clownfish behavior is very normal. I wouldn't be too alarmed about their shyness. While they'll always stay close to their territory, they'll also start venturing out soon enough.

In your case, I'd worry about two issues: 1) the male & female getting along, and 2) watching your water quality. It sounds like the first issue is working itself out just fine- and that's great news. As for water quality, monitor it carefully. If the tank lacks any other inhabitants, your Maroons might cause Ammonia & Nitrite spikes early on. Maroons are not the best starter fish, but can handle fluctuations in water-quality. Also, keep a close eye on your pH.

I hope this helps.

Take care,

Flamehawkfish

[ACBlinky]

Gorgeous pair, nice find! The male is a real cutie, look at that face :) Good luck with them, sounds like you're off to a great start.

[spellbound]

Beautiful Pair. Will be looking for a pair as nice.

[sirjohn]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10707547#post10707547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flamehawkfish
In your case, I'd worry about two issues: 1) the male & female getting along, and 2) watching your water quality. It sounds like the first issue is working itself out just fine- and that's great news. As for water quality, monitor it carefully. If the tank lacks any other inhabitants, your Maroons might cause Ammonia & Nitrite spikes early on. Maroons are not the best starter fish, but can handle fluctuations in water-quality. Also, keep a close eye on your pH.

Thanks for the tips Flamehawk. Luckily yes, I've not had to worry about them getting along, which seems to be a widespread problem. I was extremely lucky that they paired up right away, on the first try. I really do believe the advice often repeated here helped immensely, that is 1) to make sure there is a significant size difference between the two, and 2) to add them to the tank at the same time, if possible.

I know what you mean about the Maroons not being the best starter fish, and I didn't really want to add them first, but out of my stocking list, they were the best choice. As you said, that forces me to keep meticulous tabs on my water quality. So far so good. I invested in a Pinpoint PH monitor, which I love. PH is around 8.1 with the occasional drop to 8.0 overnight.

[FUA]

definately are beautiful fish

[nickterp]

sirjohn, I had a pair of Maroons in my last tank, and from my experience your clown's behavior seems very normal and positive. They do tend to pick out wierd territories, flat areas behind rocks, powerheads, corals, BTA's, etc and spend alot of time there. They will venture around the tank more overtime.

Eventually you can find a good coral or BTA for them to host with in a more appealing location in your tank.