Maroon pairing with Ocellaris

[omgzloljk]

Deciding to disregard the widely accepted fact that different species of clown fish are generally incompatible with each other in an aquarium setting, I purchased a Maroon clown and added it to my tank, which at the moment contains only an Ocellaris clown. The tank is well established 55g, about two years old, and the Ocellaris is happily hosting between two large, recently split BTAs.

I made sure to purchase a smaller maroon (~1.5"), hoping that it's small size in comparison to the Ocellaris (~3") would reduce its aggressive tendencies and deter fighting between the two. After QT, I added the maroon to a breeder container for about two days to see how the clowns interacted. While seeming interested in each other, they didn't appear to be overtly aggressive, so after the break in period I released the Maroon.

The two clowns met near the anenome, fought with a mouth-locking type wrestle for about 3 seconds, then the Ocellaris displayed the submissive shaking behavior and the fighting ceased. Over the course of the next few hours both clowns appeared to accept each other, circling each other while swimming and sharing the anemone quite happily. They both sleep together in the 'nem and seem to be somewhat inseparable.

I've done a bit of reading about possible inter-species breeding and while it appears they each belong to a different genus, people have reported maroon-ocellaris hybrids in the wild and in the home aquarium. I'm just curious if you guys have any experience with inter-species pairing and perhaps breeding, and if this pair is just unusual or actually rare?

Thanks

[EvMiBo]

No experience with this what so ever (but I do have a maroon). But, that being said it's probably quite a long shot getting them to breed; I'd say you'd be lucky if the maroon (once it grows a little) doesn't kill the ocellaris. If the ocellaris is already submitting to the maroon that's half its size imagine what will happen once the maroon grows a bit. Again no experience with this but in biology we are taught that what makes a species a species is being able to produce fertile offspring with one another. The maroon and ocellaris as you mentioned at different species AND genus. If possible, the offspring would be infertile I imagine. Kind of like a mule; the product of a horse and donkey breeding. Don't want to discourage you, it's your tank and you should handle it your way, but again I would consider you lucky if one doesn't kill the other. Best of luck though!

[westohooligan]

http://www.proaquatix.com/speciesdetail.asp?ID=46

I tried to pair mine with disastrous results a few year back. Above is a link to Proaquatix hybrid maroon/ocellaris.

[2Addicted]

Im pretty sure they have been paired before but i dont think your going to have the best luck pairing a male maroon with a female ocellaris. I think as the maroon matures it will get very aggressive. Let us know how it goes.

[badman]

i have a pair, maroon female and true perc male. They have paired up but have not yet bred.