Mating Pair Creation

[JoshuAcOOk]

I have a tomato clownfish, but only one right now, and i want to get him a partner. is it possible, and how hard is it to, make a mated pair of tomato clownfish?

[AlexS95]

It usually just takes time.

[DeathWish302]

What size is it?
How long has it been in the current aquascape?

I would say I have had the best luck with the following first method when pairing A. Frenatus.
1) - Preferred Method
Have a mature (2+yr old) female and introduce a couple ~1" juvies. At first she will be nuts and drive the poor little ones into the rockwork, to the corners of the tank and generally scare the life out of them. They will usually not be as viscious as Maroons, so you need not worry about the little guys having to fight to the death. After 1-6 months, the female will calm down and let the juvies in during feeding time, not drive them into the rocks when they approach her 'safe spot' and eventually let them sleep within a few inches of her bedding site. This is where it will get nasty, as one of the little guys is going to be the third wheel. This timing is very apparent when you never see the 3rd clown out of a hiding spot or is cowering in a corner with heavy breathing. Don't let it get to this point and pull the third as soon as you recognize a bonded pair forming.

This method has worked on 3 seperate occassions with my previous broodstock, so it is proven IME.

2) With the second method, you can buy 2+ juvies and let them sort it out naturally. Unfortunately, some clowns will just not settle on a mate and may be the most mature in the group. By the time the dominant female is noticed to not be taking a mate, your next most dominant juvie could start turning into female and it just becomes a nightmare with the constant power struggle. With a grossly larger female, this power struggle lasts about 2 minutes if it happens at all.

I've not seen a 1" juvie last more than a few minutes before it was on it's side and twitching for dear life when the female is 4"+. For a more docile species the juvie pairing may be best, but with the more aggressive species (some of the clarkii complex, tomato complex & maroons) your better with a secure dominant female that is well-established.

Just My $0.02, but to each breeder their own.

[zeeter]

Just make sure the 2nd tomato is smaller than the first and was not the largest of its species in the tank at the store. It's hit or miss on how long it takes for them to match up, but they eventually will as long as one is larger than the other or they're both juveniles when put together. I've had ones take to each other immediately and others it takes a few months. Just have to watch them at first because if she doesn't like the new guy she may kill him. Tomatos aren't as nasty as maroons or fire clowns, but they're not nearly as docile as some other species. The tomato complex is probably the most aggressive of the Amphiprion genus.