Maroon Clowns

[Ereefic]

I've got 2 maroon clowns, they were bought together and the same size. This was some time ago. One has quadrupled in size, while the other has stayed the same. They both live together in the same green bubble tip anemone. I have never seen them lay any eggs and they are always in the anemone.

Will they ever lay eggs? Could they be doing it in the anemone? I'd think if they were laying them elsewhere, they'd be guarding them. Or are they just not paired up?

[km133688]

sounds like you got a decent pair. they will lay eventually. Took mine a year before they did. Your description of growth and size indicates large is female and small is male. this is normal. Feed them good food, and give them time. There are some tricks you can try if you really want to...

1) increase tank temp by 2 degrees
2) increase photo perioid by 2 hours
3) drop some DTs and BBS into your tank three days in a row just before lights out to simulate an algae bloom
4) feed real good foods and as much as they will eat. I like Hikari Mysis and my clowns can't get enough of it. Feeding 5 or 6 times a day is OK if they are eating it all.
5) add selcon or zoe supplement to your foods
6) do some extra water changes
7) make sure there are no aggresive fish in your tank that might be distracting your clowns. For example I got rid of a yellow tang as he was all over the place.

As always "advice taken at users risk". Consider too that any change in your routine causes stress on the tank. And consider that these changes do have some dangers. For example:

increasing temperature increases matabolism of bacteria and can lead to outbreaks of disease or RTN/STN in corals

increasing photo period can lead to coral bleaching

addition of greater quantity, of richer foods, and enhancing with supplements, will all increases bioload

But these things worked for me. You must decide how long you will wait till you go back to your original schedule.

Good luck, Kevin