Will my Perculas pair?

[Krush]

Hello RC -

I was wondering if it's possible for a Picasso clown and an Onyx clown to pair? They're both Perculas so I'm guessing they should be able to pair off.

I had the Picasso alone in the tank for about a week, then I found the onyx and added it. The Picasso was the smaller one by about a half inch, but since I added the onyx, the Picasso has grown almost to the size of the onyx and it seems to bully the onyx. Aggression usually is sporadic and lasts only a few seconds, but they both do this twitching / seizure thing at each other after they fight. I read that this means they are submitting...but then why do they keep fighting? The larger fish (the Onyx) is only about 2 inches, and the other one is just a tad smaller.

They both eat really well whether I feed pellets or frozen foods, but I'm worried about the continued aggression. How long can I expect it to continue? At what point should I give up and separate them?

Thanks in advance!

[Krush]

[ThRoewer]

As long as they don't tear each other to shreds you should be fine. A certain amount of aggression is a normal part of anemonefish pairing, especially if they are close in size.
I would only start intervening if they start injuring each other.

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[Krush]

Ok good to hear, i'll keep observing them for now and hopefully they sort it out soon.

[Krush]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...NbY3umvmqFJ0sO

[Krush]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/L4nnMEgdxQJGmf2H9 << updated video of the clowns. I noticed white stringy poop, so decided to QT and started PraziPro.

[Small Heavens]

How is it going with curing the natural world of parasites��?
If we could only put all of nature into a hospital, things would be better, they clear up so quickly once they get proper help.

It can help their friendship to feed them small sizes of food more often. If you happen to feed them an appropriate amount but they notice during the day that there is periods without food it can trigger the instincts that the other fish is competing for food that is not sufficient. This can lead to their relationship to be distracted by short periods of fighting even though the fishes otherwise get along.

[LargeAngels]

Prazipro is always a good idea.

I wouldn’t say that is an onyx. They are both A. percula with extra white which is being called Picasso and one appears to have more black.

[Krush]

Originally Posted by Small Heavens

How is it going with curing the natural world of parasites��?
If we could only put all of nature into a hospital, things would be better, they clear up so quickly once they get proper help.

It can help their friendship to feed them small sizes of food more often. If you happen to feed them an appropriate amount but they notice during the day that there is periods without food it can trigger the instincts that the other fish is competing for food that is not sufficient. This can lead to their relationship to be distracted by short periods of fighting even though the fishes otherwise get along.

Hi, thanks for the comment. It is going well, both fish are eating well and I have not seen any more white stringy poop for the last two days. I'm still debating whether I should do a second round of Prazi, or maybe do a round of Metro. One fish stopped eating for a few days during Prazi (I know it suppresses appetite) so I dont know if I want to risk it again with him. I believe Metro is easier on them / doesn't suppress appetite.

Thanks for the suggestion about feeding, that makes a lot of sense. I sometimes feed them twice a day, but usually only once a day. I will start doing smaller portions but twice a day to see if that helps a bit.

I have also noticed the past two days that the clown with more black is getting bigger and seems to be leading the race as the dominant one. When it gets a little aggressive the other fish starts to twitch immediately and then the black one lays off.

[Krush]

Originally Posted by LargeAngels

Prazipro is always a good idea.

I wouldn’t say that is an onyx. They are both A. percula with extra white which is being called Picasso and one appears to have more black.

Hey thanks for the comment. Do you think it's a good idea to dose a second round of Prazi? Should I do Metro as well in case they have some other intestinal parasites that resist the Prazi?

They were both sold to me as Picasso's, but the one with more black was sold as an "Onyx Picasso." I had never heard of an Onyx Picasso (only Onyx Percula), but they weren't charging more for the "onyx" and I was out of the hobby for a long time so I didn't really question it.

So you believe they are both just regular Picasso's? I appreciate the help correctly ID'ing these guys!

[LargeAngels]

It’s hard to keep up now that every color morph is called something different and everyone is breeding all types together to create the latest.

I’d say most likely it was a cross with an Onyx (more black than regular) and a Picasso (more white than normal) percula so it has more black and white and very little orange than most.

The only thing that really matters is that you like them and you are happy with them.

[Krush]

Originally Posted by LargeAngels

It’s hard to keep up now that every color morph is called something different and everyone is breeding all types together to create the latest.

I’d say most likely it was a cross with an Onyx (more black than regular) and a Picasso (more white than normal) percula so it has more black and white and very little orange than most.

The only thing that really matters is that you like them and you are happy with them.

I hear you - that is why I didnt bother to make a fuss about it at the LFS. Everything was "snowflake clownfish" or "Picasso Clownfish" or some other fancy name nonsense (I think they had another clown named after a painter). Back in my day it was True Percs or False Percs lol.

I agree though, as long as both are same species and I like them / I'm happy with them, that's what matters. I absolutely love these two. They were not sold as a pair, I picked them out individually from different tanks, so I'm definitely happy with them.

Thanks for your input though, I do appreciate it!

[Small Heavens]

Originally Posted by Krush

Hi, thanks for the comment. It is going well, both fish are eating well and I have not seen any more white stringy poop for the last two days. I'm still debating whether I should do a second round of Prazi, or maybe do a round of Metro. One fish stopped eating for a few days during Prazi (I know it suppresses appetite) so I dont know if I want to risk it again with him. I believe Metro is easier on them / doesn't suppress appetite.

Thanks for the suggestion about feeding, that makes a lot of sense. I sometimes feed them twice a day, but usually only once a day. I will start doing smaller portions but twice a day to see if that helps a bit.

I have also noticed the past two days that the clown with more black is getting bigger and seems to be leading the race as the dominant one. When it gets a little aggressive the other fish starts to twitch immediately and then the black one lays off.

Ah, no problem, who don't love clownfishes, they must thrive
I think this site had some really good articles about it but I can't figure out the search proper there, if you search on either the medicine itself or the internal parasites, they have really great detailed descriptions of what to do : http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clnfshdisart.htm

I only have experience with removing clumps of that cotton wool fungus that the smallest clown had gotten in the LFS, but I was reading on Prazipro and Metroplex the other day because I think it is good to have medicines ready in case something happens. I cant recall if it is anemone safe, otherwise I would hope Metroplex would be sufficient because I would prefer to bind the Prazipro to food (Focus method I mean), but that would work bad with the appetite. I recall they should be combined because they work on worms and parasites but the symptoms for both are the same so we cannot diagnose which type to use directly, is that correct?

I deliberately underfed a dominant juvi because I was treating the bonding subordinate fish and it got bullied when it was too weak to play, but was accepted when it had energy.

I thought I was so smart with giving it target feedings but the bigger fish outsmarted me by getting upset that the small fish got full and content. For one day I had just managed to escalate the fight. But it just took those two days, then the big fish had taught the small fish to not eat unless given the green light first, now it swims to the food and kinda points at it and waits until the bigger fish signals for it to eat

I only keep one species but they tend to mark their territory by standing on their mouth. They mouth-stand and twerk and twitch while barking as loud as they can, or clicking or whatever the proper word is for fish sound. They do it in their favorite spots & outer ends of their territory, usually the smallest while the bigger one keeps an eye out for its Anemone I guess, sometimes the bigger one joins like a pack of wolves howling at the moon just with fish standing on their mouths and twerking ...mmm clowns, it is the best fishes.

[LargeAngels]

Glad you like them.

This was my favorite pair of WC SI Onyx percs.

[Small Heavens]

Very beautiful, you don't have them anymore?

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by LargeAngels

Glad you like them.

This was my favorite pair of WC SI Onyx percs.

What happened to them?
They look a lot like one of the Solomon Islands percula pairs I have now.

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[LargeAngels]

I had them for about 12 years. Male found a hole to jump through and the female I found dead one morning.

I like the look of those Onyx.

[Small Heavens]

Ah, that was sad, they seem to get curious about those holes, I will have to make a hole plugger for one of the tank's corners.

On a sidenote - I cannot actually see the OP's picture here, all other pictures on the webpage shows up like normal but this is grey with a stop sign, anybody knows if I can fix that somehow?