Gold Stripe Maroon Pairing

RCFA · #1 04-22-2009, 05:03 PM

Well after 2 attempts and 3 days I am happy to say that I now have a pair of GSM sharing the same anemone! It was a bit dicey the first time but the second attempt went much better with him immediately displaying submissive behavior and the female backing off right away. The interesting part is that my Scopas tang seemed to be acting as a bodyguard for the little guy the whole time. Any time the female would rush the male, the tang got right in between them and flared his fins. After a few of these interventions the female cooled down and let the male come into the anemone. Has any one seen this when trying to pair clowns? Not too sure if it helped out at all but it seemed to prevent the little male from getting really beat up.

my2rotties · #2 04-22-2009, 10:13 PM

Congrats on getting them to pair up... Now you will have TWO demon fish biting your hands everytime you put your hand in the tank... and heaven forbid you put a coral around their nem.

RCFA · #3 04-23-2009, 03:44 AM

My digi got 'fragged' durring the introduction. The female has never bit me in three years I have had her. She is really timid. Hopefully she doesn't change disposition with the new addition.

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2rotties

Congrats on getting them to pair up... Now you will have TWO demon fish biting your hands everytime you put your hand in the tank... and heaven forbid you put a coral around their nem.

my2rotties · #4 04-23-2009, 03:14 PM

I don't know what sex ours is but I say it's a him... He was a good fish until just recently. NOw he will charge and attack if you get too close. My hubby was moving a stag coral, and he thought it was falling down. Then he saw the clown swimming with a tip of it in his mouth. This is a rather large piece of coral and it was funny to watch.

mike31154 · #5 04-23-2009, 04:58 PM

Great stuff with the successful pairing. I have a pair of white stripe Maroons and it took longer than 3 days, so you've had very good luck. Took almost three weeks for my male to get accepted, but he was a trooper and bided his time until they decided who was boss. Might be worth mentioning mine were close to the same size when I paired them, so that probably had an influence on the proceedings. They may have both still been juvenile males, whereas in your case, the decision was already made, since you've had the female for a number of years. On a side note, my Yellow Tang is also a sort of mediator when conflicts arise from time to time.

Never know with clown's personalities what will happen once they've paired and hosted. Might get more aggressive, certainly more territorial. My female is also a little more on the 'timid' side when I read some other people's experiences with Maroons. She'll threaten when I've got my hands in there doing stuff, but only actually hit me once or twice. Part of the deal and I don't really mind too much, she's just doing what comes naturally.

mike31154 · #6 04-23-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2rotties

I don't know what sex ours is but I say it's a him... He was a good fish until just recently. NOw he will charge and attack if you get too close. My hubby was moving a stag coral, and he thought it was falling down. Then he saw the clown swimming with a tip of it in his mouth. This is a rather large piece of coral and it was funny to watch.

Depends on how old the specimen was when you purchased it and how long it's been solo in your tank. If it's been a year or so, it's likely changed into a female, especially since aggression has escalated recently.

my2rotties · #7 04-23-2009, 05:20 PM

He is still pretty small compared to my friend's. He has grown a little but not too much I added him to my tank about five months ago.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike31154

Depends on how old the specimen was when you purchased it and how long it's been solo in your tank. If it's been a year or so, it's likely changed into a female, especially since aggression has escalated recently.

RCFA · #8 04-23-2009, 07:28 PM

It may still be in the ambiguous 'neither sex' stage if it is really young and not around any other clowns. It will however generally go straight from the neither to a female if it is allowed to mature on its own in the tank. So you might be better off calling it a her, IMO

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2rotties

He is still pretty small compared to my friend's. He has grown a little but not too much I added him to my tank about five months ago.

I have been planning this pairing for over a year and a half waiting for my female to get fairly large. I then got a little (less than a year old) ORA to make sure the size difference was adequate. I think this size difference is the key to a smooth intro. The male almost immediately submitted and did the little seizure dance as he had no chance at all of competing with something at least three times bigger.

my2rotties · #9 04-23-2009, 07:40 PM

Hahaa, he can be quite the little bitch

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCFA

It may still be in the ambiguous 'neither sex' stage if it is really young and not around any other clowns. It will however generally go straight from the neither to a female if it is allowed to mature on its own in the tank. So you might be better off calling it a her, IMO

I have been planning this pairing for over a year and a half waiting for my female to get fairly large. I then got a little (less than a year old) ORA to make sure the size difference was adequate. I think this size difference is the key to a smooth intro. The male almost immediately submitted and did the little seizure dance as he had no chance at all of competing with something at least three times bigger.