Share Your Clownfish Knowledge

[Pier Pressure]

I broke down and bought a pair of true percs (wild caught) last weekend. I thought they would host in my green bubble tip anemone but oh, no - they headed straight for the white sebae where they are still hanging out.

Questions: Are clownfish asexual? Can they change sexes? Who is bigger - the male or the female?

I will of course be researching online but this site is such a wealth of information and thought I would see what you guys had to say.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[0sprey]

Clownfish start out essentially sexless, and develop sexes as they move up the totem pole within their group. The largest is the female, and second largest is the male. If the female in a group dies, the male becomes female, and the largest juvenile becomes male. My female occelaris is easily twice the size of my male.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Juvenile clownfish are asexual. As they grow, the two largest in a school will pair off, with the largest growing ovaries (sexually maturing into a female) and the second largest becoming a male. If the female dies, the male turns into a functional female & the next largest juvenile sexually matures into a male. If the male dies, the female stays the same, and the next largest juvenile sexually matures into a male.

Hope that helps.

Anthony

PS. Now aren't you glad you're not a clownfish?

[Quagmire]

Your Sebae is the natural host for these guys.If its white that means its bleached and not in top health,so keep an eye on the clowns in case the try to love it to death.Without Zooxanthellae the anemone wont be able to get much nutrition from your lights,so its going to need to be fed often to keep it healthy.At least until it colors up,then you can feed less.

[Pier Pressure]

So the Sebae is the natural host, eh? When I bought it at the LFS it was pure white with purple tips and it was sold to me as a "white sebae anemone". It is now a beige colour which I was told meant it is becoming healthier. Now it has two clownfish to take care of and it seems very happy.

That whole asexual thing is amazing, much like everything else in this saltwater hobby. And yes I am super-glad I am not a clown fish. They are my favourites, though. They have so much personality and charm!

Thanks for letting me know!

[Quagmire]

I really should have said one of their natural hosts,they have a few.Sebaes don't ship well,so you will see a lot of them white with purple tips in the stores.The white sebae thing is just a sales pitch,that I think some of the store personal actually believe.Beige is the normal color,sometimes purple.

[Snappy]

Yes they are cute but when they grow larger and mate they tend to bite and can draw blood from your hand or arm. You will be able to astound your friends with all your "Nemo scars"

[crystalz]

I have two true percs and I had the same problem. I have a large frogspawn they decided to host. my original bubble tip is only about 4-5" and seemed to be too small for the clowns even though they are quite small... about 1.5- 2''. My frogspawn began to take quite a beating. Luckily I found another bubble tip that is about 12" round. Even after I put the large bt in I had to 'fence' off my frogspawn (with eggcrate/lighting diffuser) and move it to the other side of the tank. After about a week they gave up on the frogspawn and haven't left the bt since.