clown fish not bonding? -Updated

[hc8719]

first, thanks to all you guys helping out with questions about my getting clowns. i now have 2 Ocellaris clowns, both very small. they eat (though half the food doesn't fit in their tiny mouthes) readily, and swim around. they do pay no attention to each other, the bigger one doesn't even make an attempt to dispay "her" dominance.

also, when they swim, its almost like they use their whole back half of their bodies, really got the tail motion going on. i've never seen my fw fish quite this flexible, do i have the water current on too high? (penguin 330 on a 20 gallon)

one last thing, some times i see pictures of Ocellaris being much more vibrant red in color than perculas, who always seem to being a distinct orange, sometimes it's the other way around.

my clowns are very orange, not really red. the lfs told me that they where ocellaris, which i believed after seeing a tank a few down with clowns that were a few dollars more, both were labeled percs though

 

[DragonForce]

They are still very small from what you are describing and wont be able to even change sex until they grow quite a bit more. You will see one harassing the other a bit more and establishing dominance, this will be your female, good luck!

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree with DragonForce. Give them some time to mature and you will know when the "sex change" is taking place.

The swimming motion you see is normal. Clownfish are just funny swimmers!

About distincting between the two. Perculas usually have much more black on them and are more "orange", bright orange. The black lines around the white are usually thicker, generally...more black on the fish. The top dorsal fin in (usually) higher than on an Oceallaris.

The Ocellaris usually has less black, sometimes a deeper orange ( I wouldn't call it red...but I guess, maybe) and a lower profile dorsal fin.

See the black on this fish, and the higher fin? It's a Percula.
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/clowns/truepercula.php

Notice the lack of the black on this one, and the lower dorsal fin? It be an Ocellaris.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/clowns/ocellaris.php

Again, neither is a tale-tell sign, but it's a good general guidline I think.

Here is a picture of my two Ocellaris clownfish.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/album/details.php?image_id=70

HTH

 

[roka64]

That 1st percula looks like it's been picked on, poor guy. His dorsal fin has been nipped....anyway, I agree with the rest.

 

[hc8719]

thanks for the pics, but i still dont know what mine are exactly

 

[roka64]

thanks for the pics, but i still dont know what mine are exactly

Can you get us a pic?

 

[zenkatydid]

wow, those black and white ones are stunning!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

well hc, does yours have a lot of black near the white, or not? A picture would help a lot, but if I remember correctly you don't have a digital camera do you?

 

[hc8719]

DTs right, i dont have a camera...

no mine doesn't have much black near the white, so i am guessing they're ocellaris. i didnt thinks percs got more black until they were a bit older

 

[Devilishturtles]

You can let them mature a little more before you make a final decision, but they sound like Ocellaris to me.

Anyways, I found this picture (the bottom one) in another thread and thought I'd pass it along. That is a True Percula.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=91338

 

[hc8719]

well im pretty sure that they're ocellaris, thanks. i got another problem now. the smaller one i noticed always looked funny, but i never got a good luck at him until a few days after getting him. Because of the lighting angle in my tank, as well only seeing him early in the morning before work, i didn't realize that his was missing an eye, as well as his dorsal and anal fin have the black chewed off.

i know it wasn't my larger, soon to be female clown, he always looked a bit different, i just never got a good look and studied him, and with all the clowns swimming around at the lfs, i couldn't exactly pick one out.

what bothers me the most is that, i'm told, because of him missing an eye, chances are the other clown wont want to pair off with him. it's too late to take him back, and i'd almost feel guilty taking back a handicapped clown. any of you guys agree the female won't (most likely)want to pair off?

 

[Guest]

You purchased ot like that? Are you sure it was nothing in your tank?

As far as pairing off you need to give it time. Sometimes people have 2 that do not go near each other and a year later they are a regular spawning pair.

 

[hc8719]

mike im sure it is nothing with my tank, the other clown would be funny looking too. he was always beat up.

as far as pairing off, what im saying is, the female wont want anything to do with the male without an eye

 

[Guest]

Who told you that?

 

[hc8719]

someone from a local reef club told me that the female "may" not mate with a handicapped clown

why does mike appear as a guest now, did he leave?