Clarkii Question

[mhorgunn]

Okay so I went with the Clarkii and got a pair. the two largest of the 9 they had at the Petco. It has been about a week and suddenly the larger has roped off a territory and is chasing the other off. How long before a mated pair becomes mated? How long before one becomes female?

 

[austinsdad]

You got them the same size? Not good if so. When trying to mate them, best to one smaller than the other. Either they might mate or one kills the other. That's if they are the same size.

 

[ccCapt]

I have a mated pair and the female is signifigantly large than the male. The females are usually larger, so hopefully you didn't grab 2 females.

 

[mhorgunn]

No they are not the same size. One is about 25-33% bigger. It also has that darker coloring coming in while the smaller of the two has just started turning brown about two days ago. The others were about 1/2 of the largest.

 

[roka64]

I believe they are born unsexed and will switch sexes depending on the situation. The largest is generally the female and the rest are males. If the female dies, the next male will become the female. You may have to wait for this change to occur, if you got two males. Sometimes this won't happen soon enough and one will end up killing the other one.