Clownfish: Problems or Pairing

[xxmurrxx]

So I have had a pair of clownfish for about 5-6 months now with no problems,  I bought them young and they are still doing the charging / submit thing but lately my one clown seems to like my six line wrasse more than the other clown, charging the other clown hard whenever he comes near.

I know this is pretty normal, but today my one clown was sitting in the corner and didn't eat which kinda scares me... I'v had problems keeping clowns in my other tank and I don't really want to loose another.

The other clown and six line seem super healthy, and have been for a long time.

Water perameters seem fine
1.025-Salinity
Amm,Ite,Ate - all 0
Ca 400
DKH - 7.9

 

[Zakk]

Clownfish are really hardy, hard fish.  Kind of like damsels really.  you can't make them a mated pair, no matter how hard you try, and if they don't like each other, one will eventually kill the other, that's just the way it is. 

Clownfish are sort of hermaphrodites.  They have both sex organs.  So when they "mate" one becomes the male and one becomes the female.  As I understand this, if they don't make their selection together, they will have a hard time pairing up.  EG both might be set as 'male' and well, that is that. 

That's why a mated pair of clownfish are worth more than a single clownfish, and why it is so easy to tell if they're not a pair. 

 

[xxmurrxx]

Yeah, I was hoping for the best buying them both young.  We'll hopefully it all works out.
If the little guy starts eating all should be good.

 

[reeffreak]

theres a few ways to attempt to pair clowns , buying both clowns at the same time from the same tank while there still juviniles so about an 1' in size and keeping them together will most likely get a pair thats what ive doine and have had sucess pair them , Im just waiting to see if they ever spawn together they dont leave each others side and the female is biiger then the male . The other way you can get a pair is actually buying them as a pair . The way these fish work with there gender is when there born their all juviniles they can then become male and then from there become female , in the wild for example there will be 100 juvs with 1 male and 1 female , if the male dies a juv will then take it places turning into a male , if the female dies the male will turn into a female and a juv will turn into the male .. its a one way street for these fish juv-male-female .

Having 2 together both juv they will eventually figure out whos who looking like there fighting but really determining there sex , I found my female while is the midst of the 2 trying to figure it out was more aggressive towards the male but then again she is also bigger .

 

[xxmurrxx]

Thanks for the info guys.
Looks like he's back in action this morning.  Swimming all over and ate when i dropped a flake in.
Hopefully it was just part of his paring ordeal.