Breed Clownfish | Saltwater Fish

[Scotimius]

Hey all,

So I've had these two percula's for almost a year now. Lovely fish. Anyways, recently I've really started to notice the size difference in the two that it's easy for me to know who is who. Plus the larger one is becoming extremely dominate.

But my question is. The smaller one tends to be cleaning up some of the live rock. However I've noticed it's intermittent either because he loses interest or the larger one puts him in his place. But also that he hasn't singled out one rock. He has two different rocks that he's been periodically cleaning the last couple of days. This behavior I haven't seen from him before. I know that the male clown fish will start to clean their spot close to spawning. But in two different areas on two different rocks?

Anybody else come across this?

[davek0819]

I'm always amazed how bossy the female is. The poor male doesn't catch a break. I would take it as a good sign that you can begin to see a size difference and notice the larger one (female) taking charge. They might be in the decision process of where to build the nest, could be a combination of changing their mind or maybe the first spot wasn't as safe as they thought. Anything else in the tank?

[Scotimius]

Thank you for the reply.

The only other inhabitants in the tank are two hermit crabs. However there are several other crabs in the tank that did hitch hike in with the live rock and sand when I first set the tank up a year ago. Not sure what they are as I've never been able to get a good look at any of them.

Other than that it's just the two clown fish.

And yes your right. It is amusing to watch the female boss around the little male. He never really does get a break from her.

[Scotimius]

Well it looks like they have finally chosen a rock location in the tank. Over the last couple of days the male has been holding the fort in one part of the tank. Doesn't move around much. I've scoped the area that he's hanging out in but no eggs. The female on the other hand roams the tank.

I've changed a couple things in the tank.

1) I added a power head to give more circulation in the tank.
2) Added an automatic feeder for their flake to add more stability in the times they are feed. I feed them brine shrimp mid day.
3) added an automatic timer for the lights.

They seem to be a little happier with the new setup.

All in all I have to say I'm a little excited by the new behavior. The female still continues to grow. As well as the male but not as much.

I'll keep everyone posted to our progress.