Breeding Clownfish?

I have 2 false purcla clownfish; I bought the first one 2 months ago. I wanted to get it a friend so it wouldn't be lonely (because it won't go into any of the 3 anemones in the tank). Everyone told me that they would fight and one would kill the other. Even the guy at my fish store advised me to get a different kind of clown. I did what I always do and got another false purcla anyways, but from the time I put it in the tank they have loved on each other. The old one does a little dance thing in front of the new one and they swim together all day like this. My question is are they becoming a mated pair? and does anyone breed clownfish that could tell me what I should to get them to breed? Sorry I didn't mean to write a book!

 

Is the new much smaller?If so the old has probley has made the change to female and new one is still an either or.Most of the time there is alot of fighting,chasing,and cornering till they become a pair.I would think they are pairing up.

 

The new one is just a little smaller and its under belly fines are a little bigger.

 

Kinda, just let nature take its course,but you should make the clowns have a nice natural setting in the aquarium and no aggressors.my tomatos mate and drop eggs all the time. The eggs are eaten by someone or by filters most of the time.Its hard to raise the eggs.Ill post some good sites later today if you like.

 

Breeding Clownfish - A short description

By William Berg
of Sweden, for aquaticcommunity.com
Aquarticles

Thanks to Disney's Motion Picture 'Finding Nemo,' almost everybody is familiar with clownfish.

Clownfish, or Anemonefishes, from the family Pomacentridae, are one of the easiest tropical marine aquarium fish to breed. Clownfish regularly lay eggs in aquariums. They have quite large eggs and larvae, and since the larvae easily eat cultured live foods, raising them is somewhat simpler than it is with many other marine species.

You need to get a pair if you want to breed clownfish, and that's quite interesting - believe it or not, clownfish are all born as males! When they are adults, the largest and the most dominant fish of the group will undergo a sex change and become a female. The second largest usually becomes the breeding male, while all the other fish remain juveniles and gender-neutral. If the breeding female disappears, the breeding male will change to a female, and so on. Buying an established pair may be a reasonable way to go, but it is often better to have a group of juveniles growing up together. If you choose to buy a pair you should look for a pair that goes around together. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to get a pair already spawning. Anyhow, establishing an adult pair can be a little tricky; and you need to keep your eyes on them to make sure that the female doesn't kill the male.

The next thing is to set up the tank. The tank should be large enough, approximately 200 liters for the breeding pair. It is better to keep a pair alone in an aquarium when trying to spawn clownfish.

The aquarium should be furnished with a nice anemone, a few live rocks and other rocky substances with a vertical surface, a layer of coral sand on the bottom, bright lighting, good filtration, and a protein skimmer. Your clownfish should be stress free, which means no aggressive tank mates and good water quality. As for feeding, clownfish need a mixed diet of fresh raw seafood and vegetables. A good diet includes prawns, mussels, and squid. It is best to feed small bits at regular intervals.

Spanning can begin 1 to 12 months after the fish have settled into their new home. When the fish are ready to spawn, they become very aggressive. The male clownfish will dance up and down in front of the female (also known as "clownfish waggle"). They will also start to clean their selected rock by robustly biting it. The spawning itself usually occurs in the afternoon or early evening. Once the spawning is complete (within several hours) the male takes on responsibility for attending the eggs, whereas the female acts as protector of the eggs and supervisor of her male.

Spawning is likely to occur again at intervals of 12 to 18 days. The eggs should be left in the care of the parents and not removed, unless the parents are known to be egg eaters. At first the eggs are a bright orange colour, but after several days this diminishes and the eyes appear. Hatching usually takes from 6 to 15 days, depending on temperature.

The most critical stage of the fry is the first 10 days of their larvae span. If you can get your fry to survive this period the rest of their raising should be easier.hopfully this helps a little
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Thank you for you input. I have been reading anything I can find on breading Clownfish. I still don't know if they are a pair or witch one is male/female. I posted some pics of them together the other day if you get a chance take a look and let me know what you think. The pics are not to great my camera is pretty out dated but you can see them ok.

 

Even if it was a very detailed pic I still couldn't tell you.Just watch and see which one acts more aggressive and that would be more than likey be female,but dont quote me on it.lol......Is there any aggression between the two?(feeding time)Clownfish also appear to regulate their size in order to remain part of the group. Each fish keeps its body mass 20 percent smaller than the fish directly above it in social rank, probably to avoid conflict. Fish who disrespectfully outgrow their rank are rejected by the clan.

 

Book for Clownfish

If you are serious about your clowns and want to better understand it all, I would recommend the following book: CLOWNFISHES by Joyce D. Wilkerson - ISBN - 1-890087-04-1

 

Great book suggestion above; it does sound like you are on your way to having a nice pair. From your pictures it does look like there is a big enough size difference for them to pair up (the larger one should assume the role/function of female). If you'd like to get them to breed, I find it helps to provide a stable environment (doesn't necessarily have to be perfect, but stable, ie regular maintenance and a light timer) and 1-3 feedings per day of nutritious and varied foods. I'm new to livingreefs, browsing the threads and saw this one, sorry to drag up a 5-month old, but hope this helps!

Matt

 

Have they bred? Were you able to raise the larvae?