Clownfish Pairs?

I have an juvenile Ocellaris Clownfish whose partner just died from a nitrate spike . What other variations of Clownfish (Snowflake, Picasso, Black, etc.) would pair up with it?

 

It would pair with any of these types. Just as long as it is another ocellaris species. Snowflake, picasso, and black clowns are all varients of that species. Im sorry to hear about your loss buddy.

 

Thanks, and yeah, it was pretty devastating. I'm planning on just getting my Clownfish someone to pair up with and a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. Is there a way to know if my Clownfish has already chosen a gender? They were both juveniles (less than a year old).

 

I am not a clown expert by any means but hopefully someone else will chime in with more experience than me. All clowns are males when they are in their juvenile stage, after they pair the dominant clown turns female. This will usually take a while and a healthy tank to establish this bond. This is when a pair is officially "paired." There is a good chance that your clowns werent actually paired yet, it usually takes a while. The first indication that I had that mine were paired was observing them doing their "twitching" mating dance in which the male tries to impress the female and basically seduce her to mate with him. This is a whole process and is pretty interesting to watch. My clowns actually just mated for the first time last night so Ive been observing them pretty closely. Again, Im not a clown expert, but this is what I have gathered. Gotta love clownfish.

 

Thanks for the info I hadn't really seen anything going on between the two besides one of them doing the occasional twitch and them following each other. I heard they start mating at around 2 years of age, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick up another Clownfish before mine becomes a female

 

Also, if I buy a Black Clownfish, what would the offspring look like?

 

If Im not mistaken your clown wont transition to female unless another male clownfish is present. Its all about dominance and the female is the dominant gender in clownfish species. There are so many different variations of ocellaris clowns out there its crazy. Its hard to say. But keeping in mind getting them to breed is only the first step to successfully raising the fry. If you are interested in raising the fry talk to pickle. He knows his stuff when it comes to breeding clowns.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/breeding-tropical-fish/pickles-clowns-110540.html

The marine breeders initiative is also a very informative site.

MBI - Marine Breeding Initiative

However, its still a time consuming process that requires more equipment. But very rewarding I can imagine to have a successful brood of clowns.

 

Make sure the next clownfish you buy is a good bit smaller than the one currently in the tank. That way there wont be a dominance issue and the new one will be fine. As for offspring between the 2 (black and normal clown) there is no telling. Theres a long way to go before breeding happens.

 

I understand that it will be a while until they start breeding. I guess I'm just jumping too far ahead in my mind ;D

Thanks for the info guys I'll talk to Pickle and I'll make sure the next Clownfish I add is a bit smaller. Is there anything I'm missing?

 

Sounds like you are good buddy!