clownfish

So I have a few questions about my o clowns. I purchased 2 juveniles at my lfs, they were tank bred and there was a bunch of them in the tank. One of them seems to be turning darker, but its darker on his back and lightens towards his belly...does this mean he will become darker as he matures? The other is very orange.

Second question, when do they normally change sex? Is it something that happens after they mature or does it happen as soon as they are paired off? They already do the "clownfish shuffle" and are inseperable.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Great questoin. . . if your clowns are anything like mine i got them when they were still babies. They are black clowns and were born pasty orange and white and were this same color for the first month that i got them. Its been about 2 months and they are pretty much 100% black and have their white stripe. The only place that is still orange is their face. This is something that takes place over time.

As for their sex its something that happens as they mature. It will take about a year or so before they have their developed sex. In my case i have one that is definitely starting to appear as the bigger fish there for its most likely that this clown is going to be the female. The process of changing sex is something that happens over time not over night and as they grow it all takes its place in in the long run. Do you have any pics of the new little guys?!

 

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Its not a shuffle.It's a silly clown dance.;D

 

I have some pics, but I'm not sure I can post them from my phone. I'll try to post them in the am

 

I am not sure how long, but I am sure that if you do notice him darkening, he will continue to darken as he matures. I got a very large clown a few months before i got my juvenile black clown. I knew since my clown was bigger than most clowns, she was the female. So i knew I had to get a young one in order to reduce the chances of putting another female in the tank. I took a risk, but it proved well worth it. Also, my back clown has a orange nose, and i have heard that he will eventually become all black. Although I don't want it to go... it gives him character

 

I was surprised to see him get darker, he was with the normal colored clowns and just had a bit of a shadow that made it easy to differentiate between the two. I thought the black ones were usually more expensive

 

I'm a bit of a noob with marine fish but I've noticed with Freshwater stuff that sometimes "the girl' at the LFS is about a bright as a 40 watt bulb. They don't know what they have scooped in the bag or just don't care and you get a deal ... I once got an African cichlid for 4 dollars that was like a 12 dollar fish. IME the black ones are more expensive than the traditional colored ones.

 

Sorry they aren't clearer, they don't like to stay still