Steve Goldsmith's 55 gallon tank build

get a cardinal fish

 

Got a pair of Clarkiis yesterday. Not sure of genders, all I can say is that the larger one occasionally nips at the smaller. They've already established sleeping spots and have eaten a few flakes.

 

Congrats on the new fish. The larger one is female or soon will be.

 

Thanks! so.... Does that mean they can change gender? I never knew that. I only know about Ribbon Eels having that ability.

 

Basically all clownfish are sexually immature males, a male will either become the breeding male or a dominate female. A male can turn into a female, but a female rarely becomes male, she usually can not change back ( there are documentated cases).

Juvenile clownfish are dimorphic, until they become the breeding male or dominate female otherwise they remain sexually immature.

 

awesome!

 

Got all nerdy in the last post, forgot to add they are beautiful and the tank looks great, congrats.

 

Thanks for the quick answer. I read up on Clarkiis after I purchased, and saw that they get about 6 in long. There was a huge one at my LFS, at least 6 inches. Could that ruin my space for other livestock? I was originally going to get an Onyx Percula that was in stock, but there was only one, and not a pair. sort of selfish, but I got the Clarkiis just to have fish. Wondering if I can change to Percs. Doing so would make me feel like an antagonist though.

 

Lol not a problem! Thanks for your help.

 

I love Clarkiis but it is an aquired taste for me. They are in the top three aggression wise, right behind Tomatos and Maroons IMO. With that said I love their personalities, and they love their anemones and corals, which is fun to watch. They look like a colorful pair.

A 6 inch Clarkii is an old one and most clowns get that size when they are old. Aggression and adding other fish might prove to be the challange, but you will not know until you try.