My anemone tank

[kenman999]

I have a 30 gallon tank with 2 maroon clownfish in.

One is a female for sure about 4 inches

The other is a 1.5 inch not sure the sex

The small one is hosting my bubble and magnifica anemone hosting both of them.

My big maroon just stays in the bottom corner of the tank.

They are not fighting at all even when first met and sometimes the little one might swim close to the bigger one for a few seconds then swim off back to anemone again but the big one seem to show no interest other than her corner. They are both eating happily. Is this normal? If they r not fighting does that mean i don't have 2 with same sex? They have been in the tank for two weeks now. Tank is very mature and the anemone r doing very well.

[Timbits]

the smaller one should be a male. does it look mature or like a juvenille?

[kenman999]

How do I tell? Is only about 1.5 inches long

[reefwars]

the smaller is the male , they will fight untill the male learns his role and then the female will own the tank and she may or may not let the anemone host the male.....its all about the chicks!!!:) cheers

[kenman999]

they haven't fight at all and the male has been hosting the anemone and the female is jsut swimming in the corner.

[Renegade]

Size doesn't always determine the sex right away. The sex isn't established until they pair off at which point one under goes a sex change. When this change occurs, the female becomes bigger to make room for offspring.

It could be that the 2 have not paired yet. The size difference could simply be that one is older then the other. It is very likely that the bigger one will become the female. Its important to remember that though 4inch is big for an aquarium in the ocean what would be considered normal.

I have always been amazed at the size of fish seen in the sea compared to the "babies" we keep in our aquariums.

[kenman999]

Thank you all firstly.

I have read that once you place one clownfish in. It will change into a female and it may not change again. is that true?

What if my small clownfish changed to a female and my bigger one is a female too? Would it mean they will never pair? However they are not fighting and I am hoping that this means they are not the same sex?