clownfish dance

Purchased two clowns at the same time. One already had its adult coloration, the other was still a juvenile. The juv. is now starting to get (his) adult coloration. In the past when they would squabble the larger one (female) would nip at him and he would ignore it or swim away. Recently he has been facing her and they have been doing the face-off thing. The larger one is the one who typically ends up going sideways... isnt this abnormal? shouldnt the smaller one be turning sideways to give dominance to the larger (presumably female) one?

 

You say presumably female. That was my first thought too. Just because the larger one looked mature doesn't mean it had already turned female. If they smaller one establishes dominance it could be the one who ends up turning female.

 

i thought that too... but in the wild it goes by a hierarchical order, the female dies so the male moves up and then one juvenile matures. Even if my adult one was a male, in the presence of no female wouldn't he move up to a female???

 

It may not have matured fully yet.

 

well it will be interesting to see how this plays out! thanks for the help

 

Definitely. Clown fish hierarchy is one of the most interesting parts of marine fish IMO.

 

Yes! I take care of the tank here at PSU. Over the summer we added 5 percs and they all hosted a foot and a half large chalice and since they have established this order... it is soo cool to watch the 3 juveniles and the 2 adults interact