false and true clown??

so my first fish was a 1.5" false perc clown, and i just recently adopted a 2.0" true perc clown from a guy off craigslist. first of all is this even a possible breeding compatibility and second are there any specific signs of a male and female pairing?

i personally dont think i would want them to breed, but all this dawned on me when i put the adopted clown into my tank.

 

Yes, they can still breed. How long did you have the first clown?

 

+1 to mikejrice, percula and ocellaris (aka flase perculla) fish can breed.

You may have some problems though. When trying to get clowns to mate it is often a good idea to introduce them both at the same time. Having a significant size difference between them will also help. These two are pretty close in size and the smaller one that is established in your tank may already be a female. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you but watch closely for signs of trouble and be prepared to relocate one of your clowns.

 

Bigger clown = female smaller clown = male if there different in size theres a good chance theyll become a mated pair and if the bigger one dies first then the other clown will become the female and if you add antoher smaller one it will be the male

 

yea i have read and understand how the sex of clownfish work.

GoToSleeps comment has me wondering now though because the first introduced being smaller may have already turned female yet the recently added is larger.


here is a few pictures of them.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. If the first one has been alone in your tank long enough to turn female and the new one is already female you could have a power struggle on your hands. What conditions was the new one kept in before you got it?

 

from what i gathered from the guy that i got it from.. it was in a 22g with a yellow watchman/pistol pair. when i picked it up the yellow watchman and pistol were gone and it was with a very very small puffer. that is all i know of its history. mine has been in my tank for about 3 1/2 months or so before i introduced the new one.

 

also they seem to be side by side in the tank at any given moment, dont know if that is a good or bad thing dominance battle or pairing who knows.. they dont seem to nip eachother or fight in any way.

 

clownfish can switch their sex....doesnt matter they will adapt to eachother and switch their sex when the most dominant one becomes a male

 

Sounds to me like the new one has probably been alone for awhile and has turned female. With yours being in your tank only 3.5 months I would guess it has not hit maturity and is still male. If they were the same sex you would of most likely noticed some aggression. Clowns don't hide it very well.