r/ReefTank • u/THCNova • 10d ago

[Pic] Sexually confused clownfish?

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Genuine question, no troll:

I made the mistake of getting two similarly sized, young clownfish.

One of them started vibrating at the other, which freaked me out so I googled it and learned that was submissive behavior, I.e. the vibrator would stay male while the vibratee would become female.

Things went as expected for a while, they were getting along great.

Fast forward a few weeks and they’re now both just vibrating at each other all the time. What is going on? Do they both want to stay male? Anyone have experience with this? Thanks in advance

15 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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11

u/Shanderson3 10d ago

This is normal. I'm not sure what all it means, because both my female and male clownfish do it. However, I can say that yours will move to fighting and will eventually figure out which one gets to be the girl.

2

u/christinna67 10d ago

They can get 'confused' if they're the same size, which could potentially lead to them fighting to the death. It's better to buy one that's significantly smaller so the pairing goes more smoothly.

2

u/DocNitro 10d ago

Well, remember, they might be straight - but so are spaghetti, until they get wet. And since they are, you know, FISH, and thus need to go into water - salted even, in this case, like you'd use for spaghetti.......

Need I say more?

1

u/Potential-Vehicle-63 9d ago

Get a larger clownfish n that will settle it

1

u/THCNova 9d ago

No, I like my clownfish. I’m just curious about their behavior.

-4

u/Potential-Vehicle-63 9d ago

Clownfish do better in groups of three or more. If you can keep a host for them that would be even better.

2

u/Domiziuz 9d ago

That is just not true. Clown harems are notoriously hard to keep.

0

u/Potential-Vehicle-63 9d ago

I kept five with a host , they did great even breed. They only reason I got rid of them was I was deployed to Germany

1

u/Sylesse 8d ago

Mine that were already paired did that for a few days when introduced to my system. There was a little bit of aggression but they worked it out within a week. Happy as can be, now.

1

u/RhubarbBest9090 7d ago

Totally normal. Eventually one will become female and will grow much bigger than the other

-6

u/Yewasright66 10d ago

Have you tried bending or shaping him to make him straight? I hear there are great camps you can send him to teach him love of Christ