Will a tank-raised maroon clown be naturally smaller

[dustint]

I am looking into getting a gold barred maroon clown, as small as I can find. I know some can get 6 inches when full grown, but arent tank raised smaller? If so how much smaller, and arent males smaller than females?

Thanks in advance,
Dustin
Atlanta GA

 

[Greg Hiller]

Dustint,

...this is not a commercial in any way....

I sell gold-bar maroons that I raised myself. A tank raised maroon clown can be any size you want if you wait long enough! Unfortunately, my experience has been that they definitly grow more slowly that A. ocellaris (the other species I've raised). And they start fighting almost immediately after they go through metamorphosis (about 3 weeks). The dominate fishes constantly peck on the smaller ones and seem to depress their growth rate, as well as sometimes do some damage. This might be good in that all your clowns don't mature at the same time (I had a problem once getting rid of 50 A. ocellaris that all grew at about the same rate and started to outgrow their tank). Without isolating the maroons from each other I find it difficult to get them much above 1 1/2 inches.

- Greg Hiller

 

[dustint]

Hey Greg, I am the one ordering from you in Atlanta. Thanks for the reply, as I just asked you this directly in my mail as well. Really looking forward to getting them as I have been hunting for a while.

I am curious about this because I have read a couple of articles on captive breeding and have found that some research is pointing toward this idea of crowding them, albeit in a healthy in environment, will naturally reduce the growth potentials in the strain your breeding through adulthood. Now I prefer the fish to be smaller anyways as they can be pretty damned mean, and the bigger the mouth the more damage they can apply. So I am judging from your reply that you have found that they do stay smaller, but not to say they are "genetically" smaller, but smaller due to the environment they are kept in as adults. Which is true for any fish right.

I have bred and kept up with 2 or 3 of the fish years after I gave them away and these guys stayed pretty small?

Well thanks for the input...

Dustin

 

[pathos]

oooh dustint I would almost pay you to take mine. It is a beautiful species, perfect color and brilliant gold stripes, about 2.5" long. I have had him/her for over a year. He/she is very agressive though and lunges at my hand anytime I put them in the tank. I am currently looking for a hook small enough to catch it. I'd like a mated pair of perculas instead. BTW his/her name is Pat.

 

[JohnD]

Dustin,

Gold striped maroons will start off as white striped juveniles. If a juvenile finds a female at an anemone, it will change into a male. This male will be subservient to the already in place dominant female. When the female dies (or it eaten), the male will turn into a female and assume dominance. Another juvenile will come along ans start the cycle again by turning into the subservient male.

It takes about a year for the white stripe to change to a yellow color (provided the clown is a yellow stripe and NOT a white stripe maroon clown).

Females are bigger than males. I have seen females over 4 inches and the paired male at about half that size. I have never seen anything about wild caught maroons being bigger.

Some tank raised female maroons are big! You don't want to mess with those girls - unless you are into that sort of thing!!

If you are really interested in clowns, check out Joyce Wilkerson's
Clownfishes. I got mine at half.com for about $20.00 new.

[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: JohnD ]

 

[Greg Hiller]

Dustin,

The only reason the clowns might stay small is because they are crowded and fight. This is NOT the type of environment you want to keep them in for long. IMO/IME unless you have been selectively breeding for small fish, if you have a pair of clowns alone in a tank one will become female and grow very large. I don't think it makes much difference where they were raised if they are healthy and not stunted in some way when you get them.

- Greg Hiller