Clowns - male or female?

[Camona2333]

I have 3 Clark's Clownfish and 4 Bubble-tip anemones in a 110-gallon reef tank and I heard that clownfish will usually form a colony and the biggest one will become a female and the other ones would stay males.
With my clownfish, when they came, they were tiny, but one was bigger than the other two. He (she?) has continued to grow and the other have as well, but they have stayed smaller than the big one. The big one is extremely aggressive, chasing the other fish away when they get close or sometimes when they are just sitting there not doing anything. This gets problematic when the anemones are close to each other - the other clowns try to swim in one anemone but the bigger clownfish chases them out of it and goes back into his/her own.
So my question is: has the big fish become the female even though it's so aggressive to the other clowns? And is it true that the biggest one limits the growth of the other ones? Or are they just growing at the same rate and therefore the smaller fish stay smaller?
I don't really think it matters, I'm just curious.
Oh, and how long does it usually take clownfish to start breeding? These have been in the tank for about 3.5 months. I just want to be prepared if they have babies.

[coachfraley]

I could be wrong on this, but it was my understanding that the best way to keep clowns was in pairs. I think having the extra male around might be the source of some of the aggression.

You are right, that your larger clown is the female, and showing some aggression towards the males is pretty common.

I keep O. Clowns, and I have noticed that my female has grown much faster than my male, and largely because she grabs more food during feeding time (the male just kind of hangs out while the female takes the first bites).

I know that breeding can take quite a while, but it might vary by species. I have had my pair for 2.5 years, and nothing yet.

Good luck!

[Camona2333]

Yea, when I originally got my clowns, people told me to just get a pair, but I needed at least three (one for each anemone) for an experiment, and people said two pairs would be bad too. So I just bought three and prayed that they wouldn't kill each other, which they haven't so far, thank goodness.

Would clownfish kill each other? That was my other question that I forgot to ask. Cause I saw in my LFS the other day a damsel that had a huge gash in its side from one of the other damsels and it was lying on its side at the bottom of the tank. The manager said, yea, it was going to die, another damsel bit it because they are very mean fish. Clownfish are also very aggressive and the possibility of them doing that to each other has made me very nervous every time I see the big one chasing the other ones. Do clownfish do that to each other?

[coachfraley]

I believe so...especially the more aggressive varieties like the maroons or tomatoes. I think one reason that the percs and O's are very popular, is that they are a little less aggressive than most of the others.

Has your female chosen a male to "go around with" yet? My clown pair is always together.

I am willing to bet that your aggression problems have to do with having 3 clowns in the tank. If you returned of one the males, everything would probably be cool.

[rageybug]

Ok, don't quote me on my numbers here but I believe 20% is the magic number. The biggest clown will always be the female. The primary male will be 20% smaller than the female and then each additional clown will stay 20% smaller than the fish above it in the hierarchy, and 20% bigger than the fish below it.

Keeping 3 clowns is probably why you are getting the aggression from the female. If you could get the anemones to stay farther apart it might help as the female might consider the anemones that are close together to be one big home. Good luck keeping the anemones where you want them though!!

[Deftec]

I have a pair of clowns in a 55 gallon tank(tank raised clowns) and I've notice othey are always together, with one being noticeably smaller than the other...but the smaller one seems to lay on its side sometimes when they are together. Was just curious if this was from intimidation or mating? Sorry to threadjack!!

[travie]

I have a pair of clowns in a 55 gallon tank(tank raised clowns) and I've notice othey are always together, with one being noticeably smaller than the other...but the smaller one seems to lay on its side sometimes when they are together. Was just curious if this was from intimidation or mating? Sorry to threadjack!!

You would be better off starting a new thread with your question, then posting a question in a thread that hasn't been active in over a month. Just trying to help you get an answer.

[Deftec]

I thought about it, but figured I wouldn't clutter it up too much, if I don't get an answer soon I'll start a new one haha

[travie]

I thought about it, but figured I wouldn't clutter it up too much, if I don't get an answer soon I'll start a new one haha

Starting a new thread with a serious question never clutters the forum.