Advice on clownfish situationship

[thrillreefer]

Hi, so I have an unorthodox clownfish pairing question. Tank 1 has a ~15 yr old occelaris that had always been unpaired (tried years ago, didn’t take) so must be female, but never got past about 2 inches. Kinda weird.

Tank 2 had a mated pair of occelaris, female 4”, male 3”. Always very docile toward other tank mates. Never laid eggs but acted like a pair. About 6 months ago, female jumped out. And previous male has been alone since. So now I have to assume he’s become a female too.

I would really like to shut down tank 1 as it’s mostly there to house the old clown and I want the space. My question: is there any hope these two will coexist? 2” old female + 3” former male (likely female now).

My thought is to put the smaller one in a clear breeder box in tank 2 and observe. If they don’t look hostile after a few days/weeks, just release the smaller one and hope for the best? Other ideas? Tank 2 is a 60 gal mixed reef with a lot of rock and hiding places, if that helps.

 

[thrillreefer]

So I put the small, old clown in a breeder box in the 60 gal for a week or so. Just released her tonight and not much visible aggression to speak of after a few hours. The larger female was very interested and kept saying hi but they’ve been separating and interacting periodically without any biting or notable agitation. Fingers crossed they are too inbred/dumb to know they should fight!

 

[#Angels&Demons]

So I put the small, old clown in a breeder box in the 60 gal for a week or so. Just released her tonight and not much visible aggression to speak of after a few hours. The larger female was very interested and kept saying hi but they’ve been separating and interacting periodically without any biting or notable agitation. Fingers crossed they are too inbred/dumb to know they should fight!

Hi,

The main thing you want to look for is submissive posturing (head down) and intense shivering (on its side) from the male whenever the female approaches it to "check it", that is, to assert her dominance. If the male fights back, or completely blows her off, then your assumption about it having become a female by now could be right. If they're the only clownfish in the tank, unless you have excellent barriers and territory separation/markers in place for them, the female will ultimately injur or kill the smaller one due to lack of submission—those hormones are real in female clownfish!

Good luck.