Breeding Journal, Species: <Amphiprion mccullochi>

General
Species:  Amphiprion mccullochi
Social Structure:  single pair
Size of Individuals:  2"
Age of Individuals: @ 1 year old 
Date added to Tank:  March & July 2010

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  65
Substrate Details: deep sand bed 
Filtration Details: sump, skimmer, carbon 
Water Changes: 25% monthly
Water Temperature:  74
Lighting: T5
Lighting Cycle: 14 hrs on, 10 hrs off 
Other Tank Inhabitants:  2 seahorses and a few percula

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types: pellet, mysis, homemade mush 
Feeding Schedule: twice daily 

Spawning Details
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Hatch Details
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Larval Tank Details
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Larval Feeding Details
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Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: 
Days after Hatch: 
Date of Settlement End: 
Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details
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Grow-Out Feeding Details
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Additional Information
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If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports.

Doni Marie~

1st addition while in QT

 
2nd clown addition

Doni Marie~

Doni, were these Drs Foster & Smith fish?  How are they treating each other?

Yes they are from Diver's Den.  I am still in the process of 'pairing' them up.  One is aggressive to the other submissive one so I am utilizing a "time out" method. 

Doni Marie~

 
So which fish gets the timeout in this instance?  Are you pulling the dominant one out, i.e. into a specimen cup where it can see but not interact, allowing the submissive fish free range?
 
I was taking with Kevin Kohen about the pairing in this fish (and have also talked with Ryan Dwyer about it too), and I wondered if maybe it might work better with a drastic size difference (i.e. what you generally do with Premnas).  Obviously, you get to deal with whatever you can get in this type of situation, but I wonder if my suspicions of the "timeout",  holding the dominant fish back, would make it ever MORE aggressive in future through the torture of watching the little one play in "it's home".
 
 

 
Yes. I am currently placing the aggressor into a breeding net where it is able to see and be seen.  Letting is out weekly for 6-8 hours to hopefully keep the needed hormones going to prevent both from getting aggressive. As it is now, one dominates the other with the submissive one 'dancing'. It works fine until about the 4th hour when the dominate fellow keeps the other pinned to a section of the tank.  It 'appears' to be going okay so far... but if you hear of a large adult for sale, let me know!  
 
Of course my preference would be to have a size difference between the two but that is just not possible with this species.  I have thought about removing the submissive one but thought it best to remove the aggressive fish instead. Netting and holding is stressful and I am afraid to stress the weaker one even more.  My other option would be to place a divider in the middle of the tank and let each have their own half.... I'll just watch and see how this set up goes.

Doni Marie~

My experience is limited and I'm extrapolation from two pairings; one between two gold maroons and one between a gold maroon female and a perc male.  However, with these agressive fish getting the male to be submissive was key, and unfortunately required a bit of gut wrenching fighting.  I've read of attempt to settle down the aggressive female, from caging them, rearranging the tank, or adding the female a week after the male.  In my opinion that makes it worse.  You don't want the male to have any confidence.  If he is too confident or to aggressive, the fighting is just prolonged.
 
In both case for me, I let the female make herself at home in the tank, added the male in a critter container and allowed the female to strut her stuff a bit, added the male and crossed my fingers.  In both case the male took a beating, got trapped in a corner for a while, was second fiddle at feeding time, but ultimately became submissive and found his order in life.  Interestingly, the perc was much harder to submit that the male maroon.
 
For what its worth.

Rook

Thanks Rook. I appreciate your post. If these were any other type clown, I would just toss them together and let them hash it out. Being they are so expensive, I am careful... maybe too careful...
I will consider switching which is put in 'time out'.
 

Doni Marie~

 
I second that sentiment.  My perc pair, the female initially grabbed the male and dragged him around the tank backwards.  I left them in side by side cubes in part of a larger acrylic retail system and tried again a week later.  No problems the second time around.
 
Currently trying to re-pair my Black Ocellaris pair (female died).  Kevin sent me an spare female they had from a pair, and wouldn't ya know it, the female that showed up was less than 1/4" larger than the current male.  Pairing has simply NOT worked despite putting the male in the isolation chamber

I do think having the male contained and near the female, where the female and strut a bit and try to intimidate the male, may help the male lose his bravado a bit.

Rook

With the black ocellaris, sometimes you just have to try another fish.  My dad kept a pair for me for a couple of years, and they never wanted to be together.  The male jumped finally, and I brought the female to my basement and paired it with a juvenile, and they have been so in love! This has happened for other friends of mine whose fish did not initially pair up.  Give the female another male, and it works very well. It may not have to do with size so much as personality. Not to anthropomorphise....

BAD NEWS..
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestion and comments... however, while I was away for 2 weeks, the most aggressive mccullochi jumped    My fault for not putting the glass tops back on which are better than netting. "She" was in the deepest tank (seahorse tank) and was the 'queen'.  Before I left, I removed the submissive male to a 40 gallon breeder just to be sure neither were injured while I was gone so I know fighting was not the cause.   Maybe now I'll just wait and let the little one grow then add a small juvenile later on....

Doni Marie~

I only have one but wanted to update the photo.  Its tail is all white and the last bit of the middle stripe is almost gone.
 

Doni Marie~