Send in the Clownfish

About a year ago, I added a pair of false percula (ocellaris) clownfish to my tank. Cute little guys - I bought them with the hope of pairing them up as a mated pair.

Science fact for ya. Clownfish are sexually dimorphic - they all start out as males, but when nature demands it, they can change into a female. (insert joke here) So if you have two male clownfish, one of them will become the dominant one, and that dominant one will become the female (insert joke here). Then the two will pair up for life, never leave each other's sides, spawn, and have lots of eggs.

My two clownfish were inseparable. Once I put them in the tank, they never left each other - they found a part of the tank that they enjoyed, they would sleep together in the same corner of the tank, and they were adorable in how close they were.

One problem - there was no dominant one. So while they were inseparable, they were both DUDES. (insert joke here) Not that there's anything wrong with that. It just wasn't what I expected. I know I know - maybe they're just best friends. Gotcha. Right. I'm sure that's it.



Anyways, the two clownfish were quite happy together, enjoying the open and accepting environment that I've fostered in my saltwater fish tank. But last week, only one of the clownfish (the one on the right in the above picture) was seen swimming about. I hoped it just meant that the other one (the one on the left) was in hiding or something, but considering how much time the two spent together, it didn't look good. After two days, even without a body, it was clear that the other clownfish had passed away.

This clownfish story was becoming more Brokeback by the second.

I couldn't stand to see that poor clownfish by himself. Who knows if he'd do well on his own? So I went out to the store to buy a new one. Okay, it's one thing for a little kid to go running down the aisle of the store screaming, "NEMO!" It's cute - the kid recognizes the fish from the Pixar movie. Fine. It's another thing entirely when the kid's PARENTS go running down the aisle shouting, "NEMOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" (insert joke here)

So I picked out a new clownfish - this new guy was very aggressive in the shop, establishing his dominance among the other store fish. So I took the new guy home - he and the old clownfish immediately hit it off. They swam together and explored the tank together, but the old clownfish definitely established some dominance - picking at the new guy and flaring his mouth at him.

Last night, in the corner of the tank where the two clownfish used to sleep, it was still just the one old guy. The new one was sleeping elsewhere. Doesn't look like the old guy is ready to move on yet - but I'm hoping that this rebound clownfish will be his new partner for life. But at the moment, the new guy is keeping his distance.

I'm still holding out hope that these two will become a mated pair and lay eggs. I have no expectations. Maybe they'll just be best friends. Maybe they'll be more. But at this point, I just want them to live a long happy life together - and not die on me. (insert hope here)