Muelly
Info
Generally a very easy to keep clownfish. Once accustomed nothing dangerous will happen. Tank raised are way easier to keep than imported ones. On this picutre you can see tank raised ones from Michael Mrutzek. The black version is much more rare than the orange one.
Sex and mating.
Anemonefish are protandrous hermaphrodites, meaning that life begins as a male. If two juveniles of the same size are present, then the more dominant anemonefish will develop into a female. If two females of the same size are placed together, then the weaker female will form back into the male, but this will take some time and there will be fierce fighting. The reversion can take several weeks, and during this time the more dominant female will keep putting the pressure on the weaker female until the sex has changed.
If there are several anemonefish in the aquarium and the dominant female dies, the previously dominant male will revert to female and a previously suppressed animal will move up to the dominant male. By this adjustment the main task, the spreading of the "own genes" on fast way remains.
Once the disputes have settled and the roles are established, the female will continue to grow. The difference in size from male to female is about 1-3 cm depending on the initial size of the species.
The term "reef safe" is often used in marine aquaristics, especially when buying a new species people often ask if the new animal is "reef safe".
What exactly does reef safe mean?
To answer this question, you can ask target-oriented questions and inquire in forums, clubs, dealers and with aquarist friends:
- Are there already experiences and keeping reports that assure that the new animal can live in other suitably equipped aquariums without ever having caused problems?
- Is there any experience of invertebrates (crustaceans, hermits, mussels, snails) or corals being attacked by other inhabitants such as fish of the same or a different species?
- Is any information known or expected about a possible change in dietary habits, e.g., from a plant-based diet to a meat-based diet?
- Do the desired animals leave the reef structure "alone", do they constantly change it (boring starfish, digger gobies, parrotfish, triggerfish) and thus disturb or displace other co-inhabitants?
- do new animals tend to get diseases repeatedly and very quickly and can they be treated?
- Do known peaceful animals change their character in the course of their life and become aggressive?
- Can the death of a new animal possibly even lead to the death of the rest of the stock through poisoning (possible with some species of sea cucumbers)?
- Last but not least the keeper of the animals has to be included in the "reef safety", there are actively poisonous, passively poisonous animals, animals that have dangerous biting or stinging weapons, animals with extremely strong nettle poisons, these have to be (er)known and a plan of action should have been made in advance in case of an attack on the aquarist (e.g. telephone numbers of the poison control center, the treating doctor, the tropical institute etc.).
If all questions are evaluated positively in the sense of the animal(s) and the keeper, then one can assume a "reef safety".
Sex and mating.
Anemonefish are protandrous hermaphrodites, meaning that life begins as a male. If two juveniles of the same size are present, then the more dominant anemonefish will develop into a female. If two females of the same size are placed together, then the weaker female will form back into the male, but this will take some time and there will be fierce fighting. The reversion can take several weeks, and during this time the more dominant female will keep putting the pressure on the weaker female until the sex has changed.
If there are several anemonefish in the aquarium and the dominant female dies, the previously dominant male will revert to female and a previously suppressed animal will move up to the dominant male. By this adjustment the main task, the spreading of the "own genes" on fast way remains.
Once the disputes have settled and the roles are established, the female will continue to grow. The difference in size from male to female is about 1-3 cm depending on the initial size of the species.
The term "reef safe" is often used in marine aquaristics, especially when buying a new species people often ask if the new animal is "reef safe".
What exactly does reef safe mean?
To answer this question, you can ask target-oriented questions and inquire in forums, clubs, dealers and with aquarist friends:
- Are there already experiences and keeping reports that assure that the new animal can live in other suitably equipped aquariums without ever having caused problems?
- Is there any experience of invertebrates (crustaceans, hermits, mussels, snails) or corals being attacked by other inhabitants such as fish of the same or a different species?
- Is any information known or expected about a possible change in dietary habits, e.g., from a plant-based diet to a meat-based diet?
- Do the desired animals leave the reef structure "alone", do they constantly change it (boring starfish, digger gobies, parrotfish, triggerfish) and thus disturb or displace other co-inhabitants?
- do new animals tend to get diseases repeatedly and very quickly and can they be treated?
- Do known peaceful animals change their character in the course of their life and become aggressive?
- Can the death of a new animal possibly even lead to the death of the rest of the stock through poisoning (possible with some species of sea cucumbers)?
- Last but not least the keeper of the animals has to be included in the "reef safety", there are actively poisonous, passively poisonous animals, animals that have dangerous biting or stinging weapons, animals with extremely strong nettle poisons, these have to be (er)known and a plan of action should have been made in advance in case of an attack on the aquarist (e.g. telephone numbers of the poison control center, the treating doctor, the tropical institute etc.).
If all questions are evaluated positively in the sense of the animal(s) and the keeper, then one can assume a "reef safety".
