clown fish sexuality

[Xeruf]

is it possible the a clown fish is "A" sexuial because I just noticed a large group of eggs in one area that my Clown fish is guarding... and this is the only clownfish I have in my tank

 

[saltwater4life]

WEIRD! never heard of such a thing if you can take a picture anything else that might of mated and the clowns just hanging out by it?

 

[joeyjoeq]

Perhaps it took a babysitter job? lol ... Hmm very hard to think of a way for that to happen?

 

[rohnds]

All clonwfishes are males, except in group. In a group, the dominant male changes sex and becomes a female. Until the female dies, then the next dominant clownfish (male) becomes a female.

Is it possible that you bought a clownfish that was already a female ... dominant fish from a group of clowns.

Rohn

 

[TRe]

how long have you had this fish???

 

[Joe Fish]

Actually all clown fish start out as neither male nor female. I would have to think rohnds is correct. Otherwise I do not know.

 

[iplaydafoozball]

clownfish are considered protandric hemaphrodititic. all clownfish are born males. the largest male in a group becomes the female. the second largest male becomes the reproductive male. the rest just get to hang out and wait until one of the larger two are caught, eaten, or otherwise MIA. then the next largest fills in the missing clown's spot.

i have read somewhere, and i really wish that i remembered where and what animal they were talking about, but i've read there was a certain animal that is usually hermaphroditic that has recently been able to reproduce asexually. i actually think i remember, it was an article about komodo dragons in captivity. normally komodo's reproduce sexaully but can also change genders (i dont remember the circumstances on the gender changes) but recently, in zoo's, female komodos have been laying fertilized eggs.

i would have to say this about ur clown. either it has layed unfertilized eggs. or it has this odd mutation of being able to lay fertilized eggs...which is freaking awesome. and if these eggs hatch, u should take care of the fry. i don't know where u could send them, but try to find a contact in a marine bilogy school or research center to send them to. this could be quite a find. depending on if this mutation is genetic, the fry could be able to reproduce asexually also. that all depends on if this actually is an asexual clownfish.

this is very interesting. update us if anything happens.

 

[Joe Fish]

I have read at birth they are considerd juvenile and are neither male or female. I can't remember the book off the top of my head, but I have heard this elsewhere too. Is this not right?

 

[iplaydafoozball]

"For clownfish like Nemo, it is particularly complicated. All clownfish are born males. A clownfish group consists of a dominant male and female and 0-4 juvenile males. So where did the female come from in the group? When the female dies, the dominant male becomes the dominant female and one of the juveniles becomes the dominant male."
-Dr. Barry Starr, Stanford University Geneticist

all organisms that start out neither male nor female stay neither male nor female. clownfish are all born male. dunno where u read that but it is either out of date or non-legit.

o and i think these eggs are probably just unfertilized eggs. i got excited there for a moment, but after reading more i've found out that females will lay eggs just for practice. so it appears that u havea female that was probably taken from her group. maybe buy a little male for her and u could have some baby clownfish!

 

[Joe Fish]

I guess I would have to take the side of Dr. Gary. I must have gotten my facts wrong. I thought juveniles were neither male or female.

 

[CoolWaters]

lucky u if the eggs do hatch. the clown frys r just the best looking fishes in the world

 

[aresgod]

how long have you had the fish, the most likely explanation is that she was pregnant before purchase. There needs to be a male present to fertilize the eggs, and even when they do hatch out they are difficult for the average person to raise out.

 

[iplaydafoozball]

they only could have been fertilized after they were laid. the male fertlizes them as the female drops them. more than likely, what you have there is a batch of unfertilized eggs.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

I have read that clown fish are born "sexless" and then turn male with the larger more dominant turning female. Then yes, when the female passes the next dominant male switches sex and becomes female. Any male has the ability to turn female but once female they can not turn back to male.

 

[Joe Fish]

I think I read it out of the M. Paletta book about the new marine aquarium.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

I believe I read this in an artical specifically about clowns in an issue of FAMA.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

I'm going to see how old that issue was, as you may be correct in saying it is out dated. But I'm pretty sure it said that the fry are all born unsexed and then all turn male untill the larger more dominant one is established and turns female... so in a sense both statements could be true as they all become male first.

 

[iplaydafoozball]

it's a big misunderstanding of fake, non-legit informational websites. i have studied this in school. if something is born sexless, it will never grow to be a determined sex. this only take place in microrganisms. an example is asexual reproduction, like bacteria (basically, it splits itself in 2, creating an exact copy.) for any larger organism, one of the sexual organs will be present (sexual reproduction,) or both (hermaphroditic organisms). the misunderstanding comes from the fact that all clownfish are born male, but only the dominant male has functional reproductive organs. the other "drones" are male, but are not able to reproduce. i think the dormant state they are in once led someone to believe this meant they are not, in fact, actual males. and this went on to spreading that belief of "sexless" clownfish. i've learned this from my college education. i don't they are teaching lies there. lol.