[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98hthaSPkKM[/youtube]
It only took 18 months but our very own Matt Pedersen has finally succeeded in growing up the lightning maroon clownfish and pairing it with compatible partner. When the lightning maroon clownfish was initially imported, it was so small that it had to be the male in the clownfish match-making game, making it vulnerable to bullying and fin-shredding from females who saw its lightning stripes as ‘a little too edgy’.
Now that the lightning maroon has attained a female size, it has been much easier to find it a compatible suitor. Even more interesting than the pairing accomplishment is how the lightning stripes have not faded with age, if anything they appear more prominent and perhaps in the future we can look forward to fully lightning-striped adult maroon clownfish. more details of the pairing process over at the Lightning Maroon weblog and another video of the mixed lightning couple after nine days of pairing when you continue reading.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvWm8FGg35w[/youtube]
