That's why I like starting with known juvenile fish from a known breeding source, ie an LFS that knows where and when the fishes were born, or picking two obvious juvies from a big tank filled with lots of clowns.

Starting with a mature female and either a male or juvie is usually OK too, but is dependent on you correctly identifying the sexes. The anal fin is yellow and it has a white to yellow tail. We also keep a stock of most species in the jumbo and large sizes. Depending upon species, SA begins offering our clown fish for sale when they are about 1.5 inches, though we offer a nano size that is 0.75-1. Starting with two juvies generally goes very easily, one is naturally dominant as they mature. The Sebae Clownfish is brown with white stripes and an orange head. Clown fish are very territorial in nature one never finds a clown fish outside of the territory defined by its anemone. Starting with two males can go fine but may result in a period of fighting while one establishes dominance. I've had other breeding pairs where the female was a constant, but gentle, bully and the male stayed generally near but always kept a little distance. I've had breeding ocellaris pairs that were very friendly towards each other and were inseparable. I think it's fair to point out that, just like people, not all clownfish relationships are the same and 'bonded' may look different for different fish. If you have a good LFS with lots of fish to choose from, offering both juveniles in group tanks or well established bonded pairs, there's really no reason to pay more for the pair unless you like the specific fish more for whatever reason. It's easy to end up with two females this way, which will basically end with one fish dead. What you don't want to do is buy fish of unknown age or background, or fish that are currently alone in a tank. Another sure bet is two known-young fish that have been in a group their whole life. How does this impact buying decisions? If you have a chance at a bonded pair that's an obvious mature pair with one male and one female (the female will be significantly larger, and obviously 'in charge') then that's probably the most sure bet. When alone, any single clown will eventually become a female. When in a group, all but the most dominant will remain male, the dominant fish becomes a female.

Clownfish for sale