Two of the main fish that we breed at work are clownfish and dottybacks, and in most of the tanks in boodstock we have a clown pair and a dotty pair. Recently I have begun to think of them as the opposites of each other. Hear me out okay
Clownfish are all born male and the largest one in a group becomes the dominant female. She protects the territory and defends their nest from predators and rivals, while the smaller male tends to the eggs. Sometimes they fight but a happy, bonded clownfish couple is a force united, both of them prepared to keep their eggs safe at any cost.
Dotties are all born female and the largest one becomes the male. He is also territorial and defends his nest violently if necessary. But, he is also the sole caretaker of the eggs. The female dotty has no parental instincts whatsoever. In fact, part of the reason male dotties are so territorial is because the female is a predator. She won’t hesitate to turn around and eat the eggs she just laid. So, even the most chill dotty couple is in a constant tango of paranoia over the possibility of the female sneaking in and eating her own children. Even if the two have lived together peacefully for years, he has no problem ripping her apart if she gets too close to his nest before the eggs hatch.
It’s like a house with a happy loving couple on one floor and their downstairs neighbors are in a fight to the death because the wife was trying to eat their kids again.
