Re-Pairing Clowns

[372xp]

There is a small gap in the glass lid of my tank and last night after the water change forgot to cover it. The result being a dead clown on the floor this morning.
Now let me get this right, male clowns can become female but not vice-versa. I got both fish as youngsters from a group, so my guess is they would both have been male as they were the 2 smallest in the group. One grew a lot bigger and became more dominant so I reckon became female, she was the jumper.
Now I feel sorry for the little guy on his own so would like to pair him up again asap. I have read that in this case it is better to get a smaller fish so you can be sure it is male. My question is would it not be better to get a larger one that you know is female so that things should be back to normal quicker. I dont want to create a power struggle as the 2 fish both try to dominate each other and become female.
What is your advice please?

 

[CezzaXV]

No, I would say it was better to make sure that it is male. If you end up with two males, one of them will become female (probably your existing clown, as he would be the dominant male who then moves up the heirarchy to become the dominant female). I don't know how long it takes for the male to female transition, but introducing a larger one gives you the possibility that you could end up with two females, which is bad news.