Anyone with several clowns

overanalyzer

Active Member
beth - too true - plus other items being discussed other than the one main point ... hate to see this thread get shut down.
cheerflip - your clowns are all territorial - the more so for ocean caught ones ... that's the bad news ....
good news is - if you provide a good "home" for each pair and they are a mated pair then you might be able to keep two species in the same tank. In the wild clowns rarely rove very far from their home .... of course they shelter in an anenome in the wild and would become lunch once they left it .... in an aquarium they do not need this but they are genetically programed to find a home and stay with it ... I've seen two species in tanks and think you could get away with your clarkiis and percs (don't think those are sebea's - clarkii's and sebeas are often confused) .... either way - your lone tomato or cinnamon clown - while most likely very gorgeous - will become highly territorial ....
Check out Joyce Wilkerson's book on clown fish (Clownfishes is the title) ....
Here is a pic of our newest clownfish .... a pair of tank raised percs purchased from SWF.com - they are gorgeous and they have found a nice hiding hole ... unfortunately it is in the back of hte rock work :(
 

overanalyzer

Active Member

Originally posted by CheerFlip1
Yeah I set up a 20 gallon tank just in case something went wrong with the tomato/cinnamon

if it was me I would not wait and return him .... maybe look into a hairy mushroom or another softie that the clowns might host in ... provide a safe spot for your other pair of clowns (sebea in your ananeome until it croaks and percs in a hairy mushroom or ricordea or something ....)
 

tigerlover

Member

Originally posted by overanalyzer
Tigerlover - if you have 3 percs getting a fourth won't create a secon mated pair unless you have a huge tank!! What genreally happens is you have a female (largest Perc) a dominant male (second largest perc) and a subservient jvenile or male in waiting. getting a fourth will just cause a battle between the two lowest on the ladder .... what happens is they are a family unit - and if they do breed the juvenile will sometimes help the male in fanning of the eggs .... I'd just leave them be as they are setting up the peckign order of the family unit. If they are tank raised it should not get too violent. If you bought ocean caught shame on you and I'd get the 3rd one out as it could turn deadly.

Yes, I know what you are saying and I already understood clown pecking order as I have read about and studied about it many times, so I didn't need you to tell me again:rolleyes: But what you don't know is what is happening. They are tank raised not ocean caught, and the one is turning nastily pale bcause the older male picks on him, what I am saying is that even if I do get another one they won't pick on that clown as much as long as the new one is smaller
 
so do you guys agree that i should get one more true perc. so that it can mate with the other in my tank. the one in my tank was purchased this thursday that passed. i can add an anemone as soon as i get my vho's set up. opinions???
 

overanalyzer

Active Member

Originally posted by Tigerlover
Yes, I know what you are saying and I already understood clown pecking order as I have read about and studied about it many times, so I didn't need you to tell me again:rolleyes: But what you don't know is what is happening. They are tank raised not ocean caught, and the one is turning nastily pale bcause the older male picks on him, what I am saying is that even if I do get another one they won't pick on that clown as much as long as the new one is smaller

First - sorry if I offended you but post all the facts and it will help/
second- if you get a fourth and he is healthy then that new one will start picking on the unhealthy one. Meaning your pale one will get more picked on. It is the whole pecking order thing .... the idea being survival of the fitest - so I would pull the pale one out and but him in a Q tank .... not get a fourth one unless you want to add to the pale ones stress. Glad to hear you got tank raised but I stand by my original statement - Get the 3rd one out .... adding another will not help!!
 

overanalyzer

Active Member

Originally posted by disdominican
so do you guys agree that i should get one more true perc. so that it can mate with the other in my tank. the one in my tank was purchased this thursday that passed. i can add an anemone as soon as i get my vho's set up. opinions???

Get a second true perc but try tofind one that is smaller than the one you have now ... re-arrange the rocks right before you but him in and you should be fine.
I would not
get an anenome but rather think about getting another coral that an anenome will host in - hairy mushrooms are one good, or ricordia's or xenia's - but nont anenomes = hard to keep and messy when they die ...
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
Hairy mushrooms are regular mushrooms, I have some brown ones. They get rather large. Mine are about 3 inches across and are now splitting. But, the difference between them and regular mushrooms is that they have tenticle looking things covering the top of them, where regular shrooms are smooth. They aren't tenticles persay, but more like the bristles on a brush. They stick up, and wave slightly in the current and are used to help the shroom trap food, then to direct it into the shroom's mouth. Now, clowns like hairy shrooms because they are as close to certain anenomes as corals get. The clowns I have, two false percs, like to go to the hairy shroom rock and rub around and "host" in them. During feeding times, the clowns will often bring the hairy shroom a piece of food. However, now one of my clowns insists on molesting my colt coral. Very odd fish. Whatever works though. :cool:
 
That sounds great . Quick question though, what are the lighting requirements for hariy mushrooms and ricordias. I really like how ricordias look. You guys are the best.
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
Some of the more colorful ricordias do a-ok up top of tanks with PC lighting. I have my green ones in the mid range and they are really thriving. I have fragged some and put them at the top and the bottom. So they can pretty much go anywhere. Now, halides might freak out ricordias and shrooms some. As far as the shrooms, most can live under fairly weak lighting. They can also do fine under stronger lighting. Under weaker lighting they may try and slide towards the brighter areas, which in turn will leave new shrooms as the mother one moves along to find its comfortable spot. :cool:
 
Would anyone be willing to donate a small frag of ricordea for me. I wonder how much they cost at the lfs. Never noticed the price
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
PPS- There's some good homecoming celebrations going on at the Airbase in Miramar for troops returning from Iraq. Good stuff. Good stuff. :D
 
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