Anyone with several clowns

[disdominican]

I went to a new LFS that I found and wanted to buy another True Percula Clown but was surprised with the resoinse the LFS told me. he said that I shouldn't add another True Perc or another type of clown fish unless they are tank raised because they would fight. Do any of you have more than one clown together. Also dont they mate after being together for a while.

 

[bdhough]

Well there are a couple of factors. One is ocean raised and tank raised shouldn't be added together. The reason i know is tank raised are usually never introduced to a common anemone fish disease found in the ocean. Another factor is you should never add two different types of clowns unless your tank is huge. Adding another type of clown to your tank will probably end up in fights. Finally clowns should be in singles or pairs. If your clown has been single for a while he may not like another clown moving in on his territory. Then again he may not mind it. You could certainly try it but keep an eye on the fins and body. If you start to notice torn fins or scratches on the body they have been fighting and should be seperated.

 

[david s]

how old is your clown if it is small you can add another of the same type and if they pair up one will switch gender to female and become a mated pair with some luck here are mine they are still young but seem to have paired I am waiting for 1 to get bigger I hope I am not sure as they get bigger

 

[disdominican]

My clown is small, i'm going to try it to see what happens

 

[david s]

just make sure they are the same type and it should be ok if there small

 

[disdominican]

Do you have any anemones. Would the tank raised clowns accept anemones

 

[beth]

Cheer, did you introduce all those clowns at once?

 

[discusking]

I had something like that happen to me in my 18 gal. I got two tank raised gold striped maroons and at first they fought, but eventually they paired up and were always seen together. Maroons are said to be too aggressive to be housed together unless in a very large tank but mine were jsut fine. I bet that given some time urs will enjoy the other's company. If two maroons could get along, then anything can.

 

[rook]

It is possible as long as you are carefull and acclimate the two properly. Here are my two maroons. They have been together for a couple of months. I actually had a very easy time, but I went to great lengths of preperation first.

 

[bdhough]

Question flip. How are you're five clowns not messing with eachother in your tank?? I would think 50 gal it too small to mix clown species.

 

[hairtrigger]

Yes, give it time. I pulled that with some varieties of fish over the years to experiment. It may work for a day, or even a couple of months. But, eventually everything will get territorial and established, comfortable, etc in the tank. Then things will start turning sour. Not a good plan in my opinion.

 

[nas19320]

I have three clowns together. A tomato, pink skunk and a sebae. I've had them for about a 1-2 years. No problems until lately my tomatoe has been picking on my sebae a little.

 

[tigerlover]

I have 3 percs in my 55gal. all added at once and sometimes they fight now 1 is sick but there must be something wrong with the 1 because they have always picked on him now if he doesn't die I'm gonna get him a mate so that the others won't pick on him as much

 

[hairtrigger]

They have their own areas now. But I guarantee how territorial the fish get will change as they mature, get established OVER TIME in their areas, and adapt to who is the most aggressive and who is not .When they battle for the position of tank boss down the line I forsee trouble. By simply avoiding the potential for problems you avoid having to possibly tear down your reef either to recover a body for water quality purposes, or to catch a fish to treat for something. Most likely if the fish dont kill each other when they start battling, they will stress each other to the point it causes an ich outbreak. However, like Broomer says: Your tank, your choice. And as I say: Avoiding the potential for problems in a delicate system saves heartache and money down the line. Good luck.

 

[hairtrigger]

PS... like people have said percs are more forgiving. And Nas is just a prime example of how it may take ages... but the fish will most likely start hassling each other. The nipping will probably turn into a worse problem soon.

 

[hairtrigger]

Yeah, I believe so. After literally losing thousands of dollars starting out in this hobby several years ago I learned the hard way. I wish I'd had this board and other methods of advice before. Part of my trouble was experimenting with different systems. But, if I had known what I do now, I wouldn't have made 99 percent of the errors I did. Some folks just like to learn the hard way. I just hope draining a bank account and being inhumane is ok with them. Because despite how the same species of fish look, they are extremely stressed when put together. See, some new hobbyists think two fish darting around and fluttering means they are playing. Yah. Well, it means they are fighting and stressing the crap out of each other. Nature keeps them either in massive schools, or seperate in the wild. Now when they're together, there is one big difference than in tanks:
They have an entire ocean to relocate in and find better scenarios.
I am losing interest. Im getting back to work.

 

[overanalyzer]

Originally posted by Tigerlover
I have 3 percs in my 55gal. all added at once and sometimes they fight now 1 is sick but there must be something wrong with the 1 because they have always picked on him now if he doesn't die I'm gonna get him a mate so that the others won't pick on him as much
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 ....
Cheerflip - that tomato/cinamon will be trouble!

 

[hairtrigger]

Oooo, catfight. Kidding! Relax, relax. But when you post on a message board, you are inviting everyone to answer unless addressed otherwise. Or else advice would be sought through private emails and messages. Take what you may, and learn what you want. Let's respect eachother and not bicker. We're just doing our best to look out for one another's systems.

 

[hairtrigger]

 

[beth]

I see no reason for snide remarks or flaming directed at any one in this thread. This is a good discussion on the subject of clowns and I know no one wants to see it go downhill.
Lets refrain from personalizing our POV in to attack or judgemental mode, and stay on the topic. Discussing the topic to its full extend will be a lot more benefical to everyone then making judgemental remarks directed at individuals.
Peace