Getting another clownfish to go w/ tomato clown

[cmc3502]

So I have a tomato clown and a few LFS told me that with tomatos you cant have another breed of clownfish in the same tank... Pretty much my only choice is to get another tomato clown if I'm set on having to clownfish. And at that I was told that I need to get one that is bigger or smaller than the current one. Also is the larger tomato clown always a female??
Just wanted some confirmation from somebody other than the LFS guy thats trying to make a buck...

 

[travis89]

Yes it is true that you have to get another tomato clown if you want another clown. Also you will want a smaller one when you get it. Yes the larger clown is always female and if you get another female they will fight.

 

[dogstar]

Originally Posted by Travis89
Yes it is true that you have to get another tomato clown if you want another clown. Also you will want a smaller one when you get it. Yes the larger clown is always female and if you get another female they will fight.
yep....

 

[bocfuss]

My little male clown fish died a month ago.

Honestly very sad, I have a small tank 30 gallons, and I really liked the guy. I finally replaced him with another clown same species, but smaller then the female. They got along great for 5 minutes, then all hell broke lose, but now they are best of friends. It took the better part of a whole day for them to decide who was dominant. I was lucky the new guy had a few places to hide. Clowns, you got to love em. I believe this is common for all species of clowns, or similar.
Seriously I wanted to throw the tank out the window as I watched the female try to help my old guy swim, it was horrible. I wondered if I should speed it up for him, hoping the whole time that he would pull through. Very sad.

 

[cmc3502]

Sooo I got the second tomato clown which is 1.5" long and the other one is about 3" long... The larger one has been in the tank from the start (about 4-5 weeks now) and she(??) is chasing the new one around, harashing it... Will this continue on past a day or so? I'm worried for the new guy, hes just getting use to the tank and now he has this bigger tomato clown trying to take bites at him....

 

[dogstar]

Never know....time will tell. The new clown could be a female also. If it was alone in the store for enough time to change or was the largest of alot of small ones......once a clown turns female they do not/ can not change back...

 

[cmc3502]

well all I know is that on wed. this week, I saw the one I wanted at the LFS in a tank with one other one... noth pretty small (1.5"), then today I went there and it was by itself...so I really dont know. Is there any way to tell if its a female???
I'm really concerned and am considering taking it back.. what do you think?? Should I just wait it out? and can turning off the lights help any?

 

[granny]

Keep a close eye on it. Clowns will definitely kiill each other. USUALLY, it is best to purchase them in pairs originally since you have no way of knowing at this point the --- of your two clowns. The larger/smaller issue takes place when you have a large group of clowns and ONE will become dominant in that group. Once you purchase them individually, you are taking a risk. Even perculas can be extremely aggressive towards tankmates. Their favorite tactic is to grab the tail of the other fish and keep chewing on it till it is ragged and demolished.
I am sorry, but I would not purchase same species on separate occasions.
Do you have a tank that you could remove your larger clown to for a few days and give the little one a chance to settle in peacefully? This often works. While the larger one is out rearrange the tank a little then return it no sooner than 3-4 days.

 

[dogstar]

There really know way to tell expect just wait it out...turning off the lights will only help the agression if the smaller one is a male...if its a female also then the results will be the same no matter what you do... 2 females will not co exist in a too small aquarium and that means only in a really large one it only becomes a maybe....takeing it back is your choice.....

 

[cmc3502]

I dont have another tank... I have about 2 gallons of "extra" cycled water that I have from a LFS.. I guess I could make a "make shift" tank for a few days....its seems here in the last 2 minutes the larger one is chasing the smaller but not nipping it... just scaring the crap out of him...

 

[granny]

You s ound like me. I want everyone in my tank to 'make nice' all the time and when they dont, out they go!
You have a tough choice to make. You can either not watch and wait it out, hoping all will be well or you can remove the larger fish for a few days, rearrange the tank and see if that works.
or you can take your clowns back and order or purchase a true pair who will cohabit.
Wish it was an easy decision, but it never is.

 

[cmc3502]

well I guess this is good news....I stopped watching for a bit and then I went back to see what was going on... The little guy finally found the caves and holes that I setup with the live rock at the bottom of the tank.. hes back in their hidden away pretty good for now... hope he can catchhis breath for a bit and use that spot for the next few days

 

[cmc3502]

well its day 2.... Last night I had the flash light out and the new clown was hiding in the live rock "caves" that i have setup... This morning I woke up to find the new clown out again and the bigger one leaving him alone for the most part. Ocassionally the larger one will go up and make her presents known, but not anything near like yesterday. I hope we're outta the woods on this one.
My advice for anyone: Get both clowns at once! It really could have gone either way yesterday and you can see by the pic that the fins of the little guy are pretty torn up!