How to introduce another clown?

[reef_dart21]

I have a very well establish false perc in my tank and would like to get him/her a friend but have fears that it will regect it. The clownfish has been in my tank for a total of 3 years, so how would i go about introducing another false perc?

 

[braydonosu]

Get one that is significantly smaller than the one you have. I have heard of two methods of introduction - first you can tank the old one out for a little while and let the new one loose in the tank, then reintroduce the old one - second you could rearange the rock work so that the old one has to mark out an all new territory for itself. For both methods I would turn the lights out after introduction (less stree for the fish)
What size tank is this? It's usually easier in a bigger tank, because the old clown might not 'control' the whole tank.

 

[reef_dart21]

It is 45 gallons, and sadly my clown fish has already claimed his territory ill post pics tomorrow

 

[try2wryte]

see searching before asking is panning out nicely. I have a new clownfish (Pickles) that I definitely want to mate up at some point, since she is a recent occupant, less than a week actually, I wanted to run out and grab another right away, before she gets territorial.
We're calling her a she as we assume she will be the female (or possibly already is according to the LFS, based on her size and age)
She stopped spazzing around the tank today so I think she's settling...Does anyone think its a good Idea to grab the 2nd fish ASAP and what are the odds that they might become a mated pair????

 

[renogaw]

bray's correct.
of course, a third method is to hand in the larger clown for the two smaller ones at the lfs.
but my female had died of i believe swim bladder disease, so the male started switching. a few weeks later after qt'ing the new clown, i put the new clown in the DT and the old clown in the QT. a week later, i reintroduced the old clown, and they paired up.
now, as for them becoming "mated" that's a whole other ball of wax.

 

[reef_dart21]

Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/2941284
bray's correct.
of course, a third method is to hand in the larger clown for the two smaller ones at the lfs.
but my female had died of i believe swim bladder disease, so the male started switching. a few weeks later after qt'ing the new clown, i put the new clown in the DT and the old clown in the QT. a week later, i reintroduced the old clown, and they paired up.
now, as for them becoming "mated" that's a whole other ball of wax.
No, no clownfish breeding for me

just wanted another one to get along with everything.

 

[coastie5685]

hm shoulda read this before introducing my other clown as well..
ive had one clown that btw had hosted to the heater.. for about a month now.
wanted to get him a buddy as well
introduced a rather bigger clown then the original one.
they have gone at it for a whil
turned off lights to reduce stress
but they are getting along a little better now.