How to pair clowns

[entice59]

well i only have one perc, and i was wondering if it would okay to add another one in the tank, but im afraid they will fight.
there also one type of clown ive never seen anyone have in this board. Its a bright orange more like a redorange body. Looks like a perc, black eyes and it only has one white line that curves down half way. Very colorful.

 

[col]

The best chance of a pair getting along are buying them young from the same tank.
Saying that, my pair lasted for 7 months and I came down one morning and caught one finishing the other off by shaking it by tail fin.
I'm in same boat, with one perc left and I doubt if it will get along with another if I added it now.

 

[norm r]

I have no experience w/ percs but have successfully paired maroon and tomato clowns.
With the maroons, I had a large female for 2 years then added a much smaller male (or he became a male). She tore into him for about 2 days then they were inseperable.
With the tomato clowns, I purchased them at the same time, both about 2" in size. They fought briefly and became (and are still) inseperable. They are now about 3.5" and 4.5". I have had them for 8 years but suspect I won't have the female much longer. She is looking old and tired.
Both experiences were quite rewarding. I'm actually considering trying a shoal of maroons. I've posted here to see if anyone has experience w/ a shoal, but got no response. Best of luck.

 

[entice59]

well i went to the store today and the percs were more orange and redish while mines were more orange, they would still work right?

 

[norm r]

In both of my attempts the coloration between the two was very different. With the tomato clowns, the male is bright orange and the female more cinnamon w/ bright orange fins. Similar differences with the maroons. Again though, I have no experience with percs. Hopefully someone else will respond who has.

 

[kinetic180]

I'm not sure about the coloration, but I have paired percula clowns (keep in mind I have only done this once). I had Krusty for about three months before I added another clown. When I added them I kept the lights off for an entire day but they fought anyway (I was very nervous the whole time). Then I rearranged the live rock a little bit and they seemed to fight less. After the second day I was going to find the new percula a new home but I noticed that they were fighting even less. So, I changed my mind and decided to wait a few more days. Well, in my case all ended well and eventually the new clown became dominant over Krusty (the new one was slightly bigger than Krusty) and they stopped fighting. So, it is now a year later and everyone is doing great together and in fact they spend all of their time with each other and I think that Krusty may have been a little lonely if he didn't have a buddy.
Good luck with whatever you decide
Jen

 

[igotcrabs]

When I got my percs I was only going to buy one but the guy at the LFS caught 2 in the net I said I would take both and they are always next to each other.