multiple clows

3m

3m

Member
currently i have a 90 gal with 2 Percula Clownfish, 2 black and white Percula Clownfish and three green chromis. i have plenty of hiding spots in the 75 # of live rock. i will be adding two BTAs and a Pink Tip Haitian Anemone this week. my question is can i add two more Percula Clownfish to this tank or will the other clowns harass the newbies? the 2 new ones are from a smaller tank that i am upgrading but over a period of time.
 
mscarpena

mscarpena

Member
You should not have an issue at all. They live in large groups in the wild. I assume they are all relatively the same size. Even if the 2 new ones are a good bit smaller you should still be ok.
 
3m

3m

Member
okay i added the two clonws from the smaller tank and the two B&W seem to be chasing the newb's about. will this stop or should i change my rock work around and leave the lights off for a bit? the two other clows that were in the tank have no problem with the new comers but i am concerned with the B&W's behavior.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
The rule for clowns is 2 ONLY. The ones that pair up with harrass and KILL all others. 2, Only 2.
 
3m

3m

Member
i had 4 in the same tank to begin with and no problems there. only when i added the two new percs did the B&W's have a problem. so your saying i should take 4 of the 6 out of the tank?
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by 3M
i had 4 in the same tank to begin with and no problems there. only when i added the two new percs did the B&W's have a problem. so your saying i should take 4 of the 6 out of the tank?
Thats what I am saying. They are very territorial no matter how they school in the wild. Once 2 pair up, they will actively seek out and destroy all others. Rare instances where more than 2 are kept, but again, very rare.
 
3m

3m

Member
okay well i'll take two out then the two percs and the two black and white's seem to get along fine(they were added at the same time) never an instance of fighting between them. only issue i have is with the two newly added percs. I'll move them back to the smaller tank until i get my newer larger tank up and running.thanks for the input
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Cannonman
Not to butt in here but.... is the two only rule the same no matter the size of the aquarium?
No. Tank size and species of Clownfish are important.
The B & W in this case are Ocellaris which will typically take ownership of a 3 - 4 foot circle around their home. Percula claim a much smaller area, typically just a foot or foot & a half. A Maroon or Saddleback on the other hand may claim 6 or even 8 feet as their domain.
Many Clown species will tolerate immature Clownfish. Once they mature they are kicked out of the nest. In the case of a 4 foot tank, they may or may not be able to physically leave the nest because of the constraints of the aquarium. In these cases the newly mature male will be killed.
A 90 does have a small chance of keeping 2 mated pair of Percula providing they each claim a corner and not the middle of the tank. I think there's only a very slim chance of a pair of B & W sharing a 4 foot tank with another pair long term.
 
3m

3m

Member
i'm not saying what anyone says here isnt true, all i am saying is what i see and what i have. the two B&W's have and have had no problem with the two original clowns, as I stated they were all intro'd into the tank at the same time. so that may be a factor. there were no problems at all until i intro'd the two clowns from the smaller tank. now the four clows seem to pal around together with no problems. the two B&W's and the two original clowns pal around as well, mingling and what not. so i am not sure if the original intro had any bearing or not but thats what i got here.
 
cannonman

cannonman

Member
Interesting to say the least, when I upgrade to a 125 I was thinking of putting two pair in there...now....I'm not so sure. Thanks for the info.
 
3m

3m

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
How long have they been together? It takes 2 - 3 years for Percula to mature.

only 6 months so that may be the reason, i wasnt aware it took that long to mature. thanks a bunch
 
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