My First Clownfish (Need Advice)

rune

rune

Member
We would like to get some clownfish but are unsure of the exact type that would be best for us. We would like to get a pair but also want to take it slow. These will be the only fish in our tank and while it appears to be cycled, we have just been ghost feeding it and the cleanup crew. I have a few questions. We are trying to go with the most peaceful clowns we can get.
Can we get one small clown now and as he grows, add another smaller clown at a later time and have them pair up? or would they fight? I thought this might be a good idea for a few reasons. 1.) the tank is new and its a lighter bioload adding one fish versus two and 2.) we are having a hard time finding a pair at a local fish store that we like. We have seen several singles we wouldnt mind having but they are all the same size.
Is there a difference in clown color shades in each class? We were leaning toward fale percs but have noticed that some are very light orange (almost yellow-orange) while others are a much darker orange.
 
tj51

tj51

Member
I had a big sebae mean as hell I now have a small gold striped maroon which I think is the best looking (but expensive) It loves to play in my bubble tipped anemone and protective as if I get my hand to close to the anemone he will bite me
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
You can buy 2 the same size, one will eventually become dominant, larger,and be female. What size tank is this? Also be absolutely sure the tank has cycled before adding them.
 
rune

rune

Member
The story of the tank is a long one. It's a 55 gallon.
We had a tank with 3 damsels in it for about 2 months. We ended up getting a whole new tank, stand, and canopy and so we returned the damsels and setup the new tank from scratch. Got approx 80lbs of live rock and 80lbs of live sand. We monitored the ammonia on that tank daily for almost a month and never saw a spike. We did the dead shrimp and ghost feeding daily cycle method.. never saw the spike. We ended up getting a diatom bloom about a week and 1/2 ago and there are more pods than you can shake a stick at. We figured at that point that the amount of bacteria we got from the live rock/sand was overcoming anything we kept putting into it. We added our CUC about a week ago and then a skunk cleaner shrimp and 2 cardinals on Sunday. The cardinals died within 24 hours and after talking to several people it seems they may have been wild caught. The shrimp is doing great and the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are 8.1 and 0 respectively. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that we haven’t tested the ammonia and we replaced the kit about 2 weeks in to make sure that it was working. We even had the fish store test it on two occasions.
We are more than likely going to wait another few weeks to get the clown unless someone suggest otherwise. As for the cycle we dont know what to do. Adding another dead shrimp could cause the ammonia to spike quickly and then kill the cleaner shrimp.
Maybe it's best to keep a 55 gallon tank with a cleaner shrimp and some hermits and thats it, heh.
 
srgvigil

srgvigil

Member
If the tank is cycled I would say go ahead and get the two clowns. If you've been ghost feeding it the bioload should be able to take two fish at once. I made the stupid mistake of listening to my LFS when I first started and I introduced a huge bioload at once (2 clowns, a firefish, a flame angel, and a sixline). My tank was ok and everything turned out ok (but I would not do it again) It sounds like your taking things slow which is a very good thing. If you buy two juvinile clowns your not going to overload your tank. The clowns are small. I would suggest getting two clowns at the same time, either both small are one small and one larger) they will most likely pair up (mine did:) )
If you want to buy them small or full grown its up to you. Its nice when their small because you watch them grow up. It's nice when their big because theyll start mating much quicker because you dont have to let them mature because they already are. All clowns are amazing but my personal favorite are the False Percs. One thing I will warn you on is do not buy an anemone right now. Your tank is still too young for one. I've heard that six months is when you can considering to buy one. And please have the correct lighting for one.
On the shading thing: Yes i have noticed this to and it has baffled me. My male clownfish was bright oarnge when I first got him, but he has darkened with age.
 
rune

rune

Member
Originally Posted by SrgVigil
http:///forum/post/2558477
If the tank is cycled I would say go ahead and get the two clowns. If you've been ghost feeding it the bioload should be able to take two fish at once. I made the stupid mistake of listening to my LFS when I first started and I introduced a huge bioload at once (2 clowns, a firefish, a flame angel, and a sixline). My tank was ok and everything turned out ok (but I would not do it again) It sounds like your taking things slow which is a very good thing. If you buy two juvinile clowns your not going to overload your tank. The clowns are small. I would suggest getting two clowns at the same time, either both small are one small and one larger) they will most likely pair up (mine did:) )
If you want to buy them small or full grown its up to you. Its nice when their small because you watch them grow up. It's nice when their big because theyll start mating much quicker because you dont have to let them mature because they already are. All clowns are amazing but my personal favorite are the False Percs. One thing I will warn you on is do not buy an anemone right now. Your tank is still too young for one. I've heard that six months is when you can considering to buy one. And please have the correct lighting for one.
On the shading thing: Yes i have noticed this to and it has baffled me. My male clownfish was bright oarnge when I first got him, but he has darkened with age.
Great idea! I would like to get them fairly small. I think it would be neat to watch them grow up. We want to take it slow but we are also struggling with the time line. Since it looks like we arent making any progress on the tank due to a lack of a cycle and the fear of introducing clowns (which cost a bit more than say, damsels) when something may be wrong with the tank itself.
 
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