Noob here...maroon yellow stripe clownfish questions...

[pinklady]

Hey all...I work at an assisted living home, and in each memory care house they have a really nice saltwater setup. The house I work in has a really funny maroon yellow stripe clownfish that I've come to adore, and I decided I want one for myself. I stopped by an aquarium specialty store today and the guy helped me pick out everything I need. They have a baby maroon yellow stripe and I have a few questions for you long-time clownfish keepers. I asked the store guy, but want opinions from those with firsthand experience as well.
I know that it isn't recommended to keep another clownfish in with the maroon ones, but does that only apply to adults? Could I possibly get another baby and raise them up together? If so, what would size tank would I need to allow for proper territory?
If he can't have another clownfish with him, what tankmates can he have? The tank at work has some kind of yellow fish, some neon blue fish, but I don't know what they are off hand. They all seem to get along just fine and the clownfish doesn't chase/nip any of them. If I choose not to get tankmates, will the clownfish be OK by himself as long as he has his anemone?
The baby at the aquarium store is very light colored and his stripes are white, not yellow. Is this typical of juveniles? Do they darken as they get older? The one we have at work is very deep burgundy with bright yellow stripes...this is the best pic I could get of him (her?):

Can I expect the baby at the store to grow into this appearance?
Anything else you can tell me about them would be great. Thanks!

 

[old_salt]

Originally Posted by PinkLady
I know that it isn't recommended to keep another clownfish in with the maroon ones, but does that only apply to adults?
No, they just grow up and one eventually tries to kill the other.
Could I possibly get another baby and raise them up together?
I have a maroon and two skunk clowns in a 210G and they still go at it even though their anemones are on opposite ends of the tank.
If so, what would size tank would I need to allow for proper territory?
210G minimum.
If he can't have another clownfish with him, what tankmates can he have?
Depends on the size of the tank. I have a maroon w/anemone in a 29G along with a blue spot dottyback and a copperbanded butterfly and they get along just fine.
The tank at work has some kind of yellow fish, some neon blue fish, but I don't know what they are off hand. They all seem to get along just fine and the clownfish doesn't chase/nip any of them. If I choose not to get tankmates, will the clownfish be OK by himself as long as he has his anemone?
Sometimes I think they prefer to be alone with their anemones. I have tried to match of several maroon clowns and they have all tried to kill any new arrivals to the tank. If you want two maroon clowns, try to find two together at the store and not trying pairing them up after one has established a territory (which can be the entire tank in a 40g).
The baby at the aquarium store is very light colored and his stripes are white, not yellow. Is this typical of juveniles? Do they darken as they get older? The one we have at work is very deep burgundy with bright yellow stripes...this is the best pic I could get of him (her?):

Can I expect the baby at the store to grow into this appearance?
Anything else you can tell me about them would be great. Thanks!

I have had some become dark maroon and others a brighter reddish burgundy with yellow stripes. I have been told that most don't get their yellow stripes until they are about a year old. I have that is about 8 months old and I can just detect a slight change of color. I currently have 4 maroon clowns, all in separate tanks because they can't stand each other. I have tried putting them together in different tanks and they still try to kill each other. I have a Clark and a Tomato that share an anemone, but this is probably very rare and I would never recommend adding two different clown species to the same tank if the tank is less than 210g (and then your still taking a chance that they won't try to kill each other when they get older). I would recommend that you get a matched pair or still with a single maroon and a good size anemone (mine is growing a lot faster than her anemone). I hope this helps.

 

[coraljunky]

Juvenile maroons are orange and white. After about 1 year, they will start to darken/change. I have a mated pair of maroons in my 29g. The female(usually larger) is about 3 inches. A clown fish doesnt need an anemone to survive. As far as tank mates, It may be okay with another maroon if its the same size, but I'm not 100%. Damsels,darts,gobies,jawfish,tangs,wrasse all seem to fair well with clowns. By nature clowns are territorial, not so much as juveniles tho. Hope this helps.

 

[ice4ice]

Maroon Clownfish are the most aggressive of all clownfish species and do grow up to about 6 inches as adults. Though they can be paired if you have them as juveniles. As far as tankmates goes, you can have damselfish. A couple ideas :
Blue yellowtail
Domino
3 stripe or 4 stripe damsel
I know most people don't like damsels in their tanks due to their aggressive nature but these will be fine and will hold their own with the maroon clownfish.

 

[bexleyfish]

My adult maroon only has a little yellow lining the outsides of his stripes. As far as the tank mates go, there are many possibilities but i wouldn't go with another clown (as you said maroons are very aggressive). You could try a small hippo tang, they have great personalities and are ok with maroons. And i dont think you have to have a mate but if you want one, by all means get one.

 

[pinklady]

So she would fare well if I just wanted to have her alone in her own tank? That's pretty much my plan, as I'm really enthralled with this type of clownfish and don't feel the need to have tankmates. I only asked about them out of concern for the clown's well-being (if she would be anxious without other fish). Plus I thought perhaps it would be nice to have 2 of them, but only if they could be raised together successfully. I'm not going to risk one killing the other though.
Thanks all!

 

[nietzsche]

my lfs has one in like a 125 or so tank, its with other fish like flame angel, some green chromis, royal gramma, blue damsel with yellow tail, and other fish and it is huge. as far as being aggressive the most i saw was it chasing fish away from it's territory, which seemed like a big chunk in the middle of the tank with a cave.

 

[petjunkie]

I have a regular maroon in my 33 gallon, my first fish ever. She's been kept with angelfish but did battle it out with a similar sized coral beauty while that was in there, there's a royal gramma whose been there two years with her no problems. I used to have a sixline, cleaner wrasse and clown goby in that tank at different times with no issues but some chasing.
It seems as long as she can be the boss the tank is calm but they are aggressive eaters and pigs too so I wouldn't recommend anything that's a slow or timid feeder. If you want a pair buy two very small ones before they have decided their ---, if you can find a store with a bunch of little ones in a tank that would work. Or you would have to let yours grow up a little, then try an introduce a very small one, keeping the new one in a clear net or container so they can see each other but not kill each other.
If you are planning to keep an anemone with your clown make sure you do plenty of research and let the tank mature for at least a year and have metal halide lighting, they are not a beginner invert. Clowns will often host in lower easier to keep corals also, mine hosts in some very large rhodactis mushrooms. Also buy a tank raised clown if possible and look up brookynella as clownfish are prone to this and you should know the signs and treatment.