Ocellaris clown questions?

thebeadlady

thebeadlady

Member
I have 4 false clowns picked out in a store...they don't have an Anemone in their tank. Question...should I get anemones first and happy then add the clowns or just get the clowns and go from there.......
Since these clowns don't have a anemone in there tank I'm not sure if that's hugely important to them or maybe they are not happy where they are. I feed them when I'm in and they all come to me to eat. They look happy and attentive. My tank is 50 and I want all four of them...
Any opinions.........
Karen
 
invertcrazy

invertcrazy

Member
Well first welcome to the boards.
Ok now lets talk anemones. You're going to need T5ho or metal halide lighting to keep a anemone healthy because they get 90% of their food from the lights.Also your tank needs to be established for at least 6 to 8 months.
If you have both of these, then a long tentacle or a bubble tip would be a good choice for false percs.
Now your saying your looking at 4 percs, rule of thumb is one pair per tank unless you have a very large tank. Why you ask? All clowns are born males. Out of the 4, the more dominant one will become a female and the stronger male will pair up with the female. After the 2 pair up they will most likely beat up or even kill the other 2 unless you have a big enough tank for them to stay clear of each other. Some will say they have kept 2 pair but IMO it's a bad idea and will cause issues in the future.
One more thing you need to consider, it is a 50/50 chance any anemone will host a clown. A wild caught clown would more likely pair up with an anemone faster than a tank raised clown because most tank raised clowns never seen an anemone until we the hobbiest put them together, although tank raised are more healthy. Well I hope this helps a little. Take your time-do some research and listen to what others have to say and don't be afraid to ask questions. This is just my opinion and i'm sure others will add their .02.
 
thebeadlady

thebeadlady

Member
Interesting.......Of the 4 perc's I'm watching I see them 5 days a week and watch them all day.....They have been in the tank for more than 6 weeks. There is no anemone with them now. They are around 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" long......After your post I'm thinking it might be best to pick the 2 most dominant...I'm going to see if I can get a good pic of them and study them more carefully....
I had a salt water tank about 30 years ago and wow things have changed so much....
Thanks for your imput...
Karen
 
invertcrazy

invertcrazy

Member
Take the biggest one and the smallest one. The bigger one will become the female and the smaller one will stay the male. If you get the 2 dominant ones they will probably fight until the weaker one backs down. This can take anywhere from a couple days to a month and can get quite violent. Either way you go there may be squabbles until the female does not feel threatened by the other. If there are 2 in the tank you are watching that are hanging out more than the other 2 I would get those. Or you can get the 2 dominant ones and let nature take its coarse. As always this is only my .02
 
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