Will this work to introduce new clown?

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Hi there.
I have a gold-stripe maroon in my 92 gallon.... been there about a year. Last night at the LFS I fell in love with one of his gold-stripes..... absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and after contemplating it for a while, I brought him home. I thought my chances of him being able to move into the tank would be good since he's slightly bigger than my existing clown, but BOY is he taking a beating. All of his fins are tattered and torn and he's still swimming, but with difficulty.
I know that it could take several days for two clowns to work it out but I also know that sometimes it doesn't work and one (usually the new one) ends up dying. I considered moving the new guy into my 46 gallon but I have two paired false percs in there. Even though they are smaller, they probably wouldn't welcome him either, right?
I just netted the new guy and put him in a screened breeder cage in the 92 gallon so he could get some rest. Might keeping him in there for a few days make the old clown accept him more or am I just prolonging the inevitable?
Sue
 

bang guy

Moderator
In my opinion you have introduced a female Maroon to a tank already containing a female Maroon. If that's true the chance of the new one surviving long term is 0.00%.
If you move her to the Ocellaris tank she may survive due to the more aggressive nature of Maroon Clownfish. If she does survive then she will eventually kill the female Ocellaris. She may or may not kill the male but the odds are not in his favor.
My recommendation is to take the new Maroon back to the fish store.
If you wish to pair your Maroon then the best chance of success is with a very young Goldstripe. As young as you can find and no more than half the size of your current Maroon.
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///forum/thread/381847/will-this-work-to-introduce-new-clown#post_3328892
In my opinion you have introduced a female Maroon to a tank already containing a female Maroon. If that's true the chance of the new one surviving long term is 0.00%. Ugh..... pretty depressing odds. I knew it was a gamble but I was hoping the 50/50 chance I was taking would work in my favor.
If you move her to the Ocellaris tank she may survive due to the more aggressive nature of Maroon Clownfish. If she does survive then she will eventually kill the female Ocellaris. She may or may not kill the male but the odds are not in his favor. Wow, tough choice. Tempting, but so unfair to the two ocellaris who are happily minding their own business.
My recommendation is to take the new Maroon back to the fish store. I'm not sure they'd want her back in her condition..... she is SO tattered.

If you wish to pair your Maroon then the best chance of success is with a very young Goldstripe. As young as you can find and no more than half the size of your current Maroon. Hmmmmmm, now that's interesting.... I always thought the newcomer was supposed to be BIGGER for better chance of survival. Guess I haven't done enough reading about clowns. I have no real desire to pair my existing maroon, it's just that this fish was so gorgeous it lead me to say "hey, let's try having two in the 92 gallon."

Thanks for your thoughts. I've been away from here for a while but were you always a moderator or is that fairly new? In any case, congratulations! :)

Sue

P.S. As much as I shudder at the thought, would re-aquascaping help?
 

gemmy

Active Member
Personally, I do not think re-aquascaping will work in this case. Two clowns that have become female will fight each other to the end to establish dominance.
 
What I did with my True Percs was take the female out, move all the rocks around, put them both in at the same time, and everything worked out. I made sure I bought a juv. True Perc to avoid any fighting.
 

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameraman954 http:///forum/thread/381847/will-this-work-to-introduce-new-clown#post_3329078
What I did with my True Percs was take the female out, move all the rocks around, put them both in at the same time, and everything worked out. I made sure I bought a juv. True Perc to avoid any fighting.
That will occasionally work with a Percula or Ocellaris, but with a Maroon, there's just no way. Maroon clowns rarely except new mates, and in the OP's case, she has 2 female maroon clowns, which will just be a fight to the death.
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Thanks for the feedback and comments. Based on hearing that this is almost definitely a no win situation when dealing with maroons (and apparently, two female maroons) I managed to separate them before either lost their life. The original clown will go to the LFS tonight (caught her while she was sleeping) and the new, tattered and torn clown will (hopefully) regain health and strength and be the only clown in the 92 gallon. Lesson learned.
Sue
 
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