3 percs in 20 gallon

[varg1]

Is it ok to have 3 perc clowns in a 20 gallon with 1 GBTA? Im wondering if the perc that isnt apart of the bonded pair will fight with the bonded pair, or will they get along and how can i get around getting rid of the 3rd clown. I want whats best for all of them and i want them to live along time and not be stressed out. I also have a 4th but its in a med tank because he has ick im sure.

 

[hogben]

I would read through the Clownfish & Anemones FAQ especially the section on "Keeping clownfish: multiple clowns and mixing species."

Since we know clownfish form hierarchies and that sexually immature fish will sooner or later compete for a dominate role in the hierarchy that keeping more than two clownfish in the same tank will likely lead to fighting and possibly death as the upstart has no place to be driven to in a tank unlike in the wild with the vast amounts of space on a reef.

A lot of your questions and concerns are answered there, and may help you make more informed decisions next time you are at your LFS.

 

[varg1]

Ok i read through it...the big reason i have 3 in the same tank is because i wanted a bonded pair...im not sure if the pair i think is bonded are really bonded and i dont know how old my fish are so i dont know if i can take one out and hope that ones female and ones male. they are wild caught and they are an inch. when sexualy mature at 12-24 months are they like 3 inches? Whats there growth rate? If i new that my fish werent sexualy mature i would take one of them out and just keep the 2 in there and they would become male female.

 

[hogben]

Those articles discuss clownfish pairing and sexing, you just have to read through the entire FAQ.

Grow out technique:

With this technique two small juvenile clownfish are purchased at the same time and introduced into the tank at the same time. The fish will establish a dominate submissive relationship as they mature and eventually form a pair bond. This technique works the vast majority of the time.

Notes: Since the fish are going to fight and/or chase each other to establish who is the dominate fish and who is the submissive fish, it will often speed the pairing process and reduce fighting and potential damage to the fish by getting one of the two juveniles larger than the other.

If they are juvenile I would keep your best two and return the others to the store for a credit, or sell/trade them to someone locally.

 

[varg1]

Ok i read through them and I understand how it works. But my qestion is how big are sexualy mature percula clowns? Mine might already be sexually mature for all i know because the LFS where i bought them had no idea because they were wild caught. they are doing the sideways twitching thing thought, and like i said there like an inch in length.

 

[varg1]

O yeah and all 3 are by each other all the time so its hard to tell if theres a pair or not.

 

[andygb54303]

hey varg what store? I know how opinionated most local stores are so i am supprised they are ok with selling you 3 without asking what they are going into.

 

[varg1]

Just a no name LFS 5 min away from where i live. I told them i was trying to sex some clowns and they didnt know if they were juvenile or sexualy mature so i got 3 to see if a pair would happen. But i think there still juvy's. there only an inch maybe a little bit bigger but real close to an inch.

 

[andygb54303]

i asked the name cause i am from green bay.

 

[heap]

a 20 is small enough you should be able to get a fish out if/when you need to.

that said, if you put two fish of the right type (not going to repeat everything in the above links) in a tank, they'll pair w/out the need for a 3rd.

 

[aquaruki]

Here is my 2 cents . You have three, so either all 3 are still male, or probably one is a female and two are male. If you take one out, you will either have 2 males left or one male one female. If the latter, you are set. If the former, one of the males will become a female soon enough. However, if they are not fighting, I would leave them in. If they start fighting, you can take one out then. Hope this helps

 

[varg1]

I just have the 2 in there now. one is bigger then the other but there not really fighting and they dont sleep in the same area? If they were both female they would be fighting right? I bet there both males or something IDk.

 

[GSMguy]

if one is big and one is small and they are not fighting you are cool for now.