40 gallon Nem tank

[CrayolaViolence]

I am doing a nem tank with gorgs sponges and bubble tips (what I thought was a magnificent was actually a bubble tip with a very very purple base so I mis id'd it, which is good cause I wanted a quadra color not a mag, any how) I currently have two clarkiis in the tank, can I add a couple more clowns? Or will it not be enough space? Should I keep only clarkiis or will another pair and different species of clown fish be okay? No maroons (even though I like them), but I was thinking a picasso or a snowflake or even a pair of darwins.

 

[zooman72]

You would have to be very lucky to get another pair of clowns to reside peacefully with a pair of A. clarkii in a tank that size...

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Even if I made sure to get two small submissive males? No chance of them getting along?
If not that's disappointing. I really wanted more than two fish in the tank. Looks kinda empty with just the two clowns. And the SO is not gonna like my excuse to build a second 40 gallon nem tank just so I can have more than one clown pair. LOL

 

[geckoejon]

+1 that adding more clowns would be most likely end badly....

 

[Raintree]

You might be able to add other fish (not clowns) but they might get bullied quite a bit by your current pair of clowns. Depends on the fish.

 

[phender]

No more clowns, but one of the Red Sea psuedochromis species or a royal gramma, some sort of goby, a small hawkfish like a flame or longnose, if not for the gorgs and sponges, a dwarf angle would work. Any two of those would be a good choice as tank mates in a 40 gal.

 

[OrionN]

Even if you have multiple anemones, in a 40 gal tank, one Clarkii pair will eventually kill any other clown you put in it.

 

[ThRoewer]

Actually, A. clarkii is the only Anemonefish known to tolerate another species - A. perideraion - in the same anemone:

Coexistence of two anemonefishes, Amphiprion clarkii and A. perideraion, which utilize the same host sea anemone

Abstract: Social structure and interactions between the anemonefishes, Amphiprion clarkii and A. perideraion, which utilize the same host sea anemone Radianthus kuekenthali, were investigated on a coral reef of Okinawa Islands, Japan. In an 87 × 373 m2 study area, 98 sea anemones were inhabited by both species (32.5%), by only A. clarkii (48.9%), or by only A. perideraion (18.6%). A group of A. clarkii often occupied two or more individual hosts, and group members often interchanged. However, a group of A. perideraion usually used only one host and migration between groups was rare. The larger A. clarkii suppressed reproduction of A. perideraion in cohabiting groups, while A. perideraion suppressed settlement of Juvenile A. clarkii to its own hosts. Juvenile A. clarkii settled on small hosts as well as on large hosts, whereas juvenile A. perideraion settled only on large hosts. Coexistence appears to be possible in part by differences in settlement patterns between juveniles of the two anemonefishes.

Note: Radianthus kuekenthali is an old synonym for Heteractis crispa

Social and mating systems of the protandrous anemonefish Amphiprion perideraion under the influence of a larger congener

Abstract: The effect of a larger anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii (Bennett) on the social and mating system of a smaller congener Amphiprion perideraion (Bleeker) was investigated on a coral reef at Okinawa, Japan, where both species use the same host sea anemone Heteractis crispa (Ehrenberg). The population of A. perideraion consisted of adult, subadult and juvenile groups. Adult groups, which consisted of one or two adults and a varying number of subadults and juveniles, usually did not share the host with A. clarkii. In contrast, subadult and juvenile groups, which included no adults, always cohabited with A. clarkii. In the heterospecific groups, subadult A. perideraion were able to mature histologically, and changed to female when they were the largest among conspecific members, although their reproduction was suppressed by A. clarkii. After all members of A. clarkii emigrated or disappeared from a heterospecific group, adult A. perideraion could begin breeding. I suggest that A. perideraion in both heterospecific and conspecific groups adopt a mating strategy that involves waiting for vacated breeding posts because of their low mobility and a low host density.


Only catch here is that likely not all fish going under the A. clarkii label are actually the above described A. clarkii. It is also rather questionable if this can be replicated in a small tank.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Well my clarkii pair had a divorce last night. Don't know what got into Bertha, aka Darkii who decided she was going to evict Clarkii from the tank. Darkkii was removed and put into the 180 due to her obscene possessiveness of the sea anemone. No matter how much poor Clarkii submitted to her she was not pleased. Yesterday he hid behind the skimmer to escape her domestic abuse and she still wasn't satisfied. Now Clarkii is alone but in a much better state of mind. He's happily loving on the sea nem and swimming about in the tank rather than cowering in fear to his overly aggressive wife. If I don't get any other clownfish I assume Clarkkii will be a she before long. Have no idea what got into that female but dang, she just snapped and decided she was going to be an only fish. So no I'll have to decide if I want to try and introduce another clown to Clarkii or have no other fish but him in the tank.