Added third clown and they don't seem to like him

[KevinM822]

Newbie here looking for some advice.
Last week I added 2 young clown fish that I purchased from my LFS. there was 3 in the tank, but I only bought 2 of them. At the time they would always swim together and never seemed to leave each others side.

In my tank they adapted well and still would not leave each others side.
I went back to my LFS today for some misc items and saw the third clown all alone in a tank (had other fish in there with him, but no clowns) and I felt sad that I took his family and not him so I ended up leaving the store with him.

When I put him in the tank one of the other clowns seems to push him around and is aggressive towards him. He has done the "twitch" that i've read about that means he is submitting to the other, but he still chases him.

My question is, will these 2 clowns ever allow this third one to 'rejoin' with them? They've only been separated for a week.

more info on them:
They are approx 6 months old
They were tank raised
They are 'orange' clown fish

Thanks

 

[C Dog]

You will probably get alot of crap from people. Everyone will say only 2 clowns per tank. Some people have had it work with BIG tanks and getting all the clowns from the same hatch. It might work for a short time but one will always get picked on. That will stress the 3rd clown to die, beat up and die or causr him to jump. Every one is going to tell you to take back the 3rd clown and do research on everything you buy to see if you have enough experience to care for it or what is compatiple with each other.

 

[C Dog]

Also it does not matter what kind or color the clowns are. You can not buy live stock or coral with out knowledge of it just because you feel sorry or YOU want it. It will save you alot of hassle and $$$.

 

[KevinM822]

I did read about not getting more than one species, but I thought I read that as long as they were from the same family (all from same parents) they would be ok. I doubt the store will take him back.
Guess I'll wait and see how they do for the next couple days.

-edit-
Posted without seeing you 2nd post.
Yeah everytime my g/f wants to add a fish we spend a long time reading about them before we do it. I eventually want to add some corals so this is one thing we think about when adding fish. I've come to realise VERY quickly that this statement about researching is an understatement and you really need to spend a great deal of time reading.
I'm new and I know I'll make mistakes, but hope not to.

The guy at my LFS thought it would be fine to add him back into the group. He even told me he has numerous types of clowns in his personal tank at home (he had 3 or 4 different types) and he didnt have any issues with them all getting along

 

[C Dog]

All of the LFS ( local fish stores) by me will give you 50% store credit of what you payed for it towards a future purchase.

 

[KevinM822]

Well it's lights out time and as soon as I turned them off the clowns went into their cave in the corner where they sleep and the third one joined them with no issues.
Guess this is a good sign

 

[brian762]

As soon as 2 of them pair up its game over for the 3rd wheel! try to sell or bring him back before the others kill him.

 

[OrionN]

All I can say is that the 3 rd clown is better off by himself. The smallest of the tree will get bullied by the other two clowns. He may or may not make it.
I have keep at various times, three Ocellaris, three Percula and three Pink Skunk before but it is in a large tank and they all have large H. magnifica to live in. The third clowns almost always got chase out of the anemone, only get in at night and whenever I have my hand in the tank. Almost always the third clown got torn fins. If you really want to keep them in group, it likely best to keep more than 3 although I have not try more than Trio of clowns. Some species it is hard enough to try to pair them, Trio is out of the question (Maroon clowns)

 

[kurtyboh]

if you have a sump with refugium area you could keep him down there if/when the aggression picks up again, at least until you find another home for him.

 

[elegance coral]

In these situations the smaller clown is often dead before you notice any real aggression. This has been attempted over and over and over again. It typically has the same outcome. I would find a new home for the little guy while he still has a chance.
BTW, I would stop taking advice from someone that's trying to sell you something. Especially in a LFS.

 

[8220]

If it is Maroons the female will for sure off the 3 one, it is just a matter of time.. If it had been ocellaris or other more docile clowns, I could have work with more 2.

Good luck with it all

 

[jt_milstead]

Its already been said here, but this is a bad situation. That 3rd clown will most likely get beat up pretty bad or even killed.

 

[bues0022]

I did read about not getting more than one species, but I thought I read that as long as they were from the same family (all from same parents) they would be ok.

This message is for others on the board, not necessarily you because you're relatively new to this.

I've been quite vocal on this issue in the past when someone says "I have 3 clowns for 2 months, see: it works!" This is the EXACT problem I worry about. Kevin did some homework, stumbled across a few threads where it seemed to work, and went ahead to try this. It is quite unfortunate that he attempted to do homework, and found a few people quite vocal about their supposed successes without giving any credit to the risks involved.

While this can work in some isolated cases, it should not be attempted by most. It is no less dangerous to put a juvi clown in a tank with a adult black volatin (IMO).

 

[KevinM822]

Thanks everyone for the responses and not attacking me

BTW, I would stop taking advice from someone that's trying to sell you something. Especially in a LFS.

Sad thing is, I really like that LFS. They are very nice and they really have a GREAT selection for salts, but if I find out he was in fact taking advantage of me being new to salt and giving me bad advice then there are plenty of other stores around here that will take my money.

For the most part now they seem to be playing well. At feeding time the 3rd one gets a little pushed around, but I make sure he gets his share before turning the pumps back on.
When I wake up in the morning I find all 3 of them cuddled into a big ball in the cave.

At least now I know I will soon have to get him a new home.
My g/f want to get a smaller tank just for the third guy. Could be a nice tank for corals down the road, but if we don't do this then I may trade him off with the local coral group here.

Thanks again.

 

[OrionN]

....
My g/f want to get a smaller tank just for the third guy. .......

I would get it in a heartbeat. Anything to get more tanks:spin1::spin1::spin1:

 

[KevinM822]

I would get it in a heartbeat. Anything to get more tanks:spin1::spin1::spin1:

lol. Things are getting a bit tight right now for me. I'm leaving that option open for my g/f if she wants to pay for it.
I do have a 10gallon tank that I started to build a sump out of. Maybe I could break it down and put him in there till he is traded/sold/or gf gets a tank.
I just don't have an extra light for that tank until I get my new LED's.

My latest purchase is a bunch of the GU10 LED's for my tank and I think that's going to be the last purchase for me until I get back to work. I'm out on workers comp right now and that's one of the reasons why I switched to salt, to keep me occupied until I'm healed.