Adding another Clown

[pooh1989]

Hi:

The clown fish that's in my tank has been there about 3 years. I bought this tank off a friend and it's one of the orginal fish. Anyways, I was wondering if I could add another fish to the tank or not?

I've heard both ways and thought I would ask the experts on it .

The type of clown fish I have is an Ocellaris. But I don't know if it was tank raised or not.

The tank is a 46 gallon breader by the way.

Thanks

 

[dantodd]

It doesn't matter if she is tank bred or not. The important thing is that she's been in your tank for 3yrs. This means the fish has definately become a female. You can read about the sexual maturation of dlownfish in the FAQ thread at the top of this forum.

What you want to do now is find an ocellaris in a tank with a bunch of other ocellaris. This will help ensure that you are not getting a fish on the way to becoming a female. I would recommend captive bred fish because it will be less likely to carry disease and will be more likely to survive.

After your normal quarantine period you should be able to introduce him to your existing clownfish. She will chase him around and beat him up a little bit. Once he submits to her she should let up on him. Eventually she should accept him but don't expect her to really let him hang out with her for a little while.

 

[pooh1989]

Ok. Thanks alot. I have read up on it, but kept getting mixed signals on it. It's like, no you can not add another they must be added at the same time. Ugh. Than I felt like I was reading in circles and didn't know where to stop.

Thanks for the answer

 

[dantodd]

Good luck. With such a mature fish I suspect you'll have little or no problems.