am i special?

[ReefPharmer]

i picked up a clown when i bought a used tank (clown used to be in the tank). I have it in a quarantine as i am recycling the actual tank. The owner told me its some kind of special clown blah blah. I think he was pulling my leg but i want to ask anyway...

Is this a regular clown? Or is it some kind special breed?
shots from both sides
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60123349@N06/7041048479/" title="clownside2 by playaslk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/7041048479_f294cf673d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="clownside2"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60123349@N06/6894952666/" title="clown side by playaslk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/6894952666_7048212fe5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="clown side"></a>

thanks. (although funny, comments such as "its a very special clown, its alive etc are not helpful! )
PS is this a male or female?

 

[eferna]

just a regular perc dude.

 

[ReefPharmer]

thats fine, am i able to put a black ocellaris with it? i am new to clowns, hense the questions

 

[8220]

Hi it is a size matter, if the oc and the Perc is the same size it can be 2 females and then you will have a problem.

What size are the Perc?
Do you already have a B&W OC you want to pair it up with?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Be careful and do some studying before you buy any more clowns. Consider buying Joyce Wilkerson's book, Clownfishes. They start out as unsexed juveniles and stay that way while in a school. One member gets bigger and becomes the female. The second biggest become a male. Should anything happen to the female, the male will change into a female and the next biggest in the school will become the new male. Any clown that is alone in a take and mature will be a female. And 2 femals in anything smaller than a 75g or 120g is asking for trouble.

You can put a juvenile (very small) black ocellaris in with your perc and they will probably be OK. If they work things out, they may even become a mated pair. Percula and ocellaris are in the same family and can interbreed I believe. I have a cinnamon and a tomato that I got when they were both juveniles and they now live together ina condy anemone. I'm hoping they will mate as they are just getting to that age.

 

[atreis]

Of course you're special!

The clown looks like a pretty normal percula, but they're special too.

 

[kduen]

Should anything happen to the female, the male will change into a female and the next biggest in the school will become the new male. Any clown that is alone in a take and mature will be a female. And 2 femals in anything smaller than a 75g or 120g is asking for trouble./QUOTE]

I think what Ron was trying to say is: Generall rule for tanks is anything under say a 200g (preferably bigger) should only have 2 clowns total. What Ron is describing above is what happens in nature, if there were a school of clowns in the tank once they reach maturity the largest clown or pair will attack the rest until there is only two left. There are some exceptions to this but not many. As long as the clown that you are going to add is significantly smaller then the one you already have you should be ok, just be ready to interact if/when things go wrong.

 

[ezhoops]

Probably just a reflection but could be a pearl eye. I'm reaching here i know

 

[ReefPharmer]

i would venture to say it is maybe 2.5 inches or so. I dont have any other clowns so i am just considering what to do with it. I could just buy another black one thats small or another reg small one. I def want a mate for it tho. The tank is going to be 75 gallon

 

[Ron Reefman]

Should anything happen to the female, the male will change into a female and the next biggest in the school will become the new male. Any clown that is alone in a take and mature will be a female. And 2 femals in anything smaller than a 75g or 120g is asking for trouble./QUOTE]

I think what Ron was trying to say is: Generall rule for tanks is anything under say a 200g (preferably bigger) should only have 2 clowns total. What Ron is describing above is what happens in nature, if there were a school of clowns in the tank once they reach maturity the largest clown or pair will attack the rest until there is only two left. There are some exceptions to this but not many. As long as the clown that you are going to add is significantly smaller then the one you already have you should be ok, just be ready to interact if/when things go wrong.

You are exactly right, and thanks for making my point clear. I had 5 juvenile clowns in a 75g tank and when the female and male pair became obvious to me, I also saw her start to harass the other juveniles. One became a jumper and the other 2 just disappeared. The happy couple are female cinnamon and a male tomato, just getting mature enough to mate. They already live together in a single condy (in a tank full of anemones).