Best clownfish for a newbie

[courtneyclv]

Hi everyone,
My tank should be done cycling within a couple of weeks and I heard that a clown is nice and hardy for my first fish.

I want to eventually get an anemone that it will accept when my tank is mature enough.

I would like to get a good looking clown with good color/stripes, good size too.

What do you suggest? :rollface:

 

[Russian123]

[welcom]

Well personally I dont think there is a wrong type of Clownfish to get....... I think all the Clownfish are generally pretty hardy and as far as the anemone its hard to say whether any type of anemone and clown fish will bond however I have heard that Bubble Tip anemone's do host well together with other clown fish

 

[RokleM]

Not true. There are a number of aggressive clownfish you should NOT add as your first fish. Maroon is a good example.

If you want cheap, non-aggressive, and personal, percula/ocellaris would be a good place to start.

 

[thing1]

yeah, I'd stay away from maroon clownfish, they tend to be very dominant towards other fish. I have a true percula that gets along well with the others in my tank. I just added a Rose Bubble Tip Anenome tonight, but I don't think the two will pair up. My clown has been there for a while and doesn't really seem attracted to the RBTA or my frogspawn colonies.......

 

[OrionN]

Tank raise Ocellaris is the best clown fish for newbie. They are beautiful. This is the most popular of the clownfish species. This is also one of the ealiest of the marine fish bred in captivity. This is the Icon of Instance Ocean, IMO, the most popular aquarium salt. They did not obtain this status for no reason.
After all of this said, make sure your tank cycle and stable befor add this beautiful fish into it.

 

[clord]

In joyces clownfish book she recommends clarkii has the best one to start with

 

[dantodd]

You are pretty safe to start with any of the more common, inexpensive clowns.

Based on your description of your tank you will need a LOT more Live rock for an anemone. Also, start thinking about what type of anemone you'd like and plan your lighting to accomodate the anemone.

I'd suggest getting another 20-30 lbs of live rock immediately and then once cycled in look at one of the following clowns:

A. percula (orange or onyx variations available)

A. ocellaris (orange or black and white (often labeled "black percula") available"

A. clarkii (lots of color variations available)

A. polymnus -- saddlebacks (lots of color variations. often labeled sebae or "black percula")

A. sebae -- but they are not very available

A. melanopus -- cinnamon or red and black

A. frenatus -- tomato

A. perideraion -- pink skunks

A. akallopisos -- skunk

A. sandaracinos -- orange skunk

You may need to be a little careful about the skunks as they can be a little skittish and best alone or in a very calm tank.

Unlike most others I don't feel that P. biaculeatus are inappropriate in a 78gal tank. However; you may well end up with a clownfish/anemone specific tank.

Most of the other clowns will be pretty expensive (as will black and white var. of ocellaris) and difficult to obtain.

Be sure to Quarantine the fish, even though they are going into an uninhabited tank. Some of the diseases they might carry can infect the tank and require you to leave the tank fallow for a period of time.

 

[ClownReef®]

Id stay away from A. polymnus, they tend to be aggressive aswell..