Clown Fish??

[Kyleighsdaddy]

I went to a LFS yesterday and was looking at clown fish to put in my 90g FOWLR tank. The guy mentioned something about "paired clowns". What are paired clowns, does that mean that you have to put 2 in the tank? I am a little confused.

 

[H2OBUM]

matedpair one male one female

 

[stuccodude]

my opinion is there happy with a pair and my pair go everywere together, gotta make the fish happy, the more i learn about this hoby im starting to believe that fish truly have feelings, good luck

 

[Kyleighsdaddy]

I am talking to a guy on RC that i am supposed to be getting a tomato clown from. Any suggestions? Am i going to be able to put another clown in there at a different time if i find another one that i like also?

 

[kathainbowen]

"Paired" clowns generally refers to one of two things. It could mean that the clowns are a proven breeding pair, exhibiting egg-laying behavior. Or, it could mean that the clowns are possibly a breeding pair (living together and acting like a potential breeding pair). Basically, it's a way of an lfs saying, at the very least, "we're pretty sure this is 1 male and 1 female, and they both live together without killing one another over territory.

Getting a set of "paired" clowns can be a good thing, though. A "paired" set of clowns is able to live together, more likely to be easy to distinguish the male from the female, and, generally, older. Why is older better? Because clownfish do take some time from that tiny little baby guy at Petco to grow into a nice, mature adult. So, if you're really interested in breeding or seeing mating behavior in a hurry, it can be a nice thing.

Otherwise, you can always find your own pair by starting with a small group and just narrowing it down to two.

 

[Kyleighsdaddy]

I saw these clowns at the LFS and the guy workin there said that they were only 8 months old. They were about an inch or so long. I would really like to get those, but he said that the damsels that i have in my tank will eat them. The damsels have been in the tank for about 2 months now. I have 2 yellow tail, and 2 blue. What is your opinion on that statement?

 

[ilovetrains]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9804296#post9804296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kyleighsdaddy
I am talking to a guy on RC that i am supposed to be getting a tomato clown from. Any suggestions? Am i going to be able to put another clown in there at a different time if i find another one that i like also?

Tomato's are extremely aggresive (for a clown) and are difficult to have in the same tank with any other clowns.

 

[Kyleighsdaddy]

So getting the 1 inch, 8 month old clowns would not be a good idea, even though they are still clowns?

 

[Victor1046]

yes but they are all a part of the "damsel" family.
check out the anenome and clown fish forum

great reading and good information for clowns alll types....

Good luck

 

[kathainbowen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9804416#post9804416 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kyleighsdaddy
So getting the 1 inch, 8 month old clowns would not be a good idea, even though they are still clowns?

Mixing clownfish in general can be difficult, unless in quite large tanks. I knew of someone who had his own attempt of mixing perculas and pink skunks to end in what I like to politely refer to as "tank ejection" (also, murder, nipping, etc.), and that was in a 90.

However, there are a few clowns that stand out in their own right as a bit nippy or semi-aggressive. The Clarkii, tomato, and maroon clownfish all fit into that category. While some of them can be model citizens, never bothering a soul, these species generally can be a bit bossy in the tank, terrorizing more passive tankmates. To be honest, when I worked at an LFS, we often re-recieved Clarkiis and tomatoes from people who had grown tired of their aggression to more delicate species (although, not as many maroons- most people seemed to overlook bad behavior because a nice, big maroon clown is rather stunning).

Just keep a close eye on the clowns- all of them- if you do wish to attempt to mix species.