Clownfish aggression?

[ichthyogeek]

So today my mom bought me a pair of Amphiprion frenatum (tomato clowns) without me knowing it. I knew they were territorial, so it was no problem to return them to the fish store they came from ( a horrid store that said the fish were "peaceful", and would live in a 55). Yeah....no. However, while looking up the clownfish, to show my mom they were actually quite aggressive, I did some more research on my stocking plan. I already have a pair of (very tiny) banggai cardinalfish, and a pair of barbershop pole gobies. The next fish on the stocking list are A. ocellaris, what my mom was trying to buy (bless her). So just checking, a pair of ocellaris clowns shouldn't be overly aggressive in a 55 gallon tank with banggai cardinalfish and barbershop pole gobies? I also am planning on getting a pair of orchid or elongate dottybacks later on if later research on the net says they're compatible. So should I look into a different clownfish or other species? I should also mention that I will be attempting to breed all the fish at some point or another, so pairs of fish are a must.

 

[ThRoewer]

All clowns are aggressive, especially against fish that either nip on anemones or are known egg robbers. Though the level of aggression largely depends on the species and circumstances. The tomato complex clowns are in my experience the worst - I think they even beat maroons. I had a pair of melanopus and those were fearless attack machines. The maroons I had were chicken compared to them. Even clarkii are peaceful fish compared to tomatoes.

Ocellaris and percula are the smallest clownfish which limits the damage they can do. Also, with percula I found that when they have a gigantea anemone they don't care much what else goes on in the tank.

BTW: don't get fooled by the innocent look of banggai cardinals - I found that the large ones can get quite aggressive, especially the females.