Clownfish Question

[wsun083]

I have a pair of perc clownfish (they're not a mating pair) and I wanted to add them into my 120G. I have another perc in the tank already and he terrorizes any clownfish I put in there. How should I add the pair? I've never tried adding a pair in w/ him. Would the be okay b/c they are paired up? Any comments Nicole . Your advice is always detailed and accurate.

 

[krucial]

I honestly wouldnt add them. They will give u to many problems.

 

[818]

Why would you even try it knowing that other clown is a pain.

If at all it might end up killing your existing female and take over her part if its able to win.Vice versa it being male.

You would probably have a chance if the existing clown was un-sexed but you said it was aggresive, and that drops your % of doing this with sucess.

Dont risk it.

Sam

 

[rbdesigns]

I think it's risky. If u are adding a pair to a tank with an existing clown u run the risk of ur newer percs to get killed. Especially if the old one terrorizes everything in the tank, it probably is a she, it will go after the other female. If u are going to do it, try adding them in a specimen container to find out how ur existing clown reacts. I am talking from experience because I tried to add a mated pair with another established mated pair and the established pair went after the new one. I am talking about the male and female going after the other pair grabbing them from the fins and tossing them around.

 

[NicoleC]

Nope, it won't work. You could get a proven juvenile (captive bred) to mate up your existing perc, but adding the pair to a tank with a solo adult clown is a good recipe for dead fish. The other option is to remove the solo clown in favor of the pair.

Anything other than one clown or a clown pair in anything but very large tanks eventually means dead fish when they battle for status. Some folks manage once you get to 150 or 200g if they have rockwork that allows the clowns to establish separate territories where they can't see each other.

Steve (Laverda) has 5 clowns in his 240g and it's a nail-biter but it works for that tank for some reason.

Even with babies, you have to crowd them all in real close to each other or they beat each other to death.

 

[818]

If it terrorizes one clown, a pair would be double the fun. I dont see how it would change its mind just because there are two.

Sam

 

[wsun083]

Thanks for the help. I'm gonna fish the lone guy out of the tank and put the pair in.

 

[818]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7598539#post7598539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wsun083
Thanks for the help. I'm gonna fish the lone guy out of the tank and put the pair in.

Bravo *Taps wsun on shoulder*

 

[NicoleC]

Good luck. Train the pair to hand feed -- it helps prevent aggression sometimes.

Of course, my female used to hand feed all the time and since I moved her back into the re-worked display tank she suddenly thinks she's a piranha and won't eat out of my hand anymore... which is not to say she doesn't go for the hand! So it's not a sure thing -- but maybe her sweet personality will come back when she settles in some more. I swear it seems like someone switched fishes on me!

 

[818]

Nicole could you have sold the Female by accident? That would really suck.lol. Does ur female still have her mate?

I just barely trained them to eat, somtimes their skittish but everyone eats out of my hand except my mandarin goby, I would die a happy guy if he would.

 

[NicoleC]

LOL, I was just kidding. The female is about 20x bigger than her babies, so no chance of mixing them up! Yes, she still has her mate. They laid their first nest in the re-done tank tonight.

Poor boy. She's been beating him up, too. Maybe the nest will settle her down, except they picked a very bad spot for eggs -- too far from their sleeping spot and the sinularia host they picked won't provide any protection like their old frogspawn did -- so I think it's likely the eggs will only last for a night or two before something eats them, and then she'll beat up the male for losing the nest. :rolleye1: Well, he DID pick that spot.

Very few mandarins will eat out of a hand; I'd think you'd have to train them in QT not to fear the hand at all, unless they were captive bred (and there are some CB mandarins out there). Maybe the goal is for them to come sit on your hand to eat. I don't think they are engineered to pick things out of fingers, if that's what you are trying for. Is he eating prepared foods?