different kinds of clownfish together

[tada1096]

i got a pair of ocellaris clowns a few weeks ago. last week one died. so im wondering if i went and got like a maroon clown would this cause a problem or should i just get another ocellairs again?

 

[velvetelvis]

Maroons are very aggressive (and get much bigger than ocellaris). I'd stick with another, smaller ocellaris...but first I'd try to figure out why the first one died. What are your parameters? How long has the tank been set up?

 

[NYCBOB]

+1. maroon isnt a good idea. the maroon will eventually kill the ocellaris. clownfish are pretty tough, so u losing one could a sign of bad water quality.

 

[tada1096]

it had a illness. my lfs was pretty sure he knew what was wrong with it i dont remember what he called it though. so i dont think it was a water problem.

 

[cali9dub]

I have a true perc and an ocellaris. They seem very happy together and have yet to fight. They are still pretty young yet.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Percs and ocellaris are in the same family and can even mate. The maroon is different and would most likely, eventually kill the ocellaris. Just like cinnamons and tomatos are in the same family and I have a mated pair (female cinnamon and male tomato).

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

it had a illness.

Many "illnesses" clowns are likely to have are very easily spread in an aquarium and may either remain dormant or not present outward symptoms for some time - I'd be extra sure your tank was safe and disease/parasite-free before adding other fish.

 

[zeeter]

Maroons and Perculas have been known to mate in the past. If the Ocellaris is larger than the Maroon then there might be a shot here. I kept pairs of maroons/ocellaris in tanks for around three months and there was never any violence. One tank the maroon was bigger, the other tank the ocellaris was bigger.

 

[velvetelvis]

Maroons and Perculas have been known to mate in the past. If the Ocellaris is larger than the Maroon then there might be a shot here. I kept pairs of maroons/ocellaris in tanks for around three months and there was never any violence. One tank the maroon was bigger, the other tank the ocellaris was bigger.

Three months is a very short time. Definitely not long enough to find out if a combination will "work"or not, especially with young clownfish. There are posters here who have had pairs of clownfish (from different species) for a year or more, only to have the female turn on the male and kill him. The OP would do best to get another ocellaris--or a small percula if s/he is really set on keeping two different species.

 

[Clownfishfan]

With a little work any species of clownfish can be paired together. But you have chosen the least aggressive and the second most aggressive clownfish so it will be tough.
Had your Occy pair established their dominance ? If so was the survivor the most or the least dominant? If you have the most dominant left you could put the new maroon clown in a 2l bottle with holes in it and release the 2 together when you can watch them,eventually you will have a pair.
If you have the least dominant do the reverse of the above(put the survivor in the bottle and maroon in the dt) the 2nd opium would be the best case scenario and will be much easier in the long run,the occy wouldn't stand a chance if it tried to chalenge the maroon but if the male is the maroon and he one day challenges the female you has a chance of beating her. Clownfish rarely challenge each other(except it's common in saddleback)so would probably be fine.