Few Clownfish Questions

[KeysKid]

Ok, I have a few questions about clownfish. Right now I have a 14 Biocube that has a bunch of coral and has been running for atleast 4 months now. All my parameters and everything are good.

Right now I have had a maroon clown in there for a while, But I think I'm going to switch him over to my 55g pretty soon.

What I want to get is a pair of clowns, but I don't want to spend all the money buying them already paired, So I was thinking about just buying two juveniles on LiveAquaria and then putting them in the tank at the same time and hope for the best?

Also, I was wondering if this tank would be too small for two clowns together? and if not, what type should I get? I was thinking True Percs? But maybe Ocellaris would be better?

Also, what are the chances of them actually pairing up and not just fighting til one dies?

 

[KeysKid]

Ok, I know you guys on here know a ton about clownfish. So this is what I need to know. If I buy two true Percs, could I just put both in my tank at the same time and hope for the best? Should I buy one bigger than the other?

They will be the only fish in the tank.

Ive done some research and saw other guys have had pairs of clowns in their 14 boicubes, so thats not a worry anymore about size.

 

[SkullV]

If you buy 2 juvies and add them at the same time they might fight for a while but one will eventually become dominate and become the female. Percs and Ocellaris are the easiest to pair up in this manner.

For a 14g I would go with Ocellaris as they stay smaller and are theoretically more peaceful.

 

[DeathWish302]

I think my Onyx Percula pair was a bit more skeptical of each other when first introduced. It took them nearly a month to warm up to each other.

As for Occys', I would go for a pait of those. Long story short is I had a Darwin and regular. They were the same size, but the Darwin was the dominant and the other shuttered and shook everytime it approached. One week after purchase, a mysterious death of the orange Occy occurred....? (Only clown lost to disease/mysterious death)

After some deliberation, another orange Occy was purchased the following day. I didn't like that they had a limited selection of sizes, so I had to go with a 1.75-2" specimen. Sure enough as soon as the orange Occy calmed down from the stress of travel, the Darwin started twitching like mad. So, in less than 1-2 hrs, they had accepted each other at least as tankmates.

If your looking to breed in the future, I would highly suggest talking with your LFS to find out what they will buy. I have a retired tomato pairing, that I cannot sell offspring to even break even for the cost of breeding. Just my $0.02...

 

[KeysKid]

I personally like the way that the True Perc's look, but do you guys really think they would become too big for my biocube?

Also, another question. On live aquaria for the T. Percs, they have size Small and Medium for sale. Smalls are 3/4" to 1-1/4"; and Mediums are 1-1/4" to 2"

Should I buy a Small and Medium, or two smalls?

Or should I just go with two small Occ. clowns? because they dont have medium for occ.

 

[SkullV]

I would go with the small Occys. Is there any reason you are ordering by mail though? ANY LFS should have plenty of Occys and Percs.

 

[KeysKid]

Because I live in the Florida Keys and the closest LFS is an hour away and they never have anything at all. The only clowns they ever have are maroons.

 

[DeathWish302]

I would go with the small Occys. Is there any reason you are ordering by mail though? ANY LFS should have plenty of Occys and Percs.

I agree... Your in the Keys and cannot find a LFS? I drove by at least 5 on my drive down 1 a couple years ago. There are good stores all over in the Keys that will set you up. Most all of the fish on the internet are coming from either ORA, C-Quest or SA anyway, unless they are locally bred. Seems silly to stress a pair of fish shipping from WI, in WINTER when your going to spend more on overnight shipping than the price markup at a LFS.

I say buy local when possible, b/c you'll be driving an hour plus to a LFS soon enough if you cannot support those close LFS now. I've seen 2 stores close in the last 7 months and it is not fun making that 45min drive versus 10min in the past. LiveAquaria is great, but will they stop by the store at 10pm b/c you have an emergency and need something quick.....?

 

[KeysKid]

I have no idea what stores you drove by? Ive lived in the Keys my whole life and the only LFS I know of in the Keys with clownfish is Pampered Pet in Key West. I go there all the time, and every time I go there, there is rarely any clownfish and if there is its all maroons.

If you know of some places in the Keys with clowns then let me know the name of them and ill be happy to drive there.

 

[DeathWish302]

Sorry Dude, I forgot we were driving from MIA so it was a little closer to Miami than I thought.... I was in vacation mode and you could have said we landed on the moon and I would have believed it.

I did the quick search on"
http://www.zoyzoy.com/aquarium/aquariumstoresmap.php

Unfortunately for you I wasn't too close to the Overseas Highway to the Keys let alone KW, so it would likely be a 4hr hike of a drive.

 

[RcToners]

I have no idea what stores you drove by? Ive lived in the Keys my whole life and the only LFS I know of in the Keys with clownfish is Pampered Pet in Key West. I go there all the time, and every time I go there, there is rarely any clownfish and if there is its all maroons.

If you know of some places in the Keys with clowns then let me know the name of them and ill be happy to drive there.

Keys Kritters is in Key Largo, they have a moderate saltwater section but the fish are hit & miss. Sometimes you can get a great healthy fish, other times they die rather quickly. I usually journey up to Miami (which would be pretty far for you). Live Aquaria is a great option.

 

[KeysKid]

Yeah I think Ill try Liveaquaria over a 3 hour one way drive. Thanks for all the help guys!!