Help! Need opinions about adding second clownfish

[TStud1986]

Hello all,

I bought my tank a little over a year ago and it was an already established tank. One of the fish already introduced was a single true onyx percula... I've tried to do thorough research on this subject and can't seem to find any definitive answers...
From my understanding when clown fish are born the are non gendered. As they grow the most dominate takes the roll of the head female in the tank and the remaining hierarchy will turn into males.
Now my questions are as follows:
1: can I even successfully add a second clown in hopes of them mating?
2: if the answer to number one is yes then my next question would be how do I know if my fish is female/ male?
***the clownfish is roughly about 2.5"-3" long and has been in the tank for over a year by itself so would you think my fish is officially female?
3: depending on answers from question 1&2, should I get a fish roughly the same size or should I get a fish smaller than the original?

Thanks for any tips or advice!
-Tyler

 

[ocellaris123]

Yes pairing should be no problem, just introduce a smaller juvenile percula clownfish and they should pair up no problem. Your clown is most likely a female.

 

[geckoejon]

ime, yes, but it might take a couple of tries. i would definitely go with a small clown. maybe around an inch. they might still fight. if they do, take it back, and try another. sometimes they pair up right away, and sometimes they don't get along. it's worth the effort though

 

[TStud1986]

First thank you for taking a minute to respond, I appreciate any info or experience tips I can get!

With that being said I would really like to get another matching clown but as stated above its an onyx percula and the cheapest I've been able to find is 115 bucks :/ so at that price and the fact that i cant find them locally available it makes it difficult to just pick one up and return if not working... do either of you know of any reputable breeders where I might be able to find one for cheaper?

 

[TStud1986]

On a side note; this past weekend, one of my lfs had a 3rd year anniversary party and they had a pair of snow flake onyx clowns for $200 which seems super cheap to me! If I had more room or tanks and/ or wasn't so worried about them fighting my original clown I would have loved to pick them up!!! I hope whichever lucky s.o.b got em gives em a good home haha lol

 

[geckoejon]

i have been blessed with a bunch of nice shops around my area. i don't have tp look far for most reef items.

pm sent. might help...

 

[TStud1986]

Jonathan- tried to message you back but can't til I have 10 posts haha lol... so in response to your message...

Awesome thank you so much for that link they seem really reasonably priced especially compared to anything around here locally! So I have a question for you; do you think I could add a pair into the tank and they would make a "family" (nor sure what to call it) or would only 2 pair up n kill the 3rd?

 

[ffmedic]

No they would most likely kill the 3rd

 

[geckoejon]

+1

i agree with only having a pair per tank

 

[TStud1986]

Okay so in between the research I've done and the replies on the post I'm thinking only adding one is the best bet... but is there any way to definitively tell if my clown is male or female? And what would your advice be on adding another one to try n pair?

 

[TStud1986]

Or I guess a 3rd option would be to just buy a pair that's already together but then would have to re home my current onyx percula :/ would it be cruel to home her down in the sump? Lol

 

[mcfa2403]

I know it isn't for everyone to mix and match clowns but my onyx female paired quickly with my snowflake even though she was added almost 6 months before and was already female when I got her. You should be able to pair any occellaris or percula with her it would just take time.

Personally I find it best to take a juvenile from a tank where a male and female have established a pecking order (in cases where LFS has several clowns in one tank). The non-established clowns seem more eager to please in my experience (not fact just my observations in my tank and others)

 

[TStud1986]

Okay great thanks that seems to be about the same answer I'm finding elsewhere... Im actually really considering picking up this pair of fish from my lfs. It's a whole headache of a situation lol

Long story short... I have been looking for a mate for my onyx percula but just haven't found any fish that seem to be reasonably priced... for one onyx the average price I've found is about 100 bucks; and at that price I'd hate to have my fish fight n try n kill each other (not that I would even if they were free lol) and one lfs was even trying to charge $140 for one single fish -ugh!!!
Anyways at a different store I found a pair of clowns for (what I would consider) a stupid good deal... a bonded pair of snowflake onyx clowns for an awesome price of $120. I want to snag them up but am concerned with the well fare of my original fish as well...
Oh what to do, what to do?!? Decisions, decisions lol

 

[TStud1986]

Also; I am a total newbie to reef central... how do you upload pictures on here from a phone? Specifically a galaxy s4? I want to load a pic i was sent of the fish, and I'd like to double confirm that these are in fact snowflake onyx clowns and are a solid purchase for that price

 

[mcfa2403]

You have to upload the pictures to a secondary site like photobucket and then copy the url over.

I would definitely confirm because that's an amazing price for snowonyx but a subpar one for snowflakes

 

[TStud1986]

Okay i think I got this figured out hopefully a picture of the fish that was sent will upload with this post. Like I said before I'd just like to double check n make sure that they are snow onyx like they claim...