Just curious about two pair of clowns

[JCareyETexas]

Wondering if anybody has had any success with having more than one pair of clownfish in their tank?
My wife and daughter really like the A. Ocellaris while I really like the black and white ocellaris. Would it be possible for my 60"x18" 125 gallon tank to house a pair of each?
Would anything help like adding them at the same time, having multiple anemones for hosting, lots of rockwork, etc...?

 

[cet98]

why not buy one A. Ocellaris and one B&W Ocellaris?

It is well documented (especially here on RC) that keeping more than one pair in an aquarium will almost always end tragically once a female pairs with her chosen mate...all other clowns would be killed once a pair is established

While you will certainly find those that currently do have multiple clowns in their tanks, I would question whether there is actually an established "pair" among them...

 

[hypnoj]

a friend of mine has one pair comprised of 1 x A. Occe and 1 x B&W Occe. they go good together. I, however, have tried exactly what you want to do ( 2 pairs ) and it ended in failure with the dominant pair killing off the other ones. I thought I did it right, by having multiple anemone's and lots of live rock etc. Neither couples hosted either of the anem's and a fight broke out.

 

[JCareyETexas]

Thanks for the replies.... I do not want to unnecessarily put any fish in harms way. I will probably end up doing one of each. I had not really thought of that as a possibility but it makes sense.

Any chance that they would ever breed?

 

[cet98]

Any chance that they would ever breed?

absolutely

 

[duncaholic]

Thanks for the replies.... I do not want to unnecessarily put any fish in harms way. I will probably end up doing one of each. I had not really thought of that as a possibility but it makes sense.

Any chance that they would ever breed?

I have harvested and raised the offspring from my pair They are generally called mochas(the babies) It is not uncommon at all. Check my threads and you can see the entire process, and the babies!!

 

[jt_milstead]

They are both Ocellaris, they will be ok.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Any chance that they would ever breed?

LOL - actually hybrid clowns and misbars are becoming more common than wild caught holotypes