Maroon clown, good experience?

C

catchprj

Member
There is a really nice maroon clown at my LFS, however I have read so many bad things about them that I am now unsure whether it would be worth my while.

Are the bad things I have read just the rarer cases where people complain about the maroon clown on forums, or are they really that bad?

I am hoping that most people love the pretty little guys and so stare at their tank smiling, and just a minority find angry specimens and ask for help on forums.

Anyone had any good experiences? Or is it all bad?
 
What is the size of your tank and what other fishes do you have? I have had a Maroon and a Yellowstripe Maroon. I usually had them with tangs and never had any problems with them. I guess it is most a compatibilty issue than anything else (similar body type fish). I am actually planning to buy a YMC for my current 200gal with a Yellow and Purple tang.
 
The tank is ~75G and the only inhabitant at present is an emperor angel (I understand the emperor will outgrow this tank)
 
And what do you plan to keep in there in the future? Just the Maroon clown? If that is the case, you should be fine, I kept mine in a 30gal and a 90gal, both of them reef tanks. I would say go ahead.
 
I certainly don't plan on keeping any other clowns/damsels. I'm not sure what I would add when the Emperor gets too large though.... maybe another angel.
I was mostly worried about it terrorising the emperor angel and/or destroying my tank!
 
I had one and actually really liked her. Although she was quite aggressive towards me, it made me laugh (she wasn't large, and I had gloves to protect my hands). But I have a soft spot for feisty fish--they're often some of the most entertaining ones.

I have seen them kept in larger tanks with other fish, apparently without any trouble. They're very territorial around their anemones, but the area they defend seems limited to their host. They don't seem to roam the whole tank and cause trouble the way clownfish in the clarkii complex do, for example.
 
The one I have my eye on is already pretty large - it would be 4-5". The emperor angel is ~6" and likes to nip at the toothbrush I use to clean the rockwork, so I think he can hold his own.
Does the large size change anyone's thinking? I don't mind if the clown nips me, I just don't fancy coming home to a dead angelfish!
 
They grow to six inches and are the most aggressive clowns. They will attack your hand when you clean the tank. As they get older and bigger they can get nasty. They also dust up the sand constantly. I donated mine to a pet store.
 
I guess I'm the exception. I have a maroon clown in a 72g Bowfront reef and she has been a model citizen. She doesn't like me messing with her frogspawn, but other than that, she's been ok. She will size up the kole tang every once in a while, but they settle their business peacefully. I've had the fish for 4 years now and it's about 4.5" long.
 
So far, all I can tell you, is that they are unbelieveably hardy. Mine goy MAULED by my Lunare wrasse (didn't see it, don't know who started the fight!). Lost part of an eye & major fin rippage. its 7 weeks later & its made a near 100% recovery!
I thought he was a goner...

Matthew
 
windyridge said:
They grow to six inches and are the most aggressive clowns. They will attack your hand when you clean the tank. As they get older and bigger they can get nasty. They also dust up the sand constantly. I donated mine to a pet store.
Click to expand...

+1 to everything you said

But mine is a little different. She will attack my hand but hasn't messed with one fish in my tank. Not even a much smaller Sixline Wrasse. She will even let the other fish swim right by her anemone once she gets used to them.

But, like you said, it is a PITA always having to level the sand back out every couple of days. And with her attacking you while you're doing it!!!
 
mattman said:
I guess I'm the exception. I have a maroon clown in a 72g Bowfront reef and she has been a model citizen. She doesn't like me messing with her frogspawn, but other than that, she's been ok. She will size up the kole tang every once in a while, but they settle their business peacefully. I've had the fish for 4 years now and it's about 4.5" long.
Click to expand...

That's more like the experience I was looking for.... hopefully you're not the exception - hopefully the happy maroon owners just yell more quietly than the unhappy ones!

I'll see what else they have at the LFS before making my decision
 
catchprj said:
That's more like the experience I was looking for.... hopefully you're not the exception - hopefully the happy maroon owners just yell more quietly than the unhappy ones!

I'll see what else they have at the LFS before making my decision
Click to expand...

Whatever you settle on, please please QT. I would hate to see anything happen to an Emperor Angel. :fun4:
 
None of my Maroon bite my hand while cleaning the tank or while moving rocks/corals in all the time I had them. I tried an ocellaris and that's the first thing the little b**** does. Oh the irony, lol. I guess is like all in this hobby, each fish has its own personality. My advice, add the clown and pay attention on how they react for a while. If you are not going to be around, you can separate the tank so they can get used to each other the first couple of days. That worked with my two tangs that started fighting each other the moment I put them both together, one week separated by an eggcrate an now they are best friends.
 
They get pretty large, and they are generally very territorial. Some people buy cute little baby maroons and then realize too late that they don't stay small and cute, and wind up blaming the fish.

She'll likely get along fine with the emperor angel after a few squabbles over territory. But once she's established in the tank, you'll only be able to add largeish bold fish. Maroons DO tend to dig, so consider whether that's a problem. If they're threatened enough by your hand in the tank - they won't "nip" so much as "attempt to rip out chunks" ... even my oscellaris clown drew blood when she was ticked.

They're awesome, hardy, entertaining fish though, in the right home.
 
I have to say, no fish drew blood from me more than my last maroon, she was just downright mean...to me!
She didn't bother any fish though, so she got to stay.
Expect them to be territorial and fussy on what corals you may add by her space, and they become very terrtorial after they mature/spawn.
 
Ok, I've been turned off the idea! I went in to the LFS last night and although the fish is beautiful, I just couldn't take the risk, so she remains in the shop.

Thanks for all your help! The outcome is not quite what I had hoped but I'd rather a happy, healthy tank than one pretty fish.
 
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