Maroon stocking plan

[beatle]

For now, I have a 40g breeder with no fish, just a few inverts and cycled liverock. I've wanted a pair of maroons for quite a while, but everything I've read points to the fact that a pair of them in a tank as small as mine would simply bully any other peaceful fish in the tank.

I'd like to be able to start with a single maroon in my current tank, then add a juvenile from a community tank down the road when my basement is finished and I have room for my larger (>180g) tank. Is their territorial nature subdued when they are alone, or am I still asking for trouble?

 

[jasonrp104]

It depends on the maroons and the other fish. I've got a pair in a 45 with a scooter and they never bother each other. I'm sure a fish that was more active than my scooter would make the female mad.

 

[beatle]

Is that more of an issue since theyre a pair or would a single maroon be just as territorial?

 

[DxSOR25]

i want to do GS Maroons in my 75 gallon tank and everyone has told me no.. :sad2:

i think i might go with cinnamon clowns or tomato.. maybe even skunks

 

[DxSOR25]

i want to do GS Maroons in my 75 gallon tank and everyone has told me no.. :sad2:

i think i might go with cinnamon clowns or tomato.. maybe even skunks

 

[beatle]

I haven't heard of the tank size for maroons being that restrictive.

 

[demonnite57]

I don't think it's the size that's the issue....it's how aggresive they can get that's the issue. I just got 2 GS Maroons (lil guys), but I don't have anything else in that tank except inverts and corals.

 

[jasonrp104]

It's never really cut and dry. My female is very agressive towards me but she leaves the scooter alone. An LFS I go to had to take their female out of a 300 because she would attack anything in the tank.

edit: I'm thinking the female would be more territorial in a pair just for the fact that being in a pair puts her closer to spawning

 

[Gold Stripe]

I've got a pair of GSMs in a 65 with a yellow tang and a YWG/PS combo and they get along just fine. Yes the GSMs are aggressive but it really depends on the type and size of other fish you want to keep.

 

[Jacwil]

I've got a pair of GSMs in a 65 with a yellow tang and a YWG/PS combo and they get along just fine. Yes the GSMs are aggressive but it really depends on the type and size of other fish you want to keep.

+1 We have a pair in a 37g. We have other tanks in case the need to move someone arose, but there is a Yellow Tang, the GSM's, Striped Blenny, Valentini Puffer, a Target Mandarin, and a Blue Spot Watchman Goby. Whenever someone comes near their RBTA, the female simply nudges away...no REAL aggression. I know this is a lot of fish in this sized tank, but the biggest is the tang at 3".

It really depends on the specific fish as stated already.

 

[Quickcord]

I had a pair in a 40 bdr for 6 years and they did fine. The other tankmates were a bicolor angel and two chromis. Never had a problem with aggression.

Quickcord

 

[mr9iron]

I have a pair of GSMs in my 28 nano with a Helfrichi's Firefish. It is apparent that the Firefish runs the show in this tank. She nips at the clowns when they get in her space.

 

[campos]

i had a maroon in my 120g for about 5 yrs and I finally just got rid of him because he became so territorial. It was basically his tank and he rearranged things the way he wanted them to be. I can't believe how strong those guys can be. I would watch mine pick up corals with his mouth and move them to the other side of the tank because he didn't like them close to his home.

 

[bohannbj]

I second the aggression. I bought a pair online and man it was fight club from the get go. I'm not sure if it was because they shipped them in separate bags, but the slightly bigger one chased the other one right out of the tank. LA said to reintroduce so I did and that was the end of that. Next morning I was down to one. It was in a 60 with no other fish. Beautiful fish, but man they are mean. Remember they are in a different genus (premnas biaculatus) than most of the clown fish (amphiprion sp.). Oh and watch the spine on the cheek, it gets caught up in even the finest of nets.

 

[ocellaris123]

i want to do GS Maroons in my 75 gallon tank and everyone has told me no.. :sad2:

i think i might go with cinnamon clowns or tomato.. maybe even skunks

I personally have not had any trouble with maroons in community tanks before. IME they tend to pick on other clownfish more than other fish. Currently I have a pair of GSM maroons in my 60 and plan on adding a pair of dwarf angels and a sixline or fourline wrasse in the future. The only trouble I would forsee is sand stirring or rock work remodeling, which they are known for.

I second the aggression. I bought a pair online and man it was fight club from the get go. I'm not sure if it was because they shipped them in separate bags, but the slightly bigger one chased the other one right out of the tank. LA said to reintroduce so I did and that was the end of that. Next morning I was down to one. It was in a 60 with no other fish. Beautiful fish, but man they are mean. Remember they are in a different genus (premnas biaculatus) than most of the clown fish (amphiprion sp.). Oh and watch the spine on the cheek, it gets caught up in even the finest of nets.

Maroons can be difficult to pair at first, but IME once they pair, I have found their pair bond to be exceptionally strong. Six years ago I had a white stripped maroon pair in a 55 gallon community, and the female was easily 5 inches long. She never picked on any of her tanks mates and just stuck close to her mate and bubble anemone the entire time I owned them.

 

[velvetelvis]

I second the aggression. I bought a pair online and man it was fight club from the get go. I'm not sure if it was because they shipped them in separate bags, but the slightly bigger one chased the other one right out of the tank. LA said to reintroduce so I did and that was the end of that. Next morning I was down to one. It was in a 60 with no other fish. Beautiful fish, but man they are mean. Remember they are in a different genus (premnas biaculatus) than most of the clown fish (amphiprion sp.). Oh and watch the spine on the cheek, it gets caught up in even the finest of nets.

I remember Joyce Wilkerson saying that maroon pairs are tricky to deal with after shipping...according to her, the female will often take out her aggression from shipping stress on her poor mate. (For the record, I would hate to be a male maroon clownfish.) She recommended separating the two and carefully reintroducing them, with hiding places too small for the female to get into for the male, and even an alternative home for the male if need be.

Maroons...the nitroglycerin of the clownfish world.