Mixing Clownfish

[braidensfish]

OK hey, so i have been getting mixed responses some saying depending on the clowns you can, and some say no, no matter what no!
anyway, i want 4 clowns in a 180 gallon tank
the clowns are, Midnight occelaris, naked occelaris, occelaris, black occelaris.
TIA :dance:

 

[Dkuhlmann]

So is this where you keep asking and hoping for the answer that you want? Everything says not to do it pretty much anywhere you look online as well as what other members have told you.

It's like this, you can do anything you want as long as you are willing to pay the consequences of your actions. Sadly livestock will die. Most mature clown's are quite aggressive.

There is thought in a larger tank that you can possibly get away with this IF you use rocks to separate the tank per se. Then again there are others that have done this with no issues. I think that is the exception and not the rule.

Personally I wouldn't do it. I had a 200 several years ago and only kept one pair of clownfish.

 

[braidensfish]

So even though they wouldnt be pairs, it wouldnt be at all possible?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I didn't say that, I said multiple clowns. Many people choose two of the same type but different color paterns. Here is an example of what a buddy of mine is breeding. The snowflake is the male.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

There are also people that don't believe in mixing to come up with "designer" clowns. More keep them as they were. Others like the designer clownfish. I like the snowflake but also like the perc's and occy's as well as the maroons. The Maroons are very aggressive once mature as are the Clarkii's

 

[ThRoewer]

I tried to keep more than just one ocellaris pair in a 700 liter tank (L150 x W80 x H60 cm³) that was decorated as a room divider but the dominant pair would case down the smaller ones into the farthest corner and fore them to stay there (where they ultimately died of exhaustion)
You can try but don't expect success.
The only way would be to keep a lot of them (more than 10) so the strongest can never concentrate picking on just one or two. But even in that case it is likely only a matter of time until you are down to just two.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I tried to keep more than just one ocellaris pair in a 700 liter tank (L150 x W80 x H60 cm³) that was decorated as a room divider but the dominant pair would case down the smaller ones into the farthest corner and fore them to stay there (where they ultimately died of exhaustion)
You can try but don't expect success.
The only way would be to keep a lot of them (more than 10) so the strongest can never concentrate picking on just one or two. But even in that case it is likely only a matter of time until you are down to just two.

Thank you for proving my point.

 

[kwsjimmy]

Best way to raise more than a pair of clowns is to get a herim, find a breeder, buy a lot of em and raise them all together

 

[braidensfish]

would it help if i got them all at once? and the fact they are all occelaris?!
TIA

 

[top shelf]

There is a slim to none chance it will work as mention already, those that it does work for it is either purely by chance or years and years of experience and having the best optimum conditions. It doesn't matter what order, variation, whether you add pairs or not because most likely a pair will form, it will most likely end in death. If you want multiple pairs your best chance at success is multiple tanks.

You can ask it any way you want but the answer will be the same. If you want a happy healthy tank and inhabitants plus long term success stick to one pair and enjoy them.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Best way to raise more than a pair of clowns is to get a herim, find a breeder, buy a lot of em and raise them all together

would it help if i got them all at once? and the fact they are all occelaris?!
TIA

In the end you will more than likely end up with just two.

 

[addictedreefer]

In the end you will more than likely end up with just two.

+1. Although the "harem" proponents don't like to admit it, you always see fewer and fewer clowns in the "progress" updates until you are eventually left with a pair. The reason for this is purely natural. In the wild, newly settled juvi clowns are accepted into an anemone with a group of clowns because they do not yet pose a threat. The "harem" consist of only one sexually mature female and male. The rest are unsexed juvis. Once the juvis begin to develop, they are driven from the anemone and must find another to survive. In our tanks, the territory simply isn't big enough, and the bullied clowns can't move on, so they are killed.

 

[kenith]

I have 6 clowns-
2 snowflakes
2 pink skunks
2 orange skunks

All of them are doing fine, they all share the space and food in my 225 gal. HTH

 

[thedasher]

Well since we're talking about multiple clowns In one tank, I hope you don't mind me asking but would maybe like 20 clowns together or more be a problem? because a friend of my wants a tank full of anemones and clowns.
Thanks

 

[ThRoewer]

I have 6 clowns-
2 snowflakes
2 pink skunks
2 orange skunks

All of them are doing fine, they all share the space and food in my 225 gal. HTH

That's 3 pairs of different species - that can actually work in a tank that's large enough and if there is no competition for anemones.
Also all 3 species should be about equally strong/aggressive and have the same maximum size.

Something like clarkii and ocellaris together will likely not work unless you have a really large tank.

 

[addictedreefer]

I have 6 clowns-
2 snowflakes
2 pink skunks
2 orange skunks

All of them are doing fine, they all share the space and food in my 225 gal. HTH

How large is the tank and how long have you had the clownfish? I recently attempted to keep a pair of pink skunks with an mixed perc/occ mated pair in a 210 gal with 6 natural host anemones throughout the tank. Although it worked out for a few months, eventually the skunks conquered the entire tank, anemone by anemone, until the perc/occ pair were pinned down in a haddoni in one corner of the tank. I had to pull and sell the skunks, as it was only a matter of time before the they evicted the other pair from the last available nem.

 

[Toddrtrex]

How large is the tank and how long have you had the clownfish? I recently attempted to keep a pair of pink skunks with an mixed perc/occ mated pair in a 210 gal with 6 natural host anemones throughout the tank. Although it worked out for a few months, eventually the skunks conquered the entire tank, anemone by anemone, until the perc/occ pair were pinned down in a haddoni in one corner of the tank. I had to pull and sell the skunks, as it was only a matter of time before the they evicted the other pair from the last available nem.

Been keeping clowns for over 20 years now. Have had them spawning for 15+, (( including maroons and Clarkiis )). The most aggressive spawning pair I have ever owns was a pair of pink skunks. They were holy terrors, to the point of killing a Golden dwarf angel. Never seen a fish so aggressive.

 

[addictedreefer]

Been keeping clowns for over 20 years now. Have had them spawning for 15+, (( including maroons and Clarkiis )). The most aggressive spawning pair I have ever owns was a pair of pink skunks. They were holy terrors, to the point of killing a Golden dwarf angel. Never seen a fish so aggressive.

Funny how skunks have a reputation for being some of the most docile clowns. Thought I just had a deviant pair.