Without power for 5 days as a result of the October snowstorm, I lost a lot of livestock. What I gained, however, is that my huge BTA split into two.
Two mated and regularly spawning tomato clowns survived and now spend their time commuting between two homes. Three other tomato clowns that lived peacefully within the same 120 gallon tank (they never got the memo that they weren't supposed to cohabit with a mated pair) did not survive the stress of the outage.
I'm considering adding other clowns, to help out the split anemones. If I did not know that the mated pair already has a history of accepting other clowns I would not consider this. The female tends to be agressive towards me if I need to reach into the tank to rearrange something, but never the least bit aggressive to the other clowns.
Any recommendations here for species with the greatest likelihood of success for cohabitation with my two surviving tomato clowns?
I know it's a bit of a crap shoot. Getting additional tomato clowns might restore the system to what my survivors are used to, and they might not blink an eyelash (if they had one). On the other hand, might they more likely reject a clown that looks like them than one that does not? Or am I just asking for trouble thinking about bringing in any additional clowns at all.
For reference, this is a mixed reef tank. The BTA (now plural) keep their distance from my coral through natural preference for one side of the tank (along with the encouragement that results from some judicious lighting choices). The only other surviving fish is a yellow tang. Water quality is as perfect as one could want.
Thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
Two mated and regularly spawning tomato clowns survived and now spend their time commuting between two homes. Three other tomato clowns that lived peacefully within the same 120 gallon tank (they never got the memo that they weren't supposed to cohabit with a mated pair) did not survive the stress of the outage.
I'm considering adding other clowns, to help out the split anemones. If I did not know that the mated pair already has a history of accepting other clowns I would not consider this. The female tends to be agressive towards me if I need to reach into the tank to rearrange something, but never the least bit aggressive to the other clowns.
Any recommendations here for species with the greatest likelihood of success for cohabitation with my two surviving tomato clowns?
I know it's a bit of a crap shoot. Getting additional tomato clowns might restore the system to what my survivors are used to, and they might not blink an eyelash (if they had one). On the other hand, might they more likely reject a clown that looks like them than one that does not? Or am I just asking for trouble thinking about bringing in any additional clowns at all.
For reference, this is a mixed reef tank. The BTA (now plural) keep their distance from my coral through natural preference for one side of the tank (along with the encouragement that results from some judicious lighting choices). The only other surviving fish is a yellow tang. Water quality is as perfect as one could want.
Thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
