NEMOS one at a time....

[raymond4133]

Just want to ask.....

But, is it possible that I buy two Nemos like for example one day and put them in the tank and everything and then by another two on another day and put them in the tank .....

will the two already established clowns exile or kill off the newly being added clowns....

I asked a LFS about it and He said it is very possible especiallly with the more less aggressive clowns such as the Perculas ....

 

[Nu2SW]

the prculas you would be ok, I had one for about 5 months and a few weeks ago got a second one, the second one is smaller .

Now they are paired and are hosting the same GBTA

 

[raymond4133]

Is it the same result with odd numbers or even numbers of fish....

I heard somewhere that a owner would want to get I think was a odd number of fish wheter it is 1,3,5,7.....and so on....

Ultimately I'am thinking of 4 possibly 5 max....On my big LTA that I got from Minh.....

-Perculas do except LTA;s right?

 

[dots]

So you want a school of clownfish correct? By the way fish can't count, thats someone just trying to justify that it works in the first place.

The groups you see in the store are there only temporaly and don't establish teritories usually because of that limited time in the tank and the lack of rockscape or anenome.

Clowns will generally pair up only to mate, ie....not social fish......and are territorial by nature....one clown or a mated pair to an anenome or frogspawn etc......

If you get a bunch of them you are going to a) cause them to stress out, and get sick and b) most likely establish a pecking order and kill each other off one by one until a single pair or just one is left.

However, it may be possible to get a couple of pairs in the same tank if the tank is LARGE, say 300 minimum and they are on opposite ends out of each others way.....

Think of it this way, clowns are one of the most popular fish, especially after that Nemo movie,(by the way the nemo fish is called a FALSE PERCULA), I would assume that because of that movie people would have tanks abound with schools of Nemos only. How many have you seen? Other than in holding tanks I havn't seen a single schooling group of Clownfish yet. Why do you think?

Decide on the specie you like, (I personaly love the maroonl/white or the orange skunks), and find them already mated if you want a pair. And find a BIG anenome to let them share.

There is a chart on the Marine Depot site and located on RC somewhere that lists the natural symbiotic relationship between anenome and clown species......I believe the false percula mates with the BTA, and a few others.....most will mate with any anenome except the Condy......My personal favorite is the Sebae, doesn't wander, opens up all the time with thick tentacles......

Some say Chromis in a smaller tank exibit the same trait and kill each other off one by one.

Below is a pic of mine, for scale the clown is about 4 inches long and the Sebae is 18"+

 

[raymond4133]

Darn....I think I was misleaded by all those LFS tanks full of clowns...

So even a group of 4-5 clowns wont be possible and yet if possible they will eventually kill each other....shoot I wish there was some way....Okay what if I do 3 to 4 max....would that combo work....

Should I just look for one big one and 3 other small ones....



This way the big one can become female and the three smaller ones can be the males....

-I seen this somewhere being discussed a long time ago on RC ....

and thanks guys for your input and help....

 

[dots]

One big and one small, esp for maroons, perculas I have seen the same size most of the time alright......the female will eventually kill off probably all three since they all would be in competition to mate up with her and she would be trying to defend the anenome.....

if one managed this, then she would kill off the other two eventually.

But I am sure that someone will chime in very soon and say they had a tank full of clowns and mixed the different ones together, had a BTA that never moved and split 10 times using 100watt of N.O. lighting over a 55g.

My grandma smoked for 70years and never got cancer......sure miracles happen sometimes.

However, they are "cheap" but I would never suggest trying it anyways because I know the odds are not in your favor and I value the livestock, just like I would never suggest to a teenager to start smoking.....

 

[loup]

from what I read, you can't have no more than 2.

 

[WarrenG]

When I was scuba diving in Fiji I could look at an area about 3' x 3' and see 5 to 20 different clownfish in their anenomes, sometimes 5 or more in one anenome about 15" in diameter. Depth was usually 5-15 feet with LOTS of water movement back and forth-moreso than around most corals.

 

[Nu2SW]

IF your gonna get more then 2, get no more then 4, so if 2 pair the other 2 can pair. Even with odd numbers the odd fish out will subdue into a male. I personally haven't seen what will happen if you have more then 2.

But if you have enough housing (frogspawns,bubble tips and such) you might be able to pull it off.

But if you see them stressing and fighting on a constant basis. You better be prepared to take your time and catch them and sell them or give them away.

good luck