New Clown Suggestions

Well, I finally did it. I caught my tomato clown. I've been trying for a couple months now...it was very satisfying.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to catch the tomato is because I would like to get a younger pair of clowns and watch them grow up. I would like some ideas.... I am thinking about either ocellaris, percula, or GSM. I would love b&w oc., but they are 50 bucks a piece here in ND. Cost is a factor for me since we just had a baby girl :) I do have rbta in my tank, which would be good for the gsm, but I would be interested in getting a different anem for an oc or perc pair.

Any ideas or preferences between these? Any pros and cons? I think my lfs gets his clowns from ORA so that should be a decent source. And the only other fish I have in my reef is a lyretail anthias. I'm not interested in breeding right now, but who knows in a couple years.. I guess I'm just looking for a fun pair of clowns!

Thanks, I look forward to reading about some great experiences!

Casey
 
I have heard that gsm get pretty aggressive compared to percs and oc. is this true?
as far as size goes, my guy orders directly from ORA, so I assume they will both be small no matter what I get...
 
So I just made a trip to my LFS and he has 1 b&w ocellaris (which is what I really want!) He said one option would be to get this b&w now and then I can always get another fish to pair it up with later..whether that be another b&w or just a plain ocellaris (small of course). Is this a good idea? the b&w is about 1.75 inches and is 50 bucks (good price?) but he has had it for many months, so I know it is a healthy fish...
I do trust this guy because he only sells saltwater stuff and nothing else, but I'd like your opinions...
Casey
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9315057#post9315057 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by caseyjaydarling
So I just made a trip to my LFS and he has 1 b&w ocellaris (which is what I really want!) He said one option would be to get this b&w now and then I can always get another fish to pair it up with later..whether that be another b&w or just a plain ocellaris (small of course). Is this a good idea? the b&w is about 1.75 inches and is 50 bucks (good price?) but he has had it for many months, so I know it is a healthy fish...
I do trust this guy because he only sells saltwater stuff and nothing else, but I'd like your opinions...
Casey

$50 is market price, but for a well quarantine fish, might be more than worth it (as I lose quite some clowns during quarantine period).

He's right about pairing up with another black ocellaris / orange ocellaris, no lies. However at that age, I suspect that his black ocellaris might still be juv. and not changed sex yet. You will know better by the time you wanted to add another one.
 
thanks vaporize, i think i'm ready to pay 50 for this fish, it has great color and is very active in his tank. my biggest concern is how difficult it would be to pair it up down the road.
 
by the way gsm guy, that is a good thread. i just read through the whole thing and it makes me feel like this might work. how big do you think i should let the 1st one get before adding the proposed mate?
 
the occelaris clown is an easy hardy good clown to start with you will have very little trouble pairing him in the future
i would however use the method i linked to when you decide to pair just for insurance

the absolute worst beating i have ever seen a clownfish get was attempting to pair a small occ. with a large one that was very established and had been in the tank for years. Clowns are territorial
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9315525#post9315525 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by caseyjaydarling
by the way gsm guy, that is a good thread. i just read through the whole thing and it makes me feel like this might work. how big do you think i should let the 1st one get before adding the proposed mate?

the waiting period is totally pointless size difference is all that matters

in the wild clown pairs are very similar in size but for whatever reason in a tank they do much better with a healthy size difference


in conclusion as soon as you find a fish half the size of the one you have now that is when you can start to pair them
 
Well, I decided to get the black ocellaris. I'm gonna pick it up on Monday. Im pretty excited. Maybe I'll post some pics if people are interested....guess I could start another thread for that. Thanks for your help GSMguy and Vaporize.
 
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