New Fish Advice Needed

[Chris918]

Hello,

I purchased a pair of Onyx Clownfish for my first fish. I put them in quarantine and began observing. One clown would eat and was active, the other not so much. I used prazipro days later and continued to watch. A week later I lost the clown that wasn't eating. The other clown was aggressive towards it, I'm assuming because it was becoming the dominant one of the pair. The dominant clown made it through quarantine and into the display. I would like an ocellaris clown since they are cheaper, but how do I go about introducing this one to the display after quarantine? Will there be issues? Will it become another dominance ritual and then subside or could this turn into an aggressive fight? Can a normal ocellaris and onyx pair up? I'm looking for any advice.

Thanks!

 

[Easy E]

You can't put 2 clowns in the same tank unless they are a verified mated pair. If they aren't then one will dominate the other and eventually kill it. That's what happened this time, and if you put another clown in there the same thing will probably happen again. Your next choice should be a completely different species.

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[nereefpat]

You can't put 2 clowns in the same tank unless they are a verified mated pair. If they aren't then one will dominate the other and eventually kill it. That's what happened this time, and if you put another clown in there the same thing will probably happen again. Your next choice should be a completely different species.

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Huh? Aquarists can't pair clowns?

 

[thegrun]

You can’t guarantee that any one fish will acept another, but usually if the new fish is smaller than the existing female they will be okay although there is usually some initial aggression. It helps if you have an acclimation cage to place the new fish in when you first introduce the new clown into your display tank. That way you can avoid nipped fins that often accompany the initial introduction.

 

[Easy E]

Huh? Aquarists can't pair clowns?

They can if they get 2 small juveniles and allow them to mature together. That does not appear to be the case here. The dominant fish is probably already a female.

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[sde1500]

You can't put 2 clowns in the same tank unless they are a verified mated pair. If they aren't then one will dominate the other and eventually kill it. That's what happened this time, and if you put another clown in there the same thing will probably happen again. Your next choice should be a completely different species.

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I bought one clown, year later I bought another and added it to the tank. They are paired up just fine. Saying you can't do that is just flat out wrong. People do it all the time.


Chris, I would suggest you buy the smallest clown you can at the LFS. This increases the likelihood that you buy a juvenile and don't end up with two females fighting it out. And an Onyx is an occelaris, just a color variant. You can get a regular looking one and it can pair up just fine. My pair is a misbar and Wyoming White.

 

[MarkW64]

an Onyx is an occelaris, just a color variant.

Actually I believe that an Onyx is a percula, not an ocellaris. Having said that, perculas and ocellaris are very closely related and pair/hybridize regularly. I don't know if they pair as easily as two that are the same species -- would love to hear someone with more knowledge than I have answer that.

 

[sde1500]

Actually I believe that an Onyx is a percula, not an ocellaris. Having said that, perculas and ocellaris are very closely related and pair/hybridize regularly. I don't know if they pair as easily as two that are the same species -- would love to hear someone with more knowledge than I have answer that.

Hmm, yes you are right. Not familiar enough with all the different colorations I guess. Luckily, a run of the mill percula isn't all that pricey either.

 

[Uncle99]

Chances of pairing increase when the new entry is much smaller, of the same species, and of the same colour pattern. We do it all the time...no trick....just common sense.
If you leave just one in your tank for a couple of months, it is
or will be a female....then you just add ONE of the same about an inch, this will work most times, or separate for 48 hours and reintroduce...

 

[Easy E]

I bought one clown, year later I bought another and added it to the tank. They are paired up just fine. Saying you can't do that is just flat out wrong. People do it all the time.


Chris, I would suggest you buy the smallest clown you can at the LFS. This increases the likelihood that you buy a juvenile and don't end up with two females fighting it out. And an Onyx is an occelaris, just a color variant. You can get a regular looking one and it can pair up just fine. My pair is a misbar and Wyoming White.

OK I shouldn't have said can't. I was wrong about that. I should have said you shouldn't put any two random clowns in the same tank. Being bullied to death would have to be a horrible way to die. It sounds like that already happened once and I didn't want it to happen again. The method you describe will probably work, but there's also a chance it won't.

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[sde1500]

OK I shouldn't have said can't. I was wrong about that. I should have said you shouldn't put any two random clowns in the same tank. Being bullied to death would have to be a horrible way to die. It sounds like that already happened once and I didn't want it to happen again. The method you describe will probably work, but there's also a chance it won't.

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Yea adding a tiny one definitely helps increase the odds. Oddly enough, that tiny one I added second is now larger than my original. I had gotten my first one so small it must not have transitioned even after a year alone. It was showing dominance for the first year of my new tank, then suddenly growth spurt out of my newer clown, it started pushing back for one ugly week. And suddenly they are fine again and it is almost certainly the female.