Since I hear this is pretty rare... (pic)

[steelhead77]

I guess I should buy a lottery ticket then. I have a spawning pair of Pinks and a spawning pair of Percs. I've had both pair for almost three years. Even when they were together in my 72 Bow, they NEVER crossed to each other's side of the tank. Now that they are in my 180, they cannot even see each other. Reef tanks do not fit into a "one size fits all" paradigm. Each tank is different as are each fish or pair of fish.

 

[davocean]

Most of us have been just reading the same results over the years of reading here.
Sure, sometimes there are the rare exceptions, but a lot of times those don't always last long term.
3 years is a good run, and hopefully continues, but that could change over night w/out a hint of it happening, it's just by far the most common trait and outcome of clown experience posted here.

 

[steelhead77]

Most of us have been just reading the same results over the years of reading here.
Sure, sometimes there are the rare exceptions, but a lot of times those don't always last long term.
3 years is a good run, and hopefully continues, but that could change over night w/out a hint of it happening, it's just by far the most common trait and outcome of clown experience posted here.

Sure, I suppose it's possible things could change, but in the 2+ years these fish have been in my tank(s), I don't think they've ever wandered more than 9 or 10 inches from their respective host. Even to chase food. Since their hosts are almost 60 inches apart, I doubt that I'll ever have problems. YMMV, of course.

 

[SoLiD]

I think we may have scared wheelspin off by calling shenanigans.... Just kidding... Where are you wheelspin? More pictures please...

 

[Moort82]

I've got a young pair of tank bred Darwins and when i got my new pair of clowns, had the bag acclimating in their tank as the new clown tank is in that system. Although they had only been on their own for a couple of months since i bought them from a tank of many more clowns, they went straight up to the bag and were having none of these intruders. It was quite amazing to see as they are the most peaceful fish with anything else but as soon as they saw the clowns, they turned into devils.
I was also impressed they did this in a dim tank without any other cues but visual.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned /
Nor hell a fury like a spawning clownfish

 

[alexandernewell]

That maroon is ridiculous small. Is it just the three clowns or is there a big momma we aren't seeing? My 6.5" female maroon would annihilate my 2.5" occellaris or either of my 1.5" Clarkiis or my 2" saddle, though I think the saddle could take my clarkiis or occellaris.

3 years isn't all that long when talking clown lifespans. They can live for decades. Keeping multiples isn't hard when they are small and young. Given their lifespans and how long it takes to reach maturity, especially when around other fish, its not rare at all for people to keep multiple species together for some years. What is rare, nay, unheard of is the aquarist who kept multiples in the same tank and all the clowns died of old age.

I'll tell you the same thing I tell our customers at the pet store: Of course everything is fine. Its always fine until its not.

*please understand, I would love to be wrong. I love clowns and set up a new tank for each pair I get. If only they could all live together... Best of luck wheelspin. You might want to keep an extra tank onhand just in case.

 

[MItank]

I don't think it's as rare as some on this site will have you believe. Lots of us have more than one pair of clowns in our tanks and have had for several years with no issues. I agree that Maroons can be mean, but like any other fish (or people for that matter) they can have different temperaments. some can play nice with others and some will try and take your hand off when you feed it.

Good for you! If you spent all your time in this hobby worrying about what things "might" happen someday, you would just tear your tank down or sit in a corner crying. A massive blackout might happen (go look at guys tank threads in Detroit during the summer of 2003, killed off half the city's tanks), an earthquake might happen, your tank might randomly crash, rock work might fall and break through your glass, so on and so forth.

You just do your best to decrease the risk and move on.

 

[davocean]

You just do your best to decrease the risk and move on.

Doing our best to decrease risk is exactly why most of us give the advice we do, which is to keep to one pair in a normal size tank.
Encouraging the very rare exceptions is just not responsible reef keeping IMO.
But feel free to do what you wish, go ahead and add a 3rd clown to that picasso pair if you wish, heck, make it a maroon, be bold bro!LOL

 

[Toddrtrex]

Doing our best to decrease risk is exactly why most of us give the advice we do, which is to keep to one pair in a normal size tank.
Encouraging the very rare exceptions is just not responsible reef keeping IMO.
But feel free to do what you wish, go ahead and add a 3rd clown to that picasso pair if you wish, heck, make it a maroon, be bold bro!LOL

Good post, even the end, it made me laugh.

 

[MItank]

Doing our best to decrease risk is exactly why most of us give the advice we do, which is to keep to one pair in a normal size tank.
Encouraging the very rare exceptions is just not responsible reef keeping IMO.
But feel free to do what you wish, go ahead and add a 3rd clown to that picasso pair if you wish, heck, make it a maroon, be bold bro!LOL

I have no interest in adding another clown, nor do I think it would remotely work. I may not have been on RC long but I know how to care for clownfish and nems. But I think it would be a vast overreaction for steelhead to pull one of his pairs out of his tank on the premise that it "might" stop working one day after 2 years of success.

 

[davocean]

Never did I say or suggest that, what people do w/ their own fish/tanks is up to them.
I'm merely pointing out this is not a safe recommendation for anyone reading thinking this may be a good idea, as it is almost always not, if not immediately, almost certainly down the road.
There are very rare exceptions, I do not advocate the rare exception.

 

[MItank]

Never did I say or suggest that, what people do w/ their own fish/tanks is up to them.
I'm merely pointing out this is not a safe recommendation for anyone reading thinking this may be a good idea, as it is almost always not, if not immediately, almost certainly down the road.
There are very rare exceptions, I do not advocate the rare exception.

I fully agree with you, sorry for the misunderstanding. 2 clowns is enough for me, especially when they take to a nem.