tankmates for my ocellaris pair

[lux_06]

hello to all,

i have a pair of ocellaris clowns i am trying to get to breed as i am intrigued by all of this, up untill now i have kept them in their own 45g with an BTA some LR and of course their flower pot!!! they have been in their maybe 2 months.

however my best mate has to go to england for 6 months. and wants me to take over his live stock, ive got no issues with the free reef safe stuff i got but he also had a 2 1/2 inch panther grouper, i have nowhere else for this to go other then in with my breeding clowns.

now my question is i know he wont eat my clowns, but will he bother them and cause them to be less likely to spawn? if so hes going back to the shop i got no issues with that, as my main objective here is to get baby clowns.

P.S - out of interest do any others here breeding clowns keep other tankmates in with there breeding pairs or what? i kept em alone just cos i thought it was the safer option but what do you all do?

thanks

Adam

 

[dantodd]

are they breeding now? Or are you trying to get them to breed?

If they are already breeding I'd think any aggressive fish will put them off their spawn.

If they aren't yet breeding I think it is fairly safe to add most fish. My clarkii are breeding with a coral beauty in the tank that won't quit harrassing them. He keeps pushing his side into their anemone and tries to swim up to their nest. It's really annoying but they seem to not mind too much.

 

[lux_06]

yeh ive had no success yet with spawing, they have shown all the right signs so far but are still relativly new to my system.

good to hear they will still spawn with other larger fish.

I also wondered about taking some of my smaller fish and inverts out of another tank and putting the grouper in by himself leaving the clowns in more of a reef tank with some other gobies, and shrimps??? but i fear if there is too much goin on in with the clowns i am just slowing things down.

 

[fnicklaus]

If you are serious about breeding the clownfish,I recommend keeping the grouper sepparate from them. He could create some stress as the clowns are defending their territory. I think that it would be better to have the clownfish in the system that is peaceful if it is established.

 

[Fishboy42]

I would agree that keeping the breeding tank as "quiet" as possible would be ideal. Having said that, I have had clown pairs start spawning with all kinds of tankmates, from neon gobies, cardinals, dottybacks, and other damsels to tangs, wrasses, and even a huge batfish. I think your idea of setting up a quiet reef with small fish/shrimp and without the grouper sounds fine.

 

[lux_06]

thanks guys, appreciate your feedback.

i had some luck last night anyway's got another tank from somone so im going to run the two tanks off the same filtration, grouper in all by himself. only thing now is that i need a shed or basement to be doing all this stuff in my house is starting to get crowded!!!

 

[Fishboy42]

That sounds like a good idea to separate everyone. Multiple tanks on the same system will make your life a little easier too.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7755851#post7755851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lux_06
only thing now is that i need a shed or basement to be doing all this stuff in my house is starting to get crowded!!!

Tell me about it! I just moved all the liquor off the bar to make way for new baby tanks tonight, my "beer fridge" is filled with everything except for beer, and my workbench is now a stand for fishtanks. Talk about priorities!

 

[dantodd]

I'm running down to San Jose for rotifers tomorrow morning. My first hatching of my newly paired clarkii is due to hatch Wednesday or Thursday. I am trying to decide if I should try raising this batch or wait until the next. She was laying 2 days after hatch but I don't know if she'll keep her old schedule with her new male.

I have way more fish "stuff" than I ever thought possible. I also have a 100g tank in my garage that I am building for my son's school. I need to figure out lighting for the tank but I'm ready to start filling and cycling. Then there's the 72 in my living room, the 20 in the dining room and the 10g nano in my wife's office. Plus the fry/grow out tanks I think I've lost count.....

 

[lux_06]

yeh its crazy isnt it! good luck with your clarkii's.