you have a pair when they sleep beside each other as the picture shows... clownfishes do not tolerate each other well except when paired up... if they are not paired up, you will see the more dominant clownfish constanly attacking the subordinate... also, a pair are RARELY apart from each other... they are always within a couple of inches away from each other... if one goes to the surface anticipating food, the other one will follow... or if one goes to the opposite side of the tank to check something out, sure enough, the other one will follow...