Trio of percs... Bad idea?

[SLove1104]

I just picked up a new clown the other day with the intention of getting rid of one of the two clowns I already had... That makes it three clowns at the moment in my tank right now. From what I can tell of my first two, one is a female as she is noticably bigger than the other, the other a male, and the new clown is most likely a male as well as he is still small. I was planning on replacing the first male with my new one and getting rid of my other male...

OK, my dilemma. I'm starting to have second thoughts on getting rid of the other male... But I'm having doubts as I hear from some people that having more than a pair can be a bad idea...

They all seem fine right now, but again... not sure what the future can hold for one of them if they decide to start fighting...

What's the possibility of keeping three true percs together? They are all hosting my RBTA and from what I can see, no fighting (as of yet)... Thoughts?

 

[WDLV]

Usually it is a bad idea. If you plan to get rid of one anyway I'd let it go until you see how they react to the newcomer. If it goes badly you can just move one to the sump until you have a taker.

 

[SLove1104]

Well I've had them in together for almost a week now and no fighting, chasing, or anything... They all seem to be fine with one another, even as all three are in the nem. I thought one would try to be dominant and kick the others out the nem but all three seem to be fine with one another... Someone wrote in another thread I have that they can seem fine at first but eventually they'll start fighting... I'm hoping I still have that ray of hope and they can be fine in the long run...

 

[WDLV]

I don't recall the particulars of the other thread, but I'd say this is generally true. I imagine you're replacing the existing male because they have not spawned in a given period. There's really no guarantee of this happening. Beleive me, clowns not spawning is something with which I have vast experience!

Good luck either way.

 

[SLove1104]

Nah, it's not to replace a non spawning male. It was really because it was such a different looking clown than I normally see and it caught my eye... I usually see just regular percs and ocis in my LFSes so it was neat to see a different morph. That was when I figured out it might be an onyx (as you see in the other thread)... So ya, not worried about spawning or anything... Just wanna make sure they get along at least...

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

As they mature and the pair prepares to spawn, the fighting will begin. It's not a matter of if if will happen, but when it will happen.

 

[SLove1104]

OK, so is it safe to say that since they're all young that I can go ahead and get rid of the older male then? I do want to keep this male, just not sure if the other two had paired up already... Either way, I can get rid of my first male then right?

 

[Winwood]

I generally agree with what is being said above, however a fellow reefer's father has a tank that I saw recently with a trio of occellaris in a large crispa. When I observed the tank the dominant pair had just spawned. The amazing thing besides the lack of aggression was that the pair actually allowed the subdominant individual to fan the eggs!

 

[bues0022]

Your comment needs to be given with the disclaimer that this is exceedingly rare for a threesome to develop in a positive manner. Can it happen and be healthy - yes, but the odds are significantly against this. Though an interesting anecdote, you need to realize that this is an exception to the rule, not a rule-setting precedent.

I currently have a trio of percs in my tank that seem to be getting along well. All raised from fry together, but I definitely have an exit plan already established for when the aggression begins.

 

[SLove1104]

Ya, I think I'll go ahead and get rid of my older male... Not only because of the aggression that can happen in the future, but also because there's three of them hosting my RBTA and I want to prevent having it get beat up pretty bad...

The RBTA seemed irritated at first because all three suddenly started hosting at the same time (after months of having nothing host it) so it was kind of a shock to it but it seems to open up more and is getting used to it... but I don't wanna chance it...